Retire gavel named for slaveholder, Southern Baptist President JD Greear says
RNS For most of their history, Southern Baptists have opened their meetings with a gavel named for a slaveholder. The president of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination now says that gavel should be retired. Southern Baptist Convention President JD Greear brings the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention to order using the 1872 Broadus […]
US general says he was wrong to accompany Trump on church walk
Washington DC, USAP US Army General Mark Milley, the nation’s top military officer, said Thursday he was wrong to accompany President Donald Trump on a walk through Lafayette Square that ended in a photo op at a church. He said his presence in uniform amid protests over racial injustice “created a perception of the military […]
A Sustainable Life: Turn off the porch light – six easy ways to stop light pollution from harming our wildlife
In an article first published on The Conversation, academics EMILY FOBERT, KATHERINE DAFFORN and MARIANA MAYER-PINTO look at how you can help reduce light pollution impacts on wildlife…
Australian PM draws criticism for “no slavery in Australia” comment
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australian officials warned Black Lives Matter supporters they could be arrested if they breach coronavirus restrictions to take part in public protests, as debate erupted over the country’s own Indigenous history. Prime Minister Scott Morrison drew strong criticism on Thursday after he said “there was no slavery in Australia” during a discussion of […]
StrangeSights: Social distancing shoes; a garage gallery; and, world’s smallest chessboard…
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
Brazil deforested 10,000 square km of Amazon rainforest in 2019, up 34 per cent on previous year
Brasilia, BrazilReuters Deforestation of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest was worse than previously reported in 2019, revised government data showed on Tuesday, during the first year of President Jair Bolsonaro, who is keen to develop the forest crucial to curbing global warming. Brazil’s space research agency INPE recorded 10,129 square kilometers of deforestation for its benchmark annual […]
WHO hopes to work with US on Ebola despite Trump criticism
Geneva/Zurich SwitzerlandReuters The World Health Organization hopes to work “side by side” with the United States to contain an outbreak of Ebola in Congo, its chief said on Wednesday, despite their differences over the new coronavirus. President Donald Trump said last month he was ending the US relationship with the WHO over its handling of […]
Facebook, Twitter, Google to report monthly on fake news fight, EU says
Brussels, BelgiumReuters Facebook, Google and Twitter should provide monthly reports on their fight against disinformation, two senior EU officials said on Wednesday as they called out Russia and China for their roles in the spread of fake news. The comments by EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell and the European Commission’s Vice President for values […]
Coronavirus shocks to fuel years of unrest and hunger in poorest economies
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Economic shocks caused by the new coronavirus are set to fuel poverty, unrest and instability in heavily-indebted and politically fragile countries for years to come, found an international thinktank on Wednesday. The pandemic’s impacts will undo years of socio-economic development for some countries, the Institute for Economics and Peace said in a […]
US protests: Pope sends strong message to US Catholics after Floyd death
NICOLE WINFIELD and ELANA SCHOR, of Associated Press, report on the Vatican’s response to the US protests…