Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in “very poor” condition – agency
Updated: 9.30am, 31st August, 2019Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is in very poor condition because of climate change, over fishing and land clearing, a state agency said on Friday, as it downgraded the reef’s status to the lowest level, which could jeopardise its World Heritage status. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said […]
SNAPSHOT: NAMCHE BAZAAR, NEPAL
See KALLE KORTELAINEN’s image…
New Zealand measles outbreak prompts travel warning
Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand is asking travellers to make sure they are immunised for measles before travelling to its biggest city, Auckland, as the country faces its worst outbreak in over 22 years. “If you’re thinking of travelling into or out of Auckland, you should make sure you’re vaccinated at least two-weeks before you […]
THE GREAT SIGHT TRIVIA NIGHT (THE THIRD!)
Come and join in the fun at Sight’s biennial fundraiser, The Great Sight Trivia Night…
Boost for global climate fund as rich states pledge fresh billions
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Five wealthy nations have promised new contributions worth almost $US6 billion to the UN-backed Green Climate Fund, which is seeking to refill its coffers this year to ramp up efforts to help poorer countries combat climate change. The donations come ahead of an official pledging conference planned for the end of October, […]
Tokyo named world’s safest city, Amsterdam tops Europe ranking
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Tokyo was named the world’s safest city on Thursday by the Economist Intelligence Unit, in an index ranking cities’ ability to handle everything from climate disasters to cyber attacks. Singapore took second place after Japan’s capital while another Japanese metropolis, Osaka, came third – the same top three as the two previous […]
New hope for child rights after India gets tough on traffickers
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Campaigners hailed new hope for child rights on Thursday after a trafficker who tricked five Indian boys into menial work with the promise of better schooling was awarded a rare life sentence. “This is just the beginning,” Narendra Sikhwal, head of Jaipur’s child welfare committee, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “It […]
SHARING LIVES: ‘DINNER CHURCH’ MOVEMENT SETS THE TABLE FOR FOOD, FAITH AND FRIENDSHIPS
EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, looks at the US trend for so-called ‘dinner churches’…
Vaccines group seeks $US7.4 billion to save up to eight million lives
TokyoReuters The GAVI global vaccines alliance on Friday called on donors for $US7.4 billion to help immunise 300 million children against life-threatening diseases between 2021 and 2025, and save up to eight million lives. GAVI, which is backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organisation, donor governments and others, funds immunisation […]
ESSAY: THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT HAS RELEASED ITS DRAFT RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION BILL. HOW WILL IT WORK?
Australian academics and scholars LIAM ELPHICK, AMY MAGUIRE and ANJA HILKEMEIJER, in an article first published on The Conversation, look at how Australia’s proposed new religious freedom legislation will work…