US judge blocks 25 per cent capacity rule for religious services in New York
New York City, USAP A federal judge on Friday blocked New York state from enforcing coronavirus restrictions limiting indoor religious gatherings to 25 per cent capacity when other types of gatherings are limited to 50 per cent. Judge Gary Sharpe enjoined Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Attorney General Letitia […]
Mixed-race women sue Belgium for crimes against humanity
Brussels, BelgiumAP Five mixed-race women born in Congo when the country was under Belgian rule who were taken away from their Black mothers have filed a lawsuit for crimes against humanity targeting the Belgian state. With their claim, they hope Belgium will finally recognise its responsibility in the suffering endured by the thousands of mixed-race […]
Hit by coronavirus and wild weather, Italy now battles locusts
Rome, ItalyThomson Reuters Foundation Swarms of locusts have stripped thousands of hectares of pasture and cropland in Sardinia, devastating farmers already struggling from the coronavirus pandemic, farming groups said. Their numbers fuelled by rising temperatures, the pests have damaged nearly 15,000 hectares of grazing land in the central province of Nuoro, said Michele Arbau, of […]
On the frontlines: Africa’s unsung army of women wage war on COVID-19
NITA BHALLA and EMELINE WUILBERCQ, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on how women across Africa have taken up positions on the frontline of the battle to contain the coronavirus…
US faith leaders push Congress for bigger global virus response
New York City, USAP A group of faith leaders from all 50 states is urging the Senate to bolster its next pandemic relief bill with a multibillion-dollar investment in the global response to the coronavirus – a call they connect to “the enduring values of our country”. In an open letter to senators, co-authored by […]
US finds Bangladesh improving anti-trafficking efforts in annual report
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladesh has improved its efforts to combat human trafficking but must do more to increase convictions and investigate cases involving Rohingyas, according to the US Government’s annual report ranking countries on their anti-trafficking standards. The State Department upgraded the South Asian nation in its 2020 Trafficking in Persons report, which sorts […]