Wow!: Polyester from pollution? Fashion’s next generation goes green
THIN LEI WIN, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how European start-ups are working to transform the fashion industry…
Germany agrees $US662 million to aid Holocaust survivors
Berlin, GermanyAP Germany has agreed to provide more than a half billion euros to aid Holocaust survivors struggling under the burdens of the coronavirus pandemic, the organisation that negotiates compensation with the German Government said Wednesday. The payments will be going to approximately 240,000 survivors around the world, primarily in Israel, North America, the former […]
‘Cardinal’s lady’ arrested in Milan is latest to be accused in widening Vatican scandal
Vatican CityRNS Italian police arrested Cecilia Marogna, a figure connected to recent scandals over allocations of Vatican funds, in Milan on Tuesday and accused her of embezzlement. The judicial authorities at the Vatican issued an international arrest warrant for Marogna, known as “the cardinal’s lady” by local media for her connection to Cardinal Angelo Becciu, […]
Aid watchdog ranks UK efforts to end modern slavery as unsatisfactory
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Britain’s multi-million aid programs to tackle modern slavery worldwide are not underpinned by a clear strategy and have produced little evidence of long-term impacts to reduce such abuses, said an independent aid watchdog on Wednesday. Officials have launched “innovative” schemes to tackle the issue but must do more to ensure they […]
WHO fears spike in deaths after global COVID-19 surge
Geneva/Zurich, SwitzerlandReuters The World Health Organization on Wednesday warned against any complacency in the coronavirus death rate, saying with the increasing number of cases, mortality would also rise. New cases are hitting 100,000 daily in Europe. Nearly 20,000 infections were reported in Britain, while Italy, Switzerland and Russia were among nations with record case numbers. […]
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef might lose ability to recover from warming
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half its coral in the last three decades and scientists fear the loss caused by frequent bleaching will compromise its ability to recover. Record-breaking temperatures that triggered bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 have meant fewer small, baby corals and breeding adult ones, said Terry […]
Saudi Arabia presides over G20 interfaith forum
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesAP Saudi Arabia is presiding over a virtual global interfaith forum that began on Tuesday, with participation from Muslim clerics, Jewish rabbis, Christian priests and others religious figures. The kingdom is hosting the online event as part of its presidency this year of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations. […]
StrangeSights: A new “mini moon” for Earth; three toed socks; and, a plea for iconic missing teddies sign…
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
At US Senate hearing, US Supreme Court nominee bats away tough Democratic confirmation probing
Washington DC, USAP Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett batted away Democrats’ sceptical questions Tuesday on abortion, healthcare and a possible disputed-election fight over transferring presidential power, insisting in a long and lively confirmation hearing she would bring no personal agenda to the court but decide cases “as they come”. The 48-year-old appellate court judge declared […]
Post-pandemic, will offices and factories become “places men go”?
New York City, USThomson Reuters Foundation Office life will be different after COVID-19, with desks far apart, Plexiglass barriers and a health warning on handshakes. But the biggest change could be a notable absence of women. Once the pandemic eases sufficiently for workers to return to their desks and factory floors, women are more likely […]