Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias dies of cancer at 74
RNS Popular Christian evangelist and apologist Ravi Zacharias died Tuesday morning at age 74, a few months after being diagnosed with cancer. Zacharias rose to prominence in 1983 when he was invited by Billy Graham to speak at the inaugural International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists in Amsterdam, according to an obituary published by the ministry Zacharias founded. […]
WHO chief says he will keep leading virus response after Trump threat; aid agencies slam Security Council
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The World Health Organization’s head said on Tuesday he would keep leading the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off funding and quit the body. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus defended the agency’s role after the United States again withheld full support for a resolution […]
Bangladesh unions urge factories to do more to protect workers from coronavirus
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Garment manufacturers in Bangladesh are failing to meet their own safety guidelines set up to protect workers from the coronavirus as factories reopen, union leaders have warned. Bangladesh extended a nationwide shutdown on Thursday after daily reported deaths from the virus hit a new high, but restrictions on the garment sector, […]
Somalia sees “massive” rise in FGM during lockdown and Ramadan
London, UK Thomson Reuters Foundation Somalia’s coronavirus lockdown has led to a huge increase in female genital mutilation, with circumcisers going door-to-door offering to cut girls stuck at home during the pandemic, a charity said on Monday. Plan International said the crisis was undermining efforts to eradicate the practice in Somalia, which has the world’s […]
Vatican ties virus rethink to Pope’s environmental appeal
Vatican CityAP The Vatican is marking the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical by calling for the world to map out a sustainable post-coronavirus future that considers the plight of the hungry and poor. To kick off the week, 42 faith organisations from 14 countries announced they were divesting from fossil fuels. Among them […]
Iraq’s stalled domestic violence bill may be revived by new government
Amman, JordanThomson Reuters Foundation Fears of increased domestic violence during Iraq’s coronavirus lockdown will spur the new government to push through long-stalled legislation to protect victims, the head of the cabinet’s women’s rights department said on Monday. Campaigners and UN agencies have stepped up demands for the law to be passed following the highly publicised […]
Italy opens churches as virus rules dictate how to eat, pray
Vatican CityAP Italy and the Vatican allowed the first public Masses to be celebrated since March on Monday as coronavirus restrictions eased further, following a sharp confrontation between church and state over limits on worshiping in the era of COVID-19. Guards in hazmat suits took the temperature of the faithful entering St Peter’s Basilica, where […]
Family violence (I)
Family violence has hit the headlines and quite rightly. No woman or man should feel in danger in their own home. PICTURE: Melanie Wasser/Unsplash There are some who hide behind the Biblical notion of male headship for such violence. This is a travesty. Christians, let’s be clear: the Bible never justifies hitting or controlling your […]
Food security: Pakistan readies for second battle against crop-devouring locusts
ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on the threat locusts may again pose to Pakistan’s food production…
GOD TV spat exposes tensions between Israel, evangelicals
Jerusalem, IsraelAP An evangelical broadcaster who boasted of miraculously securing a TV license in Israel now risks being taken off the air over suspicions of trying to convert Jews to Christianity. The controversy over GOD TV has put both Israel and its evangelical Christian supporters in an awkward position, exposing tensions the two sides have […]