UN delays crucial climate summit for a year, cites pandemic
Reuters The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the United Nations to delay until late 2021 a crucial climate summit that had been scheduled for Britain this year, officials said on Thursday. This year’s meeting, known as the COP26 summit, had been billed as the most important climate change summit since the 2015 talks that produced the […]
China parliament advances Hong Kong security law as US tensions rise
Hong Kong/Beijing, China/Washington DC, USReuters China’s parliament approved a decision on Thursday to go forward with national security legislation for Hong Kong that democracy activists in the city and Western countries fear could erode its freedoms and jeopardise its role as a global financial hub. China says the new legislation will aim to tackle secession, […]
Catholic Archbishop accuses Australian state government of inequitable pandemic rules
Canberra, AustraliaAP A Catholic archbishop has accused an Australian state government of inequitable pandemic rules by allowing up to 50 people into pubs while church congregations are limited to 10. Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher on Thursday encouraged Catholics to sign a petition calling on the New South Wales government to treat churches the same as […]
GreenSight: ‘Seorah’ or barley
ALVIN JOHNSON looks at Biblical mentions of barley, known as seorah…
Asia Bibi’s Christian brother-in-law killed in Pakistan
BosNewsLife The brother-in-law of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who faced the death penalty after being accused of blasphemy against Islam, has been killed, Christians have confirmed this week. The body of Younas Masih, 50, was reportedly found on 25th May in a furrow in Dao Ki Mallian village in the Sheikhupura district of Pakistan’s […]
Brazil’s anti-slavery rescuers resume raids after coronavirus halt
Rio de Janerio, BrazilThomson Reuters Foundation Brazilian anti-slavery rescuers have carried out their first raid after a two-month freeze due to the coronavirus outbreak, saying coffee farms will be their main priority when harvesting kicks off next month. As Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll surges, labour inspectors wore surgical masks or face shields and adhered to […]
Western fashion brands that “exploit” Bangladesh suppliers face blacklisting
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladeshi manufacturers said on Wednesday that they would blacklist Western fashion brands that “exploit” them by failing to pay their bills due to the new coronavirus crisis, days after threatening to sue a major British retailer over its debts. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has written to British billionaire […]
WHO creates foundation to boost funding in coronavirus fight
Geneva/Zurich, SwitzerlandReuters The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday the creation of a foundation to tap new sources of funding that could help ease a potential cash shortage as it leads the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Announcing the creation of the WHO Foundation at a virtual briefing, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denied […]
“Love feasts”: How Methodists are reviving a centuries old tradition online
KIMBERLY WINSTON reports for Religion Unplugged on the return of the Methodist ritual known as “love feasts”…
Beyond the pandemic, reimagining Italy’s Catholic clergy
AP When coronavirus struck inside Europe’s largest diocesan seminary, it upended the intense educational routine and spurred soul-searching among the nearly 130 young men studying to become Catholic priests. At Seminario di Milano in northern Italy, which has been preparing clergy since the mid-1500s, communal life turned into strict confinement to individual rooms, classes and […]