Worldwide news. The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique while others talk of a “plurality of worlds”
Traditional two-handled ceramic jars known as amphoras were used extensively in ancient Greece to store and transport a variety of products, especially wine. These days they are more likely to be found in shipwrecks than in stores. But wine-filled amphoras are once again being found on the sea floor, not from sunken ships, but deliberately …
Read more “Croatian Vintner Ages Wines in Amphoras on Adriatic Sea Floor”
The Catholic Church is closing parishes across the American Midwest and Northeast in response to years of flagging attendance. Changing demographics and an overall trend of secularism is partly to blame, but repeated cases of sexual abuse in the church have not helped. Reporter Teresa Krug reports from the Midwestern state of Iowa, where some …
Read more “Some US Catholic Churches Close as Attendance Flags”
Sedgwick Street in Chicago is a thoroughfare divided by race and socio-economics. The area was settled by German, Irish and Sicilian immigrants. But in the 1950s and ’60s, when the original settlers began moving out, African-Americans, Puerto Ricans and so-called hippies started moving in. Today, Sedgwick Street remains a social and economic demarcation line between …
India’s foreign minister has accused Pakistan of harboring terrorists in an angry speech before the United Nations General Assembly. …
A Russian investigative journalist says he has left the country fearing possible prosecution for his work. …
Macedonians have begun voting in a referendum on a deal with neighboring Greece on whether to accept a name change that could pave the way for the Balkan nation’s entrance into the European Union and NATO. …
With President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hanging in the balance, the high court is scheduled to open its new term on Monday with oral arguments on a range of issues before eight ideologically divided justices. This is not the first time the high court has had a vacancy at the start …
Read more “What’s Ahead for US Supreme Court as It Starts New Term”
At least four people, including a candidate for the head of the Russia-backed formation called the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have been injured in an explosion in Donetsk. …
First ladies in several African countries hope their American counterpart will find ways to tackle problems, with a nuanced understanding of the African experience, when she visits the continent next week. The first ladies of Mozambique, Namibia and Sierra Leone spoke to VOA in New York during the 73rd Session of the United Nations General …
Read more “African First Ladies Share Thoughts Ahead of Melania Trump’s Trip”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday the United States has ordered a temporary relocation of diplomatic personnel in Iraq because of growing threats to U.S. diplomatic facilities by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force and its allied militias in Iraq. In a written statement Pompeo said, “Given the increasing and specific threats …
Read more “US Warns Iran, Moves Diplomatic Personnel in Iraq”
A city council member in the central Iranian city of Shiraz has been arrested for “supporting” two detained Baha’is, the official government news agency IRNA reported. …
U.S. prosecutors said they are seeking the death penalty in the trial of an Uzbek immigrant accused of mowing down eight people with a truck on a New York City bike path last year. …
The fact that Pope Francis has not responded to accusations of having covered up for former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is evidence the pope is guilty, according to a letter written by former Vatican ambassador to the U.S. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano. Vigano renewed his charge that Francis knew five years ago that McCarrick had sexually …
Read more “Former Vatican Diplomat: Pope’s Failure to Respond Indicates Guilt”
Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai has agreed to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee later this year over Republican concerns that the company is biased against conservatives, a senior Republican said Friday. Republicans want to question Google, the search engine of Alphabet Inc, about whether its search algorithms are influenced by human bias. They …
Read more “Google CEO to Testify Before US House on Bias Accusations”
The Supreme Court in India lifted a centuries-old ban Friday on girls and women between the ages of 10 and 50 entering one of the holiest Hindu temples in southern India, saying that treating women as children of a lesser god is unconstitutional. It is the second judgment in two days that has given a …
Read more “Court Lifts Ban on Women in Prominent Hindu Temple in India”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has vowed Russia will do “everything possible” to preserve the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal despite the U.S. withdrawal. …
We know that rferl.org isn’t the only website you read, and it’s possible that you may have missed some of our most interesting journalism from the past week. To make sure you’re up-to-date, here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL’s team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days. …
Authorities in Iran have detained three people accused of using a photo of Israeli soldiers on a billboard, Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency reported on September 28. …
Former Massachusetts state Sen. Brian Joyce, who was awaiting trial on federal corruption charges, was found dead in his home Thursday, authorities said. Joyce, 56, was found dead by his wife, according to a statement from Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for the Bristol District Attorney’s office. “Foul play is not suspected in the death at …
Read more “Ex-State Senator Found Dead While Awaiting Trial”
A high-stakes political drama played out in Washington Thursday with emotional testimony from both Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and from university professor Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault that allegedly took place in 1982. Kavanaugh has denied the allegation, but complaints brought by Ford and other women have put his …
Read more “Kavanaugh and Accuser Face Off in Dramatic Hearing”
He let his anger flare repeatedly, interrupted his questioners and sobbed several times during his opening statement. She strived to remain calm and polite, despite her nervousness, and mostly held back her tears. Throughout their riveting, nationally televised testimony on Thursday, Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh served as Exhibits A and B for a …
Read more “Kavanaugh-Ford Hearing: A Dramatic Lesson on Gender Roles”
Dutch authorities say seven men were arrested on September 27 in the Netherlands on suspicion of plotting a large-scale extremist attack. …
Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, where he will attend a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on September 28. …
President Gjorge Ivanov has called for voters to boycott an upcoming referendum on Macedonia’s name change, saying the country was being asked to commit “historical suicide.” …