Wow!: Reclaiming the street – six apps and initiatives keeping women safe
KIM HARRISBERG, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on some initiatiives to help keep women safe around the world…
Sri Lanka to take time to consider proposed ban on burqa
Colombo, Sri LankaAP Sri Lanka’s government said Tuesday it would take time to consider a proposed ban on the wearing of burqas, which a top security official called a sign of religious extremism. Sri Lanka’s Minister of Public Security, Sarath Weerasekara, said Saturday he was seeking Cabinet approval to ban burqas – a garment worn […]
Brexit farm workers scheme found fuelling risk of slavery in UK
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Migrant farm workers in Britain are being trapped and mistreated by employers in conditions ripe for modern slavery, campaigners said on Tuesday, urging the government to review a scheme designed to avoid agricultural labour shortages post-Brexit. Seasonal labourers in Scotland have been pressured to sign zero-hour contracts, made to live and […]
Health experts pore over AstraZeneca safety data as Europe reels from vaccine suspensions
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsReuters Global health experts came under increasing pressure on Tuesday to clear up questions over the safety of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot, as Sweden and Latvia joined countries suspending their use in a further blow to Europe’s vaccination rollout. The European Medicines Agency said it was investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood […]
Jesuits pledge $US100 million for descendants of people their order enslaved
Washington DC, USRNS The Society of Jesus has announced plans to raise $US100 million for the descendants of enslaved people it once claimed to own, making the Roman Catholic order’s initiative one of the largest financial efforts by any group to try to atone for the institution of slavery and address racial injustice in the […]
Concerns rise over Sri Lanka’s move to ban burqas
Colombo, Sri LankaAP A Pakistani diplomat and a UN expert have expressed concerns over Sri Lanka’s proposed move to ban the wearing of burqas. Sri Lanka announced plans over the weekend to ban the wearing of burqas – garments worn by some Muslim women that cover the body and face – and also said it […]
France to return Nazi-looted Klimt to rightful Jewish heirs
AP The French Government announced Monday that it will return a Nazi-looted Gustav Klimt landscape painting to its rightful owners more than 80 years after it was stolen from a Jewish family in Austria in 1938. The colourful 1905 oil work by the Austrian symbolist painter titled Rosebushes under the Trees has been hanging in […]
Books: “A grounding and crucial read” – Carolyn Custis James’ ‘Half the Church’
JO KADLECEK says Carolyn Custis James’ decade-old book, ‘Half the Church’, that continues to speak to the times in which we live…
Across Africa, hijab in schools divides Christians and Muslims
Nairobi, KenyaRNS In its traditional form, religious veils worn by Muslim women signify modesty and privacy. Fashions range from simple scarves known as “khimaars” to head-to-toe cloaks known as abayas or burqas. But in any form, wearing hijab is regarded as an act of worship or a statement of Muslim faith, and recently, the religious […]
UK bill would give police too much power to curb protests, critics warn
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation As British police face criticism over clashes with mourners at a weekend vigil for murdered Londoner Sarah Everard, lawmakers started debating a bill on Monday that opponents said would give police too much power to restrict peaceful protests. Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, police forces would be able […]