Central African Republic President Touadera re-elected
Bangui, Central African RepublicAP Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera has won a second term in office, according to provisional results announced by the electoral commission Monday. Touadera was reelected in the first round of the 27th December presidential vote with 53.9 per cent of the votes, the National Election Authority said. In second place […]
Postcards: Denied a chair, Dalit women confront discrimination on Indian village councils
ANURADHA NAGARAJ, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from India on the struggle of Dalit women to have their voices heard…
Laws to leaders: three aims for the anti-slavery movement in 2021
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation With less than a decade for the world to meet a United Nations target of ending modern slavery, experts say gains in tackling human trafficking risk being undone by the COVID-19 pandemic. About 40 million people globally are estimated to be enslaved – in forced labour and forced marriages – in […]
Faith leaders urge US Congress to honour election result
Washington DC, USAP More than 2,000 faith leaders and religious activists are calling on members of the US Congress to honour the result of November’s election and avoid “a delayed and drawn out objection” this week when President-elect Joe Biden’s win is set to be certified. Signatories to the statement released Monday include many prominent […]
Greek Church tells priests to ignore pandemic closure order
Athens, GreeceAP Greece’s powerful Orthodox Church is rebelling against a government order to briefly close places of worship under a weeklong drive to tighten virus restrictions before the planned reopening of schools. The conservative Church’s ruling body issued a statement Monday directing priests to admit worshippers during indoor services for Wednesday’s feast of the Epiphany. […]
UK rolls out AstraZeneca shots, touts taking lead in global vaccine race
London, UKReuters Britain began vaccinating its population with the COVID-19 shot developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca on Monday, touting a scientific “triumph” that puts it at the vanguard of the West in inoculating against the virus. Britain, which is rushing to vaccinate its population faster than the United States and the rest of Europe, […]
Japan’s Prime Minister weighs state of emergency
Tokyo, JapanAP Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday vaccine approval was being speeded up and border controls beefed up to curb the spread of the coronavirus, and he promised to consider declaring a state of emergency. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and the governors of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa had asked the national government Saturday […]
Tibetans in exile vote in India for their political leader
Dharmsala, IndiaAP Hundreds of Tibetans in exile braved the rain and cold Sunday in India’s northern city of Dharmsala, where the exiled government is based, and voted for their new political leader as the current officeholder’s five-year term nears its end. The voters wore masks, maintained social distance and used hand sanitiser as they cast […]
Explainer – Where are we in the COVID-19 vaccine race?
Reuters India on Friday became the fourth country to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, authorising the vaccine’s rollout in coming weeks in the country with the second highest number of infections. The following is what we know about the race to deliver vaccines to help end the coronavirus pandemic, which […]
Essay: 2021’s tech innovation boom
Writing from London, MAL FLETCHER looks at what technologies may garner attention in the coming year…