Wow!: Cookies, hot cocoa, pick-me-up notes – ‘Sparks’ of kindness
PETER ORSI and EMILY LESHNER, of Associated Press, report on an online community’s bid to bring more kindness into the world…
UK police told to share less data on abused migrant women
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Police should share less information with immigration officials about abused or trafficked migrant women as it is stops them seeking help, Britain’s police watchdog said on Thursday. The report, co-led by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, said some women did not report their abuse for fear […]
Fresh wave of crop-ravaging locust swarms threaten East African herders, farmers
Nairobi/Garowe, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation A new generation of locust swarms is threatening to wipe out the livelihoods of farmers and herders across eastern Africa – deepening a food crisis in a region where 35 million people are already hungry, the United Nations warned on Wednesday. From January to August, massive desert locust swarms swept across […]
Lockdown looms over Christmas in Bethlehem
Ramallah, West BankAP The mayor of Bethlehem on Thursday said Christmas celebrations in the birthplace of Jesus will be limited to just a handful of people this year as Palestinian officials announced a strict new lockdown across the West Bank due to a soaring coronavirus outbreak. In an interview, Mayor Anton Salman said his town […]
Divert arms money to fight COVID-19, ensure vaccine for all, Pope says
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis urged world leaders on Thursday to divert funds used for armaments to confront problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure vaccines reach the poor and most vulnerable nations. In his message for the Roman Catholic Church’s World Day of Peace, which is celebrated on 1st January, Francis also repeated a […]
Fiji declares state of natural disaster as powerful cyclone hits
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Fiji ordered its entire population to take shelter on Thursday in the path of what is expected to be the worst storm in its recorded history. Cyclone Yasa, a top category five storm expected to bring winds of up to 250kph and torrential rain, made landfall over Bua province on the northern island […]
New Zealand plans vaccine roll-out in second half of 2021
Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand will begin to offer free COVID-19 vaccines to its entire population by the middle of next year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday. The government said it had secured enough vaccines to inoculate all of the country’s five million people, with two new agreements signed with pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca […]
Western US wildfires cost insurers up to $US13 billion in 2020
New York, USThomson Reuters Foundation A record-breaking wildfire season in the western United States cost insurers a staggering $US7 billion to $US13 billion in 2020, researchers said on Tuesday, an illustration of the growing price tag on natural disasters linked to climate change. Risk Management Solutions, a US-based risk management company, tabulated the costs of […]
Violence at Apple supplier in India fuels fears of further worker unrest
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation The ransacking of an iPhone manufacturer in southern India could be the first of many “flashpoints” involving local workers in the supply chains of major brands, researchers said this week, pointing to a lack of rights and recourse under new labour laws. Thousands of contract workers in India’s tech hub of […]
Landmark ruling links death of UK schoolgirl to pollution
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Air pollution contributed to the death of a London schoolgirl, a coroner ruled on Wednesday in a landmark case that could push Britain to get tougher on traffic and clean up city air. After a two-week inquest, coroner Philip Barlow said the death in 2013 of Ella Kissi-Debrah, aged nine, was […]