Sudanese government gives back 19 properties to church body
World Watch Monitor The Sudanese government has returned ownership of 19 properties to the Sudanese Church of Christ, two years after it confiscated them. The land-ownership documents were handed back on Monday, a local source told World Watch Monitor. In August a Sudanese court ruled against the government and ordered that administration of properties be returned to the […]
Support growing for an “international instrument” to curb trade in capital punishment/torture devices, says Alliance for Torture-Free Trade
Support is growing for an “international instrument” aimed at curbing the trade in goods used for capital punishment and torture, according to the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade. Cecilia Malmstrom during the ministerial meeting of the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade. PICTURE: © European Union, 2018 . Formed last year as an initiative of Argentina, the EU and Mongolia, […]
STRANGESIGHTS: DON’T ARGUE, ‘QAPIK’ IS TOO A SCRABBLE WORD; ROBOT “REMBRANDT” TO BE AUCTIONED; AND, CATHAY’S SPELLING SLIP…
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
Global $US500 million data drive aims to end hunger by boosting harvests
Thomson Reuters Foundation A $US500 million data drive aims to improve the harvests of hundreds of millions of farmers worldwide as rising hunger levels threaten a global goal to end hunger by 2030, organisations involved in the initiative said on Tuesday. Developing countries and donors launched the ’50 X 2030′ scheme on the sidelines of […]
Religious freedom a prerequisite for sustainable development, expert says
World Watch Monitor As half a million people in 900 cities around the world campaign for “sustainable” development goals, Brian Grim, president of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, argues that this cannot be achieved without religious freedom. “There is a strong and positive relationship between religious freedom and sustainable development as embodied in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted […]
FILM: NEW ‘TRUMP PROPHECY’ MOVIE HIGHLIGHTS BELIEF THAT ELECTION WAS GOD’S PLAN
STEVE RABEY, writing for Religion News Service, looks at a new movie based on the premise that Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 election was God’s will – part of the small, but influential ‘Trump prophecy’ movement…
South Sudan surgeon wins UN prize for treating war-hit refugees
Thomson Reuters Foundation A South Sudanese surgeon, who has spent two decades helping the sick and injured in the war-torn east African nation, was on Tuesday announced the winner of a UN prize for treating tens of thousands of people forced to flee violence and persecution. Evan Atar Adaha – a 52-year-old doctor who runs the […]
ESSAY: WORRIED ABOUT AI TAKING OVER THE WORLD? YOU MAY BE MAKING SOME RATHER UNSCIENTIFIC ASSUMPTIONS
In an article first published on The Conversation, ELENI VASILAKI, professor of computational neuroscience at the University of Sheffield in the UK, addresses some key concerns about the future of artificial intelligence…
Red flags raised as global pact to improve the world hits third year
Thomson Reuters Foundation Many countries will fail to end hunger, educate all children or offer better lives to stem migration by 2030 without major world efforts to achieve a set of global goals that marked their third anniversary on Tuesday, experts said. A report by aid group, the International Rescue Committee, and UK think tank […]