“Tax us”: World’s super-rich call for wealth tax to fund coronavirus relief
New York City, USThomson Reuters Foundation A group of the world’s super-rich including heiress Abigail Disney and the co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s urged governments on Monday to raise their taxes to help impoverished populations survive the coronavirus and its economic fallout. In an open letter, the 83 individuals with net worths of tens or […]
WHO sounds alarm as coronavirus cases rise by one million in five days
Reuters The number of coronavirus infections around the world hit 13 million on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, climbing by a million in just five days. The pandemic has now killed more than half a million people in six-and-a-half months, and World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there would be no return […]
Updated: Polish President wins second term after bitter campaign
Updated: 8am (AEST), 14th July, 2020Warsaw, PolandAP Polish President Andrzej Duda declared victory Monday in a runoff election in which he narrowly won a second five-year term, acknowledging the campaign he ran was often too harsh as he appealed for unity and forgiveness. The close race followed a bitter campaign between Duda and Warsaw Mayor […]
India plans rental homes to entice migrant workers back to cities
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation India has approved a plan to develop affordable rental housing for migrant workers after millions of labourers fled the nation’s cities for villages amidst coronavirus lockdowns that left many of them without jobs and homes. The scheme, part of a federal housing project aimed at providing housing for all by 2022, […]
War over words: US Scrabble leader overrules panel to ban slurs
New York City, USThomson Reuters Foundation North American Scrabble competitors will no longer be able to play racist and homophobic slurs from the “N-word” to “bumboy” and “poofs”, the head of the players’ association has said, in an 11th-hour ruling that went against his own advisory board. John Chew, chief executive of the North American […]
Malawi’s new female cabinet ministers vow to push for jobs for women
Blantyre, MalawiThomson Reuters Foundation Malawi’s newly-elected President Lazarus Chakwera has appointed women to a record 12 of 31 cabinet positions, with the new female leaders vowing to use their roles to help other women. Women now hold 39 per cent of the ministerial and deputy minister roles in the cabinet appointed by Chakwera, 65, who […]
Money talks: US town prints own currency to boost coronavirus relief
GREGORY SCRUGGS, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how one US town has come up with an innovative response to the coronavirus crisis…
Rio’s favelas turn to technology to fight underreporting of coronavirus cases
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilThomson Reuters Foundation Rio de Janeiro has more than 640 deaths from coronavirus in its favelas, a new information dashboard showed on Thursday, part of an effort to combat underreporting of the disease in the city’s slums. The dashboard, a collection of charts and information arranged in a graphic display, aggregates coronavirus […]
Essay: COVID-19 is more than a public health challenge: it’s a moral test
US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, on why the coronavirus pandemic is a moral crisis…
This Life: Let your light shine for all to see
US columnist CAROL ROUND, in an article first published on ASSIST News Service, looks at the importance of staying connected to the source of light during these times of division…