“Total impunity” in India, as Muslims and Christians “bear brunt of ruling ideology”
World Watch Monitor Frequent reports of violent attacks against India’s religious minorities show the “total impunity” enjoyed by their Hindu nationalist attackers, says one civil rights activist. In one recent attack, a pastor, his wife and their congregation were attacked at their ‘house church’ in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state on Sunday, 8th July, advocacy […]
Can WhatsApp and motorbikes protect Africa’s food security?
Thomson Reuters Foundation A motorbike and reliable connectivity to watch football and chat on WhatsApp are the key to keeping young Africans in farming, a senior United Nations official said, as large-scale urban migration threatens food production on the continent. Africa already spends $US35 billion a year on importing food for its growing population despite […]
UN countries agree on pact to manage mass global migration
Thomson Reuters Foundation The United Nations agreed on Friday on wide-ranging ways to cope with the millions of migrants moving from country to country, overcoming “mistrust” and “difficult” issues to draw up the first-ever migration pact, officials said. The non-binding agreement, approved by all 193 member nations except the United States that pulled out last […]
Uniting Church of Australia adopts dual approach to marriage
The Uniting Church of Australia’s General Assembly has adopted a dual approach to marriage in acknowledgement of a “diversity of religious beliefs and ethical understandings…on matters relating to sexuality and marriage”. In a resolution adopted on Friday night in Melbourne, the assembly voted to recognise two statements of belief on marriage – one, expressed in a […]
Couple deported from Nepal for “converting Hindus into Christians”
World Watch Monitor A Christian couple have been deported from Nepal after they were accused of proselytism, a criminal offence in the country, reports national newspaper The Himalayan Times. De Vera Richard, from the Philippines, and his Indonesian wife Rita Gonga had been staying in Nepal on business visas and were running a restaurant, but were […]