Today’s News Briefs include the Pope visiting the world’s most populous Muslim country; Oregon reverses legalization of hard drugs; Putin attacks Ukraine on back-to-school day; and Anti-Israel protests carry Hamas flags.
Anti-Israel protesters wave Hamas, Hezbollah flags in New York
Pope lands in world’s most populous Muslim nation
Pope Francis on Tuesday landed in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country. It will be the “longest and farthest trip of his tenure to the Asia Pacific region,” reports the BBC. The 12-day trip will also take him to Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Timor-Leste – the only one of the four countries that is predominantly Christian. Asia Pacific is one of only a few places in the world where the Catholic Church is growing in terms of baptized faithful and religious vocations. “Today I begin an Apostolic Journey to several countries in Asia and Oceania,” he tweeted Monday. “Please pray that this journey may bear fruit.” Since his election in 2013, the Pope has urged the Catholic Church to bring God’s comfort “toward the periphery” – referring to communities who are marginalized or far away.
Putin rains missiles on Ukraine’s national back-to-school day
Russia this morning rained down a barrage of cruise and ballistic missiles on Ukraine on its national back-to-school day Monday. Kyiv, which took the brunt of the attack took the brunt of the attack. Classes were canceled in some districts after schools were destroyed. “Several series of explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital. Debris from intercepted missiles and drones fell in every district of Kyiv, wounding three people and damaging two kindergartens and causing multiple fires reports the AP. Oksana Argunova, an 18-year-old student, said she was still shaking after the scare. “I woke up, my neighbor was shouting: ‘Let’s go down (to the shelter), there are big explosions.’ We all ran,” Argunova told the AP. In other areas, students carried their traditional flowers to their teachers, reported the CBC.
Oregon’s experiment to legalize drugs fails
Oregon is recriminalizing the possession of hard drugs, including fentanyl and heroin, as drug abuse soars across the state. The reversal comes four years after voters legalized possession of many drugs, the first in the nation to do so, according to Axios. The new law went into effect on Sunday. According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon has one of the highest rates of drug abuse in the nation and was the first to push through mass decriminalization. The majority of counties across the state have been forced to ask for additional funding to create additional capacity in their drug rehabilitation facilities.
–Dwight Widaman