ROME - World hunger is rising, with 821 million people – 17 million more than in the previous year – going hungry in 2017, a UN report has revealed on Tuesday.

 It is the third year in a row that hunger in the world has continued to rise, returning to levels from a decade ago.

 The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, authored by FAO, IFAD, PAM UNICEF and WHO, named conflict, economic slowdown and climate change as the key forces behind rising global hunger levels.

VATICAN – Pope Francis to change at least three cardinals out of the nine that make up the “crown” council (C9), official sources said on Monday.

 Three cardinals of the council are accused of covering up members of the clergy involved in abuses. The Honduran national, Maradiaga, the Chilean, Errazuriz, and Australian George Pell, currently in Australia awaiting trial for a prior abuse issue, will be forced to step down from the C9.

HONDURAS - As the trial of eight men charged with the murder of Honduran indigenous leader Berta Cáceres begins, global organisations are calling for “real justice”.

 Global Witness and the Civil Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras (COPINH) – co-founded and led by Ms Cáceres at the time of her death – are calling on the Honduran government to prosecute those who ordered the murder, not just the eight accused of pulling the trigger.

SASSARI – Twenty-three people are under investigation following fascist salute video gone viral, said local newspaper, La Nuova Sardegna, on Monday.