“Emerging crisis” as thousands flee rising farmer-herder violence in Nigeria
Thomson Reuters Foundation Tens of thousands of people have been uprooted by a recent surge in violence between farmers and herders in central Nigeria that may spiral further, aid workers and analysts said on Wednesday. Nomadic herdsmen and local farmers have for decades clashed over land and resources in the West African country, but fighting […]
APPS: HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT
DAVID ADAMS looks at a couple of simple – and free – apps that are all about helping the environment…
World Council of Churches head welcomes official end to war between Eritrea and Ethiopia
The head of the World Council of Churches has welcomed a joint declaration issued by the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Monday in which they declared an official end to the war between the two nations. Leaders of the two nations made the announcement following a two day summit between Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister […]
Outgoing Colombian president calls for end to mounting violence against activists
Thomson Reuters Foundation Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos spoke out on Monday to condemn the nation’s soaring violence against human rights leaders amid growing pressure that the government act more forcefully to end the bloodshed. Activists are being gunned down at a rate of one every three days in the Latin American country, rights groups […]
STRANGESIGHTS: THE DANGERS OF THE LIVE TV CROSS; A LATE PAYMENT; AND, A RECORD-BREAKING RUBIK’S FEAT…
DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
Algerian ‘happy to be free at last’ after jail sentence and fine for carrying Christian items
World Watch Monitor An Algerian Christian given a jail sentence and a fine for carrying a Bible and other Christian items has been acquitted. Idir Hamdad, 29, had been convicted in absentia on 28th September, 2017 (though he only learned about this five months later), and given the maximum sentence of six months in prison, […]
REFUGEES: ATTACK ON CHRISTIANS EXPOSES RELIGIOUS MINORITIES’ “EXTREME VULNERABILITY” IN CAMPS
World Watch Monitor reports from Greece after seven Christians from Iran were attacked recently in a refugee camp there…
What’s in a name? In the US, Episcopalians move to change their words for God
RNS For some watching (and blogging and tweeting) the debate on the floor of the Episcopal Church’s triennial General Convention this week, it sounded as if someone were trying to give God a sex change. Bishops, priests and lay delegates, who have been meeting in Austin since 5th July, are discussing legislation that would make changes to […]
ESSAY: HOW THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CAME TO OPPOSE BIRTH CONTROL
In an article first published on The Conversation, LISA MCCLAIN, professor of history and gender studies at Boise State University in the US, looks at the Catholic Church’s position on birth control, 50 years after the landmark ‘Humanae Vitae’…
POSTCARDS: AFTER DEVASTATING 2017 HURRICANES, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS RACE TO “BUILD BACK BETTER”
SEBASTIEN MALO, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on rebuilding efforts in one of the nations affected by last year’s hurricanes…