Lifestory: Before COVID-19, this man pulled 16-hour shifts cleaning dishes in South Africa. Today, his cake business is thriving
KIM HARRISBERG, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how South African Davy Tsopo’s life has changed in the coronavirus pandemic…
Church employee among five stabbed in Californian homeless shelter, says pastor
San Jose, CaliforniaAP One of the people wounded in a stabbing attack at a San Francisco Bay Area church that was being used as a homeless shelter was a church employee who tried to intervene, the church’s pastor said. Rev David Robinson of San Jose’s Grace Baptist Church told KGO-TV on Monday that the attacker, who fatally […]
Worsening land inequality widens gender, climate change gaps
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Land inequality is growing worldwide, threatening the livelihoods of 2.5 billion people who directly rely on farming and widening disparities in gender, health and climate-change impacts, researchers warned on Tuesday. The widening gap in ownership and access to land especially hurts small and marginal farmers, women, and Indigenous and rural communities, […]
Officials: Roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan kills 14
Kabul, AfghanistanAP Roadside bombs exploded in central Afghanistan on Tuesday killing at least 13 civilians and a traffic policeman, officials said, even as government negotiators and the Taliban meet to try to end decades of war. Tariq Arian, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said 45 people were also wounded in a late afternoon blast in […]
China criticises Pope over comment on Uighur Muslim minority
Beijing, ChinaAP China criticised Pope Francis on Tuesday over a passage in his new book in which he mentions suffering by China’s Uighur Muslim minority group. Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Francis’ remarks had “no factual basis at all”. In this 22nd November file photo, Pope Francis incenses the altar as he celebrates Mass […]
South Sudan, Chad ranked the worst nations to be a girl in Africa
Thomson Reuters Foundation South Sudan, Chad and Eritrea are the worst African countries to be a girl according to a first-of-its-kind index, with researchers warning that the pandemic could set back efforts to keep girls in school, out of work and safe from violence. The African Child Policy Forum ranked 52 African nations based on […]
Catholic Church cancels Guadalupe pilgrimage over pandemic
Mexico City, MexicoAP Mexico’s Roman Catholic Church announced the cancellation Monday of what’s considered the world’s largest Catholic pilgrimage, for the Virgin of Guadalupe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mexico’s Episcopal Conference said in a statement that the basilica will be closed from 10th to 13th December. The Virgin is celebrated on 12th December and […]
US Poor People’s Campaign mourns 250,000 COVID deaths, calls for stimulus relief
RNS At least 256,000 Americans have died of the coronavirus as of Monday – the vast majority of them poor. The Poor People’s Campaign, jointly led by Rev William J Barber II and Rev Liz Theoharis, doesn’t want America to forget these COVID-19 victims. On Monday, the group is staging a national service of eulogy […]
Drying habitat makes Australia’s platypus vulnerable, scientists say
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australian scientists pushed on Monday to list the platypus as a vulnerable species after a report showed the habitat of the semi-aquatic native mammal had shrunk more than a fifth in the last 30 years. Severe drought brought by climate change, land clearing for farming and dam-building are to blame, said researchers at […]
AstraZeneca says COVID-19 “vaccine for the world” can be 90 per cent effective
London, UKReuters AstraZeneca said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine was 70 per cent effective in pivotal trials and could be up to 90 per cent effective, giving the world’s fight against the global pandemic a third new weapon that can be cheaper to make, easier to distribute and faster to scale-up than rivals. The British […]