POSTCARDS: CHURCH IN BALI EMPOWERS YOUTH TO BREAK CYCLE OF POVERTY
IVARS KUPCIS, in an article first published on the World Council of Churches’ website, reports from the Indonesian island of Bali…
Quick facts: Cyclone Idai’s trail of destruction across south-east Africa
Thomson Reuters Foundation Rescue teams in south-east Africa were struggling on Wednesday to reach people stranded by flooding after Cyclone Idai killed hundreds and left a trail of destruction in one of the worst natural disasters to hit southern Africa in decades. Mozambique started three days of national mourning for those killed in what has […]
Most US Christians find Trump signing Bibles inappropriate: poll
RNS If Donald Trump were the Pope or another Christian leader, the majority of US Christians likely wouldn’t have minded that he signed a Bible. Only 39 per cent of Christians in the US think it would be inappropriate for a pastor, priest or Christian leader to sign the cover of a Bible. Similarly, 35 […]
STRANGESIGHTS: THE IMPACTS OF MUSIC ON CHEESE; CALIFORNIA’S ‘FLINTSTONE HOUSE’ NOT WELCOME; AND, PROTECTING SMARTPHONE ZOMBIES…
DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
UN discloses rise in sex abuse cases, ascribes it to better reporting
Thomson Reuters Foundation There was a significant rise in reports of sexual exploitation and abuse involving United Nations staff and affiliates last year, the UN said in a report on Monday, ascribing the increase largely to an improved atmosphere and oversight. Just over 200 people reported sexual violence and exploitation at the hands of UN […]
Poor people’s right to water cut off by thirsty exports, unequal supply
Thomson Reuters Foundation Yogita has to fetch water up to six times a day – sometimes going out in the middle of the night – from a hand pump about half a kilometre from her house in India’s Madhya Pradesh state, leaving her baby son with a neighbour. In the summer, her husband cycles three […]
Boko Haram militants terrify residents in attacks in north-east Nigeria
Morning Star News After burning a church building in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state on 14th March, Boko Haram terrorists yesterday evening attacked a Christian-majority town in neighboring Adamawa state, sources said. Area residents said Muslim extremists of the Boko Haram insurgency last night invaded Michika, a town they had seized in September, 2014, and held […]
Complaints about safety in Bangladesh factories hit a high in 2018
Thomson Reuters Foundation Garment factory workers in Bangladesh filed a record number of complaints about safety – 662 – last year, showing that a mechanism set up by European fashion brands to improve working conditions was proving effective, trade unions said on Tuesday. The Bangladesh Accord was signed by some 200 global brands and unions […]
Cyclone Idai could be one of the worst disasters to hit southern hemisphere, says UN
The destructive cyclone that tore through Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi late last week could be one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit the southern hemisphere, the UN have said. It’s estimated that as many as 2.6 million people have been affected by the cyclone and while the official death toll in the three […]
ESSAY: CHRISTCHURCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP
Writing from London in the wake of last week’s terror attack in New Zealand, MAL FLETCHER looks at the issue of social media regulation…