Sanders quits US presidential race, setting up Biden battle with Trump
Washington DC, USReuters Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist whose progressive agenda pushed the Democratic Party sharply to the left, ended his White House campaign on Wednesday, clearing the way for a 3rd November election battle between former Vice President Joe Biden and Republican President Donald Trump. Sanders, a onetime front-runner who promised to lead a […]
WHO head defends handling of coronavirus pandemic against Trump criticism; coronavirus latest
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The head of the World Health Organization gave a strident defence of his agency’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, in response to US President Donald Trump’s criticism and suggestion that Washington could review its funding for the agency. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for unity and a halt to […]
Cyclone Harold flattens homes, brings injuries in Fiji
Sydney, AustraliaReuters A powerful tropical cyclone battered the South Pacific island nation of Fiji on Wednesday, witnesses said, destroying buildings and causing injuries in Suva, the capital, pressuring a population already bracing for the coronavirus outbreak. Cyclone Harold, its strength ranked in the highest category of five, passed over Fiji’s south at about midday, levelling […]
StrangeSights: Easter Bunny an “essential worker” in NZ; putting out the bins gets a makeover; and, Welsh animals enjoy new-found freedom…
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
Largest supermoon of 2020 rises on a world battling COVID-19
Reuters The largest, brightest supermoon of 2020 rose in the night sky on Tuesday over hushed cities, stilled factories and countries in lockdown due to the novel coronavirus that has killed tens of thousands worldwide. If the moon is within 10 per cent of its closest distance to the earth at the moment of full […]
Seek help, say Middle East women’s groups as domestic violence surges
Amman, Jordan/Cairo, EgyptThomson Reuters Foundation Coronavirus lockdowns have brought a surge in reports of domestic violence in the Middle East, women’s groups have said, warning hard-won gains in protection for victims are at risk. In Lebanon, calls to a government domestic violence hotline have doubled; in Tunisia, authorities say cases have increased five-fold, while in […]
“Tip of the iceberg”: Racing the clock to contain coronavirus in the world’s slums
Delhi, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation The first coronavirus death in one of Asia’s largest slums has fuelled concerns of the virus spreading unchecked in places where people live cheek by jowl, with aid agencies racing to prepare for the worst. Dharavi, a sprawling slum in Mumbai housing about one million people, reported its first death from […]
Church impact: During pandemic, small and aging US churches face obstacles to adapt
ALEJANDRA MOLINA, of Religion News Service, reports on how smaller and older churches in the US are working to stay afloat in the midst of the coronavirus crisis…
Coronavirus forces Afghanistan’s child workers off the streets
Kabul, AfghanistanThomson Reuters Foundation Standing on his rooftop, Massoud pulled the string hard, letting his kite soar high above the colourfully-painted houses of his Kabul neighbourhood. Just like the 12-year-old, many children have taken to the roofs as Afghanistan’s capital went quiet, catching the first warm rays of the spring sun or chasing each other’s […]
Essay: Fearing courageously in the face of COVID-19
In an article first published on Religion News Service, WARREN KINGDOM, a psychiatrist and theologian at Duke University and co-director of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative at Duke Divinity School, writes about the idea of “healthy fear” and its relationship to love…