Actions speak louder than words, anti-slavery advocates tell Commonwealth
Thomson Reuters Foundation Commonwealth nations must not only denounce modern slavery but take the lead on global efforts to eradicate the trade by 2030 by strengthening laws, working with businesses and protecting women and girls from being enslaved, activists said on Tuesday. Leaders of the 53 country Commonwealth, mostly former British colonies representing 2.4 billion […]
Paradise lost? Barbuda land activists seek action from Commonwealth
Thomson Reuters Foundation Activists are urging Commonwealth leaders meeting in Britain this week to throw their weight behind a campaign to preserve a centuries-old communal land ownership system on the Caribbean island of Barbuda. After Britain abolished slavery in its colonies in 1834, Barbudans developed a system of communal land ownership, now threatened by government […]
“Extremists given a free hand” – Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
World Watch Monitor Two Pakistani Christians were killed and at least three injured in a drive-by shooting on Sunday in Essa Nagri, a Christian-majority area in Quetta, capital of the impoverished Balochistan province in the south-west. The victims, aged 19 and 28, had just left a Seventh-day Adventist church service when they were gunned down […]
Australia vows to fight trafficking for orphanage tourism in South-East Asia
Thomson Reuters Foundation Australia is cracking down on so-called orphanage tourism to prevent trafficking of children in South-East Asia, trying to tame demand from tourists wanting to do good, top politicians said on Monday. Children in countries such as Cambodia are taken from their homes and put into orphanages to attract donations and support from […]
FREE WILL
I brought my puppet in today. Say ‘g’day’ Hairy. None of them are Hairy – but they are puppets all the same. PICTURE: Robert Zunikoff/Unsplash Hang on, I’m not a puppet. Yes you are. No I’m not. You don’t control me. Nice one Hairy. If you’re in control could I do this? (Hits Paul in […]
REFUGEES: “RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK” TO BOLSTER ROHINGYA CAMPS AGAINST RAINS
JARED FERRIE reports for the Thomson Reuters Foundation on growing concerns over the plight of the Rohingya Muslims living in camps in Bangladesh as the monsoon arrives…
Turkish court puts trial of US pastor on hold for three weeks
World Watch Monitor Andrew Brunson got his first day in a Turkish court Monday to answer espionage charges. It will be three weeks until he gets his second. The American-born Ps Brunson, pastor of a small Protestant church, told the court he denies any wrongdoing. He is accused of supporting the attempted 2016 coup of […]
ESSAY: “I HAVE MADE SERIOUS MISTAKES” SAYS POPE. “I ASK FORGIVENESS”
Religion News Service columnist THOMAS REESE on why Pope Francis was right to ask for forgiveness over his handling of the sex abuse crisis in Chile…
SIGHT-SEEING: WHAT HAS RELIGION EVER DONE FOR ME?
AMANDA JACKSON looks at how religion has played a role in her life…
World Council of Churches reiterates call for ceasefire in Syria in wake of missile strikes
The World Council of Churches has again called for an immediate ceasefire in Syria, urging the international community to find a way to “break the cycle of violence”. In a statement issued on Monday in the wake of US, UK and French missile strikes on suspected Syrian Government chemical weapons sites, the WCC said that […]