On Christianity’s most joyful day, Pope Francis lamented the horrors generated by war and hatred, delivering an Easter Sunday message that also decried the “latest vile” attack on civilians in Syria. Both in his impromptu homily during Mass in St. Peter’s Square and later in his formal “Urbi et Orbi” Easter message delivered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis reflected on a litany of suffering in the world, including wars, oppressive regimes, human trafficking, corruption, famine and domestic violence. He encouraged people to hold fast in their “fearful hearts” to faith, acknowledging that many people wonder where God is …read more Source: Loop News...
It’s a familiar refrain: A new American president seeks improved relations with Russia. And like his predecessors, Donald Trump is running into a thicket of obstacles, new and old, to even maintaining a functioning relationship with Moscow. For Trump, the grievances inherited from Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have been compounded by Russian-backed Syria’s chemical weapons attacks, retaliatory U.S. missile strikes, election meddling allegations and Ukraine’s unsolved crisis. At the center of each problem is an energized and uncompromising force: Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Things will work out fine between the U.S.A. and Russia,” Trump nevertheless tweeted Thursday, as …read more Source: Loop News...
The easy part was shutting down Russia’s anti-doping agency until further notice. The hard part for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was, well, everything else. WADA’s top policymaking board handed down a declaration of noncompliance to Russia’s anti-doping agency Wednesday, in a much-expected rebuke for the country where...
