Roman Catholic Church
Sri Lanka launches probe after burning ship pollutes beaches
Sri Lanka launched a criminal probe on Sunday into a huge container ship fire that has swamped the island nation’s coast with plastic pollution causing probably one of its worst marine disasters in history. Tonnes of microplastic granules have inundated the South Asian country’s famed beaches in Negombo, a popular tourist destination, forcing a fishing ban and prompting fears of ecological damage. The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl has been smoldering on the horizon for 11 days after a blaze broke out as it was heading to Colombo from the Indian state of Gujarat. The 25-member crew, who have already been evacuated from the ship, will be questioned on Monday after a complaint was lodged by Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Authority, police said. Last week, authorities said t...
Jerusalem church suffers damage in arson near Garden of Gethsemane
Israeli police on Friday arrested a man for trying to set fire to an east Jerusalem church by the Garden of Gethsemane, the site revered by Christians as the place where Jesus prayed before he was crucified. The 49-year-old Israeli suspect poured flammable liquid inside the Church of All Nations, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The man then set it alight, a separate police statement said, before the church guard detained him. “Preliminary investigation and the suspect’s details strengthen the assessment that the background to the incident was criminal,” police said, suggesting investigators believed it was not a hate crime. Reuters pictures showed a charred bench and a small blackened portion of the mosaic floor of the Catholic church, which overlooks Jerusalem’s walled Old City. “T...
