List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

Egypt’s biggest state-owned lenders are dangling higher returns on dollar-denominated certificates of deposit to foreigners and locals, in

The energy industry is warning that efficiency targets are likely to be on the chopping block as Conservative

Pope Francis told a young transgender person that “God loves us as we are”, comments that are being seen as his latest outreach to members of the LGBT+ community. The pope’s comment was in response to Giona, a young Italian individual “torn by the dichotomy between (their Catholic) faith and transgender identity”. The pope was responding to audio messages from young people in a podcast organized ahead of a Catholic youth festival in Portugal, which he is set to attend next week. The pontiff said “the Lord always walks with us.... Even if we are sinners, he draws near to help us. The Lord loves us as we are. This is God’s crazy love.” Pope Francis’s position on the LGBTQ community and gay marriage has been a subject of interest and discussion since he became the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013. While the pope has emphasised the importance of treating LGBTQ individuals with respect, dignity, and love, he upholds the traditional Catholic teaching that marriage is a sacred between a man and a woman. He garnered praise from the LGBTQ community in 2013 when he was asked about a gay priest in 2013 and he replied, “Who am I to judge?” During the course of his pontificate, he has met individually and in groups with transgender people. But at the same time, he has strongly opposed the so-called “gender theory” and upheld the teachings that hold that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered”. In 2021, Pope Francis authorized the release of a Vatican document asserting that the Catholic Church is unable to bless same-sex unions because it is believed that "God cannot bless sin". In an interview with Associated Press, he declared that laws criminalising homosexuality were “unjust” and that “being homosexual is not a crime”. He later clarified that he was merely referring to official Catholic moral teaching that teaches that any sexual act outside of marriage is a sin. In a note in Spanish, Francis reaffirmed that homosexuality “is not a crime,” adding that he spoke out “in order to stress that criminalisation is neither good nor just.” “When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin,” he said. Read More Vatican abuse investigators begin their audit of secretive Peru-based Catholic society The pope's Ukraine peace envoy heads to Washington with the plight of children top of his agenda Pope says he knows what non-binary means, welcomes LGBT people to church: ‘All persons are children of God’ Vatican abuse investigators begin their audit of secretive Peru-based Catholic society Jesuits confirm expulsion of priest artist and lament Vatican norms preclude further sanction Vatican is moving ahead with plan to reunite Ukrainian children taken to Russia with their families

A former Greek defence minister has urged the Greek government to seek help from Russia to fight the devastating wildfires. Panos Kamennos claims it is impossible to cope with the fires without the support of the Russian Be-200 amphibious aircraft. “Without Beriev, nothing happens. Let’s bow out heads and ask for help now. We will be given...” he said in a social media post. Read our live coverage of the Greece wildfires Russian aircraft manufacturer Beirev specialises in amphibious aircrafts that can take off and land on both solid ground and water. Its giant planes have proved to be a devisive weapon in extinguishing flames during the Greek fire season. In particular, the Beriev Be-200 Altair is said to be designed for such a task as well as search and rescue, cargo, maritime patrol and passenger transportation. The plane can also scoop up 12 tonnes of water in just 14 seconds and its tanks can also be filled on the ground. Its enormous potential will be missed from Greece’s arsenal of fire fighting services. Dangerous wildfires have been ravaging the country for almost two weeks, spread by high winds. Thousands of tourists, including 10,000 UK holidaymakers, have been evacuated from the country and its islands. Rhodes and Corfu are bracing for at least another 48 hours of inferno as forecasters predict temperatures in southern Europe will not peak until Wednesday. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned of tough days ahead, with conditions possibly improving after Thursday. “All of us are standing guard. In the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hot-spot, there is no magical defence mechanism,” he said. Other areas affected by wildfires include Evia and the Peloponnese region. Russia’s Beriev Be-200 can empty its water tanks over an area engulfed by flames in 0.8 to 1.0 seconds when flying above the minimum drop speed of 140mph. The aircraft was used in Greece to fight the forest fires of 2007 and again during the summer of 2021. This summer, the Greek Fire Brigade has been battling more than 500 fires countrywide without the use of the aircraft. Weather maps show the latest heatwave to hit Europe is set to peak on Wednesday when temperatures will surpass 44C in some parts of Greece. Last weekend, the island of Rhodes saw the biggest evacuation in Greek history, with more than 20,000 people forece to flee homes and hotels. In Corfu, 2,500 people have already been evacuated in the face of dozens of blazes on the island. France, Portugal, Turkey and Croatia are among other European countries that have been battling wildfires in recent days. Extreme weather conditions on the continent are being mirror worldwide, from the US to Asia. Read More Wildfires: Is it safe to travel to Greece right now? Evacuation from Rhodes was ‘hell’, say family from Northern Ireland Are Greece wildfires caused by climate change? The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

In what was a brutal 2022 for investors, there was at least one sure-fire, money-making proposition for much

Cambodia’s Hun Sen will step aside as prime minister after nearly four decades in the power, leaving his

The UK Treasury should review hundreds of billions of pounds worth of tax breaks, according to a report

Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, sees no letup in the number of bids for teams

Danone SA said that the French company remains the legal owner of its Russian dairy operations even after

Australia hopes to complete an agreement with India that will expand market access for Australian exporters by the

Three Japanese market veterans ruminating over beer in Tokyo whether Chinese debt is the deal of the century

New Zealand and Australia are to explore moves toward more “seamless travel” between the two nations to enhance