New Zealand’s Ardern wins ‘historic’ re-election for crushing COVID-19
Wellington, New ZealandReuters Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delivered the biggest election victory for her centre-left Labour Party in half a century on Saturday as voters rewarded her for a decisive response to COVID-19. The mandate means Ardern, 40, could form the first single-party government in decades and will face the challenge of delivering on the […]
Afghan women illegally forced into “virginity tests”
Kabul, AfghanistanThomson Reuters Foundation Women in Afghanistan are being forced to undergo so-called virginity tests, more than two years after a law requiring consent was introduced, researchers said this week. The test involves a doctor performing an examination to identify whether the hymen – the thin tissue that may partially cover the vagina – is […]
Explainer: What’s behind Trump’s town hall answer on QAnon?
AP “Ask the Q” has been a rallying cry for QAnon believers since the conspiracy theory’s online birth three years ago. They have long claimed that if President Donald Trump was asked about QAnon, his answer would confirm their baseless belief that he is secretly fighting deep state enemies and a cabal of Satan-worshipping cannibals […]
Fashion brands accused of exploiting workers at risk of layoffs
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Millions of garment workers could lose their jobs as global brands are demanding price cuts and delaying payments to suppliers who are desperate for orders to survive the new coronavirus pandemic, US researchers said on Friday. Suppliers have been asked to make their prices an average of 12 per cent cheaper […]
Future tech: Using AI, Canadian city predicts who might become homeless
CHRIS ARSENAULT, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how London, Ontario, is using artificial intelligence to deliver new insights into what makes people homeless…
Catholic worker who broke into naval base to protest nuclear weapons sentenced in the US
RNS Patrick O’Neill, who together with Rev Stephen Kelly, cut a padlock to Kings Bay Naval Base in Georgia to protest its stockpile of hundreds of Trident nuclear weapons two years ago, was sentenced Friday to 14 months in federal prison. O’Neill, a 64-year-old North Carolinian who runs a Catholic Worker House that offers destitute […]
Clergy shortage grows to more than 3,000 Catholics for every priest, Vatican data shows
Vatican CityRNS Catholic missions are struggling amid dwindling vocations and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released by the Vatican ahead of the World Mission Day this Sunday. The number of priests and ordained leaders has dropped significantly, especially in Europe and America, according to the report issued on Friday by the Vatican Congregation for […]