Postcards: High kicks – the Pakistani football star training girls in the Hindu Kush
ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from the mountains of Pakistan…
UK lawmakers hear more reports of aid worker sex abuse in Congo
Dakar, SenegalThomson Reuters Foundation Britain’s charity watchdog said it has received reports of at least eight cases of sexual assault and abuse by aid workers in Democratic Republic of Congo, vowing to ensure “robust action”. It said the incidents were reported both before and after an investigation published last month by the Thomson Reuters Foundation […]
Sean Feucht’s worship protest gets green light in DC, despite fears of ‘superspreader’ event
Washington DC, USRNS Christian recording artist Sean Feucht is slated to bring his worship protest tour to the nation’s capital this Sunday despite concerns around mass gatherings during a pandemic. Feucht’s tour has received widespread criticism from public health officials and other faith leaders who challenge the wisdom of hosting events where neither he nor […]
Afghans jostling for visas to Pakistan spark stampede, killing 15
Jalalabad, AfghanistanReuters At least 15 people were killed in a stampede among thousands of Afghans gathered to apply for visas for neighbouring Pakistan in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad on Wednesday, officials said. Thousands of Afghans had congregated on the open ground, usually used for sports or public gatherings, waiting to collect tokens needed to […]
Pope Francis voices support of civil unions for LGBTQ couples in new documentary
Vatican City AP Pope Francis spoke in favour of civil unions for LGBTQ couples in a documentary presented in Rome on Wednesday, departing from official church teaching for the first time as pontiff. “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family,” the pope said in an interview for the documentary Francesco, directed […]
Australian police get information on alleged Vatican funds transfer amid Pell case
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australia’s financial crimes watchdog said it had handed information to police about the alleged transfer of Vatican funds to Australia amid the prosecution of former Vatican treasurer George Pell for child sex abuse. Italian media recently reported that Pell’s nemesis, Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, sent €700,000 to Australia to help Pell’s “enemies” while […]
Carlo Acutis, Millennial candidate for Catholic sainthood, draws 41,000 to Assisi church
Vatican CityRNS The Catholic Church’s most recent candidate for sainthood is also its most modern. Lying in a glass-sided casket in jeans and a track jacket, the body of Carlo Acutis, an internet enthusiast who died in 2006 of leukemia at the age of 15, was venerated by some 41,000 visitors during a 19-day-long celebration […]
StrangeSights: Tea leaves help find space station leak; a bacon-scented facemask; and, the world’s biggest Zuger Kirschtorte…
DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
UN says pandemic will slow already miniscule progress in women’s rights
New York City, USThomson Reuters Foundation The coronavirus pandemic threatens to grind down progress toward gender equality that already was creeping along at a snail’s pace, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Gender-based violence and inequities in the workplace and political leadership are nearly as bad as they were 25 years ago, the global agency […]
James MacDonald and Harvest Bible Chapel reach multi-million-dollar agreement
RNS The Chicago-area megachurch Harvest Bible Chapel has reached a multi-million-dollar agreement with its former pastor James MacDonald, who was fired last year for insulting his critics who had written unfavourably about his leadership style. As part of the settlement – reached through a Christian arbitration group – MacDonald was given the right to continue […]