Australia unveils religious freedom bill, after rugby star sacked for ‘hell awaits homosexuals’ post
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia on Thursday proposed legislation to protect people who express their religious faith outside of the workplace, a few months after Rugby Union international Israel Folau was sacked for posting on social media that hell awaited “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers”. Attorney-General Christian Porter said the proposal would allow Australians to express their religious beliefs […]
From Yemen to South Sudan, climate and water stress seen worsening conflict
Stockholm, SwedenThomson Reuters Foundation Social and political tensions fuelled by climate change have yet to translate into international military confrontations, but local conflicts are heating up due to pressures such as drought and water scarcity, officials and researchers said on Wednesday. In fragile states like Yemen and South Sudan, competition for scarce natural resources is […]
ON THE SCREEN: ‘OVERCOMER’ RUNS AN INSPIRATIONAL AND EMOTIONAL RACE
MARCUS CHEONG watches US Christian writer/director Alex Kendrick’s latest film…
Global measles cases three times higher than last year – WHO
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Every region in the world, except the Americas, is experiencing an increase in the number of cases of measles, a vaccine-preventable disease that can kill or disable children, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The WHO’s Kate O’Brien put the blame on weak health systems and misinformation about vaccines, and called on […]
Swedish teen climate activist arrives in New York by boat for UN summit
New York City, USReuters Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg sailed into New York Harbor on Wednesday in a zero-carbon emissions vessel, completing her nearly 14 day journey from England to take part in a United Nations climate summit. The 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl, who set sail from Plymouth, England, on 14th August, was greeted by cheers, […]
Indian state expands work scheme to tackle exploitation
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation An Indian state with some of the country’s highest levels of migration driven by poverty is doubling the amount of paid work it gives some of its poorest citizens, in a bid to curb debt bondage, a common form of slavery. Authorities in the eastern state of Odisha said hundreds of […]
AMAZON FIRES: HOW BLAZES ARE DEEPENING A SPLIT BETWEEN BRAZIL’S EVANGELICALS AND FELLOW CHRISTIANS
EDUARDO CAMPOS LIMA, of Religion News Service, reports…
Pope Francis says key to Christian faith is to “obey God before men”
Vatican CityRNS Pope Francis prayed for the strength to stand up against coercion and opposition and said during his weekly general audience that the “great Christian answer” is to “obey God before men”. “We ask the Holy Spirit for the strength to not be afraid of those who command us to be silent, who slander […]
ESSAY: MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR’S’, “DREAM” AND EMMETT TILL’S DEATH CAPTURE WARRING SOUL OF THE US
In an article first published on Religion News Service, author KELLY BROWN DOUGLAS, dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary and the Canon Theologian at the Washington National Cathedral in the US, reflects on the “warring soul” of America…
WOW!: TECH TOOL AIMS TO STOP “BOTTLENECKS” IN REACHING UK HOMELESS
SONIA ELKS, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from London…