SNAPSHOT: HINDMARSH ISLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
See TREVOR MCKINNON’s image…
Government contractors could refuse LGBT+ workers under new US religious exemption
New York City, USThomson Reuters Foundation US businesses with Federal Government contracts would be allowed not to hire LGBT+ candidates on religious grounds under a proposed rule announced on Wednesday by the US Department of Labor. The policy change would state that government contractors, including universities, hospitals and corporations, can claim religious exemptions in employment […]
Levis and Wrangler vow to protect women making jeans from sexual abuse
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Three major US brands vowed to crack down on abuse in Lesotho factories making their jeans on Thursday after an investigation found women were forced into sex to keep their jobs. Levi Strauss & Co, Kontoor Brands – which owns Wrangler and Lee jeans – and The Children’s Place signed agreements […]
Pacific Islands leaders agree on climate plan – with loopholes
Funafuti, TuvaluReuters Pacific Islands leaders failed to agree on tough new climate change commitments at an annual summit on Thursday, agreeing instead to endorse a plan that allows them to opt out of specific measures they opposed. Some leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum had hoped all 18 members would commit to policies that limit […]
NO COUNTRY AND NO WORK: REFUGEES DESPAIR AT SLOW PACE OF MALAYSIA’S REFORMS
BEH LIH YI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on the plight of refugees in Malaysia as they wait for resettlement elsewhere…
Hunger driving migration in drought-hit Central America – UN
Bogota, ColombiaThomson Reuters Foundation Poor harvests and prolonged drought are driving rural families in parts of Central America from their homes to seek better opportunities in their own or neighboring countries and in the United States, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Five years of recurring droughts have destroyed maize and bean harvests, leaving poor […]
ESSAY: AMERICANS’ SUPPORT FOR IMMIGRATION IS AT RECORD HIGHS – BUT THE GOVERNMENT IS OUT OF SYNC WITH THEIR VIEWS
In an article first published on The Conversation, MARIANO SANA, of Vanderbilt University, looks at what polls show about American views on immigration…
OPEN BOOK – PAUL’S GALATIAN LETTER: ONCE MORE WITH EMPHASIS
BRUCE C WEARNE tackles a passage in Galatians 6 that’s all about emphasing what’s gone before…
In the US, a United Methodist group proposes a denominational breakup
RNS A dozen United Methodists meeting secretly in Indianapolis earlier this summer have unveiled a blueprint for spinning off one or two new denominations, hoping to put an end to decades of battles over LGBTQ inclusion. The plan would allow the United Methodist Church to create a new, fully independent body for more conservative or […]