US to unveil “economy first” approach to Mideast peace at Bahrain conference
Manama,Bahrain/JerusalemReuters The first stage of President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan will be launched in Bahrain on Tuesday at a conference the White House touts as a bid to drum up $US50 billion in investment but which Palestinians deride as an “economy first” approach doomed to fail. The two-day international meeting, led by Trump’s […]
ON THE SCREEN: LATEST MIB OUTING NEURALYZES AUDIENCE WITH A FORGETTABLE EPISODE
MARCUS CHEONG is unimpressed by the fourth Men in Black outing…
Nuclear waste, rising seas and Trump: Marshall Islands struggles to stay above water
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The Marshall Islands is literally struggling to stay above water but its President Hilda Heine told Reuters she had saved her breath rather than try to persuade US President Donald Trump to hear its climate change message. Heine met Trump at the White House last month, along with the presidents of Palau and […]
Widows of suicide farmers to get land titles in Indian state
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Land titles of farmers who kill themselves in an Indian state will be given to their widows, according to a government order, granting inheritance equality in a nation where their property rights are often denied. A Maharashtra State Government order issued last week said the widows would also receive assistance with […]
South Sudan’s churches denounce stigmatisation of sexual violence survivors
The South Sudan Council of Churches has denounced the stigmatisation of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in the strife-torn African nation. In a statement released last week to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the council condemned sexual violence as “one of the most heinous crimes committed during conflicts” and […]
US finds Nigeria, Niger improving anti-trafficking efforts
Dakar, Senegal and Phnom Penh, CambodiaThomson Reuters Foundation Niger and Nigeria have improved their efforts to fight human trafficking, but still do not meet the minimum standards required, the US Government said last week in its closely watched annual assessment of how countries are performing. The US State Department upgraded both West African nations in […]
Updated: Folau crowdfunding shut down after $A750,000 raised
Updated 4.30pmMelbourne, AustraliaReuters Sacked Australia fullback Israel Folau’s crowdfunding campaign to raise money to fight his termination has been shut down by the GoFundMe platform, with more than $A750,000 to be refunded to thousands of donors. Folau launched his GoFundMe page on Friday, appealing for $A3 million he said he needed for a potentially long […]
SOUTH AMERICA: COLOMBIAN ARMED GROUPS RECRUITING DESPERATE VENEZUELANS, ARMY SAYS
HELEN MURPHY and LUIS JAIME ACOSTA, of Reuters, report…
Struggle for water intensifies as taps run dry in India
Beed, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Residents of the drought-hit Indian village of Salegaon are so desperate for water they have started lining up their pots two days before the tanker is due to arrive. When it does, the neatly lined up pots go flying as the villagers rush forward. Usually only about half get water, leaving […]
ESSAY: AIR INDIA ANNIVERSARY – WHO REMEMBERS THE CHILDREN KILLED IN CANADA’S LARGEST MASS MURDER?
CHANDRIMA CHAKRABORTY, of McMaster University in Canada, writes about a plane bombing, the worst terrorist act in Canadian history, which, he says, is little known even in Canada…