Fears surge in demand for hand sanitiser could fuel child labour
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Soaring global demand for hand sanitiser to combat the new coronavirus could increase the use of forced and child labour in sugarcane plantations, UK-based researchers said on Thursday. Sugarcane is used to make ethanol for alcohol-based gels and seven of the world’s largest sugarcane producers – including Brazil, Mexico and Thailand […]
WHO’s Ryan: don’t turn COVID-19 into “political football”
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The World Health Organization’s top emergency expert, asked on Thursday about contradictory remarks by President Donald Trump and US health officials on COVID-19, said it was important for all countries to have “consistent messaging” for their public. Trump took exception on Wednesday to comments from the director of the US Centers for Disease […]
Global coronavirus cases to soon surpass 30 million – Reuters tally
Reuters Global coronavirus cases are expected to pass 30 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, with the pandemic showing no signs of slowing. India was firmly in focus as the latest epicentre, although North and South America combined accounted for almost half of the global cases. Iraqi men carry the coffin of a […]
Christian private school students more likely to have stable marriages, US study finds
Religion Unplugged A new study finds kids who attend Christian private schools in the US are more likely to marry and stay married and less likely to have a child out of wedlock than students who attend public schools. The study by the Institute of Family Studies and the American Enterprise Institute was released on […]
A Sustainable Life: Five ways to make your holidays more sustainable
As the world starts to open up again to travel, BRENDAN PADDISON and KARLA BOLUK, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at how to plan for more sustainable experiences…
Episcopal Diocese of Chicago planning to sell downtown headquarters
Chicago, USRNS The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago is planning to put its downtown headquarters up for sale. The dark, midcentury office building at 65 E Huron St, not far from the city’s downtown landmarks and glittering Magnificent Mile, houses the offices of the bishop, Episcopal Charities and next-door St James Cathedral. St James Commons, the […]
Restorers uncover new details in a Michelangelo Pieta
Rome, ItalyAP A restoration of one of Michelangelo’s sculptures of the Madonna and Christ has uncovered previously unknown details, including the artist’s tool marks, that had been hidden under centuries of dust and wax. Florence’s Museo dell’Opera del Duomo said Wednesday that the cleaning of the Bandini Pieta, which began last year but was suspended […]
In the US, Southern Baptists warm to alternate moniker ‘Great Commission Baptists’
RNS Months ahead of their planned annual meeting, some Southern Baptist leaders are embracing an unofficial moniker for their gathering and, in some cases, for themselves: Great Commission Baptists. The name simultaneously distances them from a regional affiliation and focuses on the command of Jesus for his followers to spread his message worldwide, some leaders […]
Catholic Church: Trial of lay leader highlights gaps in church’s sex abuse oversight
CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, of Religion News Service, reports from Catania, Italy, on the trial of Piero Alfio Capuana, lay leader of the Catholic Culture and Environment Association…
Beirut blast adds to women’s money and health worries in Lebanon
Amman, JordanThomson Reuters Foundation Almost six weeks after the Beirut port blast nearly blinded her in one eye, Kawthar Halabi has been unable to return to work as she is still having fragments of glass picked out of her flesh. After eight days in hospital, more than 50 stitches, eye surgery and with lingering trauma, […]