Australia promises national vote on recognition of Indigenous people by 2022
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia will hold a national vote within three years on whether to include recognition of Indigenous people in its constitution, the government said on Wednesday, an issue that has spurred decades of often heated debate. Australia has struggled to reconcile with descendants of its first inhabitants, who arrived on the continent about 50,000 […]
Australia’s Morrison calls for more prayer and religious freedom
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia needs more prayer, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a devout Christian, has said, vowing that his administration would do whatever needed to be done by way of legislation to protect religious expression, now at the centre of a national debate. Australia has no bill of rights or explicit protections for religious freedoms, but […]
Gunmen massacre 18, including children, in Papua New Guinea attack
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Gunmen have massacred as many as 18 people including women and children in a remote village in Papua New Guinea, apparently the latest victims of a tribal feud, and Prime Minister James Marape vowed on Wednesday to hunt down the killers. Violence has long ravaged the poor but resource-rich Pacific Ocean nation, but […]
Despite funding loss, cities vow to continue resilience push
Rotterdam, The NetherlandsThomson Reuters Foundation In the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, nine “water plazas” have been created that soak up excess rainfall while offering people a green space to meet and children to play. The city is also planting gardens and putting solar panels on a growing area of its nearly 20 square kilometres […]
Bangladesh boosts efforts to stop trafficking of Rohingya amid US criticism
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladesh is striving to stop Rohingya refugees from being trafficked but the crackdown will “take some time”, an official said after the United States criticised the South Asian nation in its annual report on nations’ efforts to tackle trafficking. The US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report last month found […]
RUSSIA: ORTHODOX CHURCH CONSIDERS A BAN ON BLESSING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
MARC BENNETTS, writing for Religion News Service, reports from Moscow…
Japan, South Korea raise stakes in dispute over forced labour
Tokyo, Japan/Seoul, South KoreaReuters Japan and South Korea raised the stakes on Tuesday in a dispute that threatens to disrupt global supplies of smartphones and chips, with South Korea denouncing Japanese reports it had transferred a sensitive chemical to North Korea. At the root of the diplomatic row between the two US allies is compensation […]
ESSAY: WHY LISTENING MATTERS. EVEN IF YOU THINK THE OTHER SIDE IS WRONG
Authors of a new book on cultural engagement, KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR and JOSHUA CHATRAW, in an essay published on Religion News Service, look at the importance among Christians of listening…
POSTCARDS: AS WATER DISAPPEARS, PARCHED SOUTHERN PAKISTAN FARMERS MARCH NORTH
ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Pakistan…
UK aims to uncover more traffickers with new modern slavery research centre
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Britain is aiming to uncover the true scale of modern slavery and expose more trafficking networks through the creation of a £10 million research centre involving academics, charities and firms, the government said on Tuesday. The initiative will drive research and boost collaboration in Britain and abroad between various sectors, focusing on […]