Thousands take to streets in Greece in protest over 2008 shooting of teenager

Helena Smith in Athens Thousands of people have joined protests in Athens, Thessaloniki and other Greek cities to commemorate the fatal police shooting of a teenager, hours after violence erupted over a similar incident in the north of the country. Police estimated more than 11,000 protesters had joined protests on Tuesday amid fears of renewed clashes as… Read More Thousands take to streets in Greece in protest over 2008 shooting of teenager

Remember this lady. In memory of Irena Sendler

First posted January 23, 2012 Irena Sendler (1910-2008) was a Polish Catholic social worker who served in the Polish Underground and the Żegota resistance organization in German-occupied Warsaw during World War II. Assisted by some two dozen other Żegota members, Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, providing them… Read More Remember this lady. In memory of Irena Sendler

Lesbos is swept by wave of compassion as refugees continue to arrive by sea / ‘Love has no religion’ – priests and pastors reach out to refugees

First posted December 22, 2015 Patrick Kingsley On Tuesday, the number of asylum seekers to reach Europe this year passed 1 million. Nearly half of them did so via the beaches of this Greek island As an institution, the Greek Orthodox church is often considered a bastion of nationalism and conservatism. Some of its priests have… Read More Lesbos is swept by wave of compassion as refugees continue to arrive by sea / ‘Love has no religion’ – priests and pastors reach out to refugees

‘He saved our lives’: Canadian woman among a thousand Polish children adopted by Indian maharaja during World War 2

First posted November 10, 2019 Belle Puri  A pot of fresh borscht simmers on the stove. The aroma fills Karolina Rybka’s two-bedroom apartment in Kelowna, B.C. The walls are adorned with frames full of colourful needlepoint the great-grandmother did herself. Everywhere there’s something to see — arrangements of dried flowers, knick-knacks and endless family photographs.  Karolina Kucharski Rybka lived in Balachadi, a… Read More ‘He saved our lives’: Canadian woman among a thousand Polish children adopted by Indian maharaja during World War 2

Daya Ram Gidumal of Sindh: A silent servant, a silent sufferer. A good man

Akhtar Balouch Published March 23, 2015 First posted May 29, 2015 NB – This is a beautiful and moving story. It provides yet another example of human goodness, and reminds us how quick we are to pass it by, to overlook it, because we are so accustomed to negativity, denunciation and animosity. Beneath it (in the original) are scores… Read More Daya Ram Gidumal of Sindh: A silent servant, a silent sufferer. A good man

At last, a Kardashian has spoken: those Balenciaga bears should never have worn bondage gear

“We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative.” Please just take a moment to note how – even in the face of a full-spectrum paedo panic – Balenciaga cannot bring itself to relinquish some pretentious wank about “our narrative”. “It was never our intent to include child… Read More At last, a Kardashian has spoken: those Balenciaga bears should never have worn bondage gear

In the war between snowflakes and boomers, I’m with the kids. If only it wasn’t so easy to laugh at them …

Zoe Williams Gen Z and their language: nothing can ever be mean, it always has to be abusive. Nothing can ever be painful, it always has to be traumatic. Nothing can ever stir up a bad memory, it always has to be triggering. Don’t get me wrong, I will always naturally side with the young,… Read More In the war between snowflakes and boomers, I’m with the kids. If only it wasn’t so easy to laugh at them …

Iranian protesters chant anti-regime slogans at boy’s funeral

Protesters at the funeral of a young boy whose family say was killed by Iranian security forces have chanted anti-regime slogans and ridiculed the official account of his death. Hundreds of mourners flocked to the city of Izeh in south-western Iran for the funeral of Kian Pirfalak, according to footage posted online. His mother said at the funeral ceremony… Read More Iranian protesters chant anti-regime slogans at boy’s funeral

Ukraine: Women giving birth in basements and bunkers / Russian bombing of maternity hospital ‘genocide’

Russia’s war on Ukraine has seen it launch scores of rockets and drop countless bombs on cities, forcing pregnant woman to seek shelter and give birth in hospital basements. While unsuited for such purposes, such places are much safer than delivery rooms that could be hit by Russian fire. Many Ukrainian hospitals have been damaged… Read More Ukraine: Women giving birth in basements and bunkers / Russian bombing of maternity hospital ‘genocide’