Author: staff

The pope named the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Australia, Bishop Mykola Bychok, in recognition of the ongoing war in Ukraine. With the nominations Francis has significantly increased the size of the College of Cardinals and further cemented his mark on the group which will one day elect his successor. The nomination of 44 year-old Bychok, the youngest nominee, gave Ukraine its only cardinal and sent a subtle political message as Russia’s war grinds on. Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, praised the move, even though Francis chose the head of Ukraine’s Greek Catholic Church…

Bosnia and Herzegovina held local elections on Sunday for both cities and municipal councils, just days after flooding killed at least 16 people. As people voted, rescue teams from Bosnia’s neighbours and EU states joined efforts on Sunday to clear rubble and search for those still missing in the floods and landslides.The Central Election Commission (CEC) has postponed the election in four municipalities heavily affected by the floods.A total of 110 political parties are participating, with 386 candidates running for mayoral positions. More than 25,700 candidates will also compete for seats in local community councils.The EU and other international bodies…

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is the US’s richest person, jumps around on stage in support of Donald Trump at one of his election campaign rallies. Tech executive Elon Musk cast the upcoming presidential election in dire terms during a Saturday appearance with Donald Trump, calling the Republican presidential nominee the only candidate “to preserve democracy in America.”The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla who also purchased X, Musk joined Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former president survived an assassination attempt in July. He warned “this will be the last election” if Trump doesn’t win and, clad in a black-on-black cap…

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the territory’s health ministry and described as reliable by the United Nations. The Israeli military has now opened a new front against Hezbollah in Lebanon. In France, home to the largest Muslim and Jewish communities in Europe, protesters took to the streets in cities across the country, with demonstrations on Saturday in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Strasbourg to express solidarity with Palestinians, France 24 reported. In Paris, Lebanese-French demonstrator Houssam Houssein warned that an escalation would engulf the…

With video games like ‘Concorde’ shelved and episodes of ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘The Acolyte’ attacked, news that studio execs will use superfans to stress-test franchise releases is concerning. Just two weeks after its release, Sony has pulled its video game ‘Concorde’. The PlayStation 5 and PC shooter game had been in development for eight years, but was taken offline following low-sales and critical reviews. Ryan Ellis, game director of Firewalk Studios, which produced the title for Sony, said the company has “been listening closely” to the feedback over ‘Concorde’. While a surprising decision from Sony, after no doubt…

Israel has also vowed to strike Iran itself after it launched a ballistic missile attack on the country last week. The conflict threatens to widen into a regional war, and also risks drawing in the U.S., which has provided military and diplomatic support to Israel, as well as U.S.-allied Arab countries that host American forces. Iran-allied militant groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have also joined in with long-distance strikes on Israel. The Israeli military has been expanding its bombings in Lebanon. Massive airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs from late Saturday into Sunday, Reuters reported. At least eight strikes rocked…

Dubbed the ‘finance COP’, countries are set to work out the finer details of the loss and damage fund at COP29 in Baku next month. Climate-vulnerable countries could start receiving money from the long-awaited loss and damage fund as early as 2025. This pot of money is intended to help compensate low-income countries for the damage caused by climate-related natural disasters. It has faced a number of hurdles throughout its development but finally, the funds could start being disbursed to those who need them most as soon as next year. Finance is one of the key focuses for COP29 in…

All the latest developments on day three of the tournament. The third day of Judo’s 2024 Junior World Championships took place today in Dushanbe, Tajikistian.The crowd poured into the Kasri Tennis Arena to witness the best of the best go for gold.Azerbaijan’s -100kg Paris Olympic Champion Zelym Kotsoiev thrilled the crowd by attending the tournament to support his younger brother. But it was a man from Azerbaijan’s neighbour to the north, Georgia, Luka Javakhishvili who claimed victory at -81kg. This huge winding makikomi technique was the decisive moment in the match! Earning the Georgian the junior world title.Harvest Group Representative…

Herbert Kickl, head of the far-right FPÖ, is facing difficult coalition negotiations as the SPÖ, Green Party, and NEOS have dismissed collaboration, with the OVP agreeing to join only if Kickl is excluded. Leader of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), Herbert Kickl, met with the federal president to discuss the formation of a new government.The FPÖ won nearly 29% of the votes in last week’s national election, securing the highest share but falling short of a majority.To form a government, Kickl must now seek a coalition, but Austria’s other parties — including the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), the…

The fighting has led more than 250,000 Syrians and 82,000 Lebanese to flee north to Syria in the past two weeks. An Israeli strike on a refugee camp in north Lebanon has killed Hamas official Saeed Atallah Ali and his family, the militant group said on Saturday. Hamas said in a statement that the strike on the Beddawi refugee camp struck the home of Saeed Atallah Ali, an official with Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades. Ali’s wife, Shaymaa Azzam, and their two daughters, Zeinab and Fatima — whom the statement described as children — were also killed in the…