A new report says that military budgets continue to spiral upward, but global spending on peace initiatives is already low and is further endangered by domestic politics.
Humanitarian Aid
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
For second time in months, C.R.S. forced to cut funding to Gaza
Catholic Relief Services cut its services to needy people in the Gaza Strip by closing a U.S. government-funded program because of the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Mexico stays neutral in Venezuela crisis, calls for international summit
Mexico’s call for a summit is the latest twist in a crisis that continues to divide the world after Venezuela’s embattled socialist president, Nicolás Maduro, was sworn in for a second term.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Rome mayor says Caritas will still get Trevi Fountain coins
“No one ever thought about depriving Caritas of these funds,” Raggi told L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, Jan. 14. “The diocesan agency plays an important role for many needy and for the city of Rome, which wants to continue to be the capital of welcome for the weakest.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
While U.S. fixates on the border wall, populist world leaders still turn migrants away
The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration reports that for the fifth consecutive year more than 4,500 people are believed to have died or gone missing on migration routes around the world in 2018.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis warns diplomats against rising nationalism, weakening multilateralism
“The reappearance of some populist and nationalist impulses today is progressively weakening the multilateral system,” Pope Francis said, “resulting in a general lack of trust, a crisis of credibility in international political life and a gradual marginalization of the most vulnerable members of the family of nations.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Infographic: An alarming forecast for a world in need in 2019
Ten percent of the world’s people are still living in extreme poverty, and this year nearly 132 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection, mostly because of the effects of armed conflict.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Aid may finally reach Nineveh Christians, but time is running out
The Christian community in Iraq has been decimated by decades of conflict, persecution and disorder, culminating in the unbelievable savagery of ISIS. After two millennia in Iraq, the Christian population has reduced to a vanishing point, raising concerns around the world about the viability of this ancient community.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Report: Foreign fighters led IS atrocities against Yazidis
Around half of the estimated 6,800 Yazidis taken captive are still missing. Women and girls from the minority who escaped described an organized system of slavery overseen by high-ranking foreign fighters.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Folks in rural part of Panhandle ask: Where’s the help?
“It’s a struggle. You feel frustrated because our local government seems to care more about the tourism industry than the hard-working people.”