Fiji to postpone sports contests as it battles measles outbreak
Reuters Fiji has asked its sports federations to postpone all competitions until January, in a bid to rein in the spread of a measles outbreak that has killed dozens in the neighbouring Pacific nation of Samoa. The highly infectious disease has been crossing the globe, recently finding a susceptible population in Samoa, where the official […]
Israel Folau settles unfair dismissal case with Rugby Australia
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Former Wallabies fullback Israel Folau has settled his unfair dismissal case with Rugby Australia and Super Rugby team the New South Wales Waratahs, bringing an end to a prolonged and bitter dispute triggered by an explosive social media post. Folau, a fundamentalist Christian, launched legal action after his four-year contract was torn up […]
Fighting fire with…volunteers? Indonesia ramps up community fire brigades as tropical forests burn
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation Thousands of volunteers fighting forest fires in Indonesia will receive a boost in funding that could help stem air pollution and reduce emissions, according to a United Nations official. About 7,000 farmers have been trained to tackle fires since 2013 in a pioneering United Nations-backed project aimed at saving tropical […]
As lungs pay cost of dirty fuels, UN urges action on climate health risks
Madrid, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation Human health is paying the price of the world’s failure to curb global warming, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday, urging governments at UN climate talks to cut climate-changing emissions faster and provide funds to address growing threats. Those range from lung and heart problems caused by toxic air to […]
Australia restricts medical transfer of refugees from Pacific camps
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia on Wednesday removed the right of doctors to order sick asylum seekers be evacuated from two remote Pacific detention centres for medical treatment, a repeal that opponents said risks the lives of refugees. Under Australia’s controversial immigration policy, asylum seekers intercepted at sea are sent to camps in Papua New Guinea and […]
Malaria fight stalling at “unacceptably high level” of deaths – WHO
London, UKReuters Malaria still infects millions of people every year and kills more than 400,000 – mostly children in Africa – because the fight against the mosquito-borne disease has stalled, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. Funding for the global battle against malaria – which kills a child every two minutes – is broadly […]
UK ELECTION: CHIEF RABBI’S ATTACK ON ANTI-SEMITISM KEYS RECKONING OVER FAITH
CATHERINE PEPINSTER, writing for Religion News Service, reports from the UK…
Sainthood process for US Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen stalled
RNS The beatification of late Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen was postponed this week, marking the latest setback on the road to sainthood for the beloved television and radio preacher. Sheen was an early adopter of mass media as a form of evangelisation in the United States, regularly appearing on The Catholic Hour radio program from 1930 to […]
ESSAY: WHY SUPPORT FOR THE DEATH PENALTY IS MUCH HIGHER AMONG WHITE AMERICANS
In an article first published on The Conversation, KEVIN O’NEAL COKLEY, director of the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis at the University of Texas at Austin, looks at the connections between the death penalty and issues like race and gender in the US…