Philippine residents retrieve animals, belongings amid threat of volcano eruption
Agoncillo, PhilippinesReuters Thousands of residents under orders to evacuate from a town near the Philippine volcano Taal were allowed to briefly visit homes on Friday to rescue their animals and recover some possessions, taking advantage of what appeared to be waning activity. Daniel Reyes, mayor of the Agoncillo town inside the danger zone of the […]
SNAPSHOT: GREEN HILLS NEAR BALAKOT, PAKISTAN
See MUHAMMAD KHUBAIB SARFRAZ’s image…
UK plans to green its fields in post-Brexit shakeup
Rome, ItalyThomson Reuters Foundation In the biggest shakeup of British farming for 70 years, the government on Thursday proposed rewarding farmers who protect the environment, rather than just paying them to own land. The bill would “transform British farming, enabling a balance between food production and the environment,” Theresa Villiers, Britain’s farm minister, said in […]
In the US, Faith in Action gears up for 2020 election season, with a focus on local offices
RNS For Rev Alvin Herring, executive director of the congregation-based organising network Faith in Action, wearing a clerical collar is about more than appearances. It prepares him for the task of making social change. “I consider this my uniform,” Herring said, gesturing toward his white collar as he addressed the crowd at the Vote Common […]
Deadly land dispute in Vietnam sparks crackdown on “critical” social media
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation A deadly land dispute in Vietnam has led to a crackdown on social media posts, a sign of growing heavy-handedness by authorities as rising demand for land spurs more conflicts across the country, analysts and human rights activists said. Four people were killed and dozens arrested last week in the northern […]
Trump pledges to prevent “unacceptable” repression of school prayer
Washington DC, USRNS President Donald Trump, surrounded by schoolchildren of a variety of faiths, has announced what he called “historic steps to protect the First Amendment right to pray in the public schools.” Within hours of senators being sworn in for Trump’s pending impeachment trial, the President and nine federal agencies on Thursday made moves […]
RACE: IN THE US, MULTI-RACIAL CHURCHES ARE GROWING BUT IT’S STILL CHALLENGING FOR CLERGY OF COLOUR
As the US prepares to mark Martin Luther King Day on 20th January, ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, reports on the “burgeoning movement” to integrate Christian worship services in the US…
Religions can be part of the solution for peace, not the problem, faith leaders say
Vatcian CityRNS When John Lennon wrote his hit song Imagine, eliminating religions and the divisions they entail was in his view a necessary condition for “living life in peace.” A meeting of religious representatives in Rome this week made the case for shifting that paradigm. The Abrahamic Faiths Initiative group united 25 religious leaders representing […]
ESSAY: THE AGE OF NONES MAY FAVOUR CHURCHES THAT WELCOME DOUBTERS
In an article first published by Religion News Service, RYAN BURGE, an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, looks at what the growing number of Americans who aren’t connected to a religious faith may mean for churches in the US…