Postcards: “Tigers or crocodiles” – Grim prospects for Cambodian migrants at home and in Thailand
MATT BLOMBERG, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Pope Benedict XVI defends resignation to ‘fanatic’ doubters
Rome, ItalyAP Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has marked the eighth anniversary of his historic resignation by insisting in an interview published Monday that he stepped down knowingly and that “there is only one pope” – Francis. Benedict spoke to leading daily Corriere della Sera to try to put to rest once again claims by some […]
United Methodist conservatives detail plans for a breakaway
AP Conservative leaders within the United Methodist Church unveiled plans Monday to form a new denomination, the Global Methodist Church, with a doctrine that does not recognise same-sex marriage. The move could hasten the long-expected breakup of the UMC, America’s largest mainline Protestant denomination, over differing approaches to LGBTQ inclusion. In this 19th April, 2019 […]
Pakistani court grants bail to Christian in blasphemy case
Lahore, PakistanAP A Pakistani court on Monday granted bail to a Christian man convicted in 2018 while still a teenager of insulting Islam by posting a picture of Islam’s holiest site on social media, a defence lawyer said. The court order in the eastern city of Lahore came more than four years after Nabeel Masih […]
Egypt wants to register millions of gig workers for state insurance, aid
Cairo, EgyptThomson Reuters Foundation Egypt will start registering millions of gig workers in order to offer them health insurance and emergency state aid during the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken a particularly heavy toll on the nation’s ad-hoc employees, officials said. There are at least 14 million gig workers in Egypt, and while some workers […]
Australia to boost spending on care for elderly after scathing report
Canberra, AustraliaReuters Australia will increase spending on care for the elderly by $A452 million after an inquiry concluded that one in three people is receiving substandard care. The Royal Commission report on Australia’s $A20 billion care industry was published on Monday, after more than 100 days of hearings. Care homes in Australia are mostly privately-run, […]
Pakistan experts: Religiosity fostering rise in militancy
Islamabad, Pakistan AP Militant attacks are on the rise in Pakistan amid a growing religiosity that has brought greater intolerance, prompting one expert to voice concern the country could be overwhelmed by religious extremism. Pakistani authorities are embracing strengthening religious belief among the population to bring the country closer together. But it’s doing just the […]
Myanmar protesters ready for confrontation after bloodiest post-coup unrest
Reuters Protesters in Myanmar prepared for more demonstrations against junta rule on Monday, defying a crackdown a day earlier that killed at least 18 people in the bloodiest violence since the military seized power one month ago. Violence flared in various parts of the country on Sunday and police opened fire on crowds in several […]
New Zealand lockdown costs millions while Australia ramps up vaccination drive
Wellington, New Zealand/Melbourne, AustraliaReuters The mayor of New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland, said on Monday that its residents should be prioritised for vaccines, after it was thrown into its fourth lockdown over the weekend costing millions of dollars a day. The seven-day lockdown of the population of nearly two million was prompted by the case […]
Prayer: On late-night TV and bestseller lists, new books resonating with readers
EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, looks at some of the latest books on prayer…