UN forced labour drive hits target with backing of 50 nations
Thomson Reuters Foundation The world has reached a “major milestone” in the drive to combat modern slavery after Sudan became the fiftieth country to back a United Nations treaty against forced labour, the UN International Labour Organization said on Wednesday. The legally binding 2014 pact – a protocol to the 1930 ILO Forced Labour Convention […]
Postcards: Oscar nominee ‘Nomadland’ spotlights Amazon’s RV workforce
CAREY L BIRON, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, looks at how the film ‘Nomadland’ has shone a light on itinerant workers living in RVs in the US…
Belgian bishop lashes out at Vatican over gay unions decree
Brussels, BelgiumAP A Belgian bishop has lashed out at the Vatican over its decree that the Catholic Church won’t bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin”. Antwerp Bishop Johan Bonny wrote in an opinion piece Wednesday that he feels “shame for my Church” and “intellectual and moral incomprehension” after Pope Francis approved the “negative” […]
Myanmar Buddhist group signals break with authorities after bloody crackdown; Pope says he symbolically kneels in plea for peace
Reuters Myanmar’s most powerful Buddhist monks’ association called on the junta to end violence against protesters and accused an “armed minority” of torture and killing innocent civilians since last month’s coup, media said on Wednesday. In a condemnation of the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, the government-appointed organisation also said in a draft statement that its […]
Over 10 million displaced by climate disasters in six months – report
SingaporeReuters About 10.3 million people were displaced by climate change-induced events such as flooding and droughts in the last six months, the majority of them in Asia, a humanitarian organisation said on Wednesday. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said about 2.3 million others were displaced by conflict in the same […]
Eight killed, including six women of Asian descent, in Atlanta-area shootings; suspect arrested
Los Angeles, USReuters Eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, were shot dead in a string of attacks on Atlanta-area day spas on Tuesday, and a man suspected of carrying out all of the shootings was arrested hours later in southern Georgia, police said. Although authorities declined to offer a possible motive for […]
Updated: Australia urges EU to send one million COVID-19 vaccines for PNG amid fresh outbreak
Updated: 5:30pm (AEDT)Canberra, AustraliaReuters Australia said on Wednesday it will ask the European Union to release one million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to help Papua New Guinea battle a dangerous outbreak that authorities fear could spread to other parts of the region. The request could inflame existing tensions between Canberra and Brussels amid claims […]
StrangeSights: South Korea’s ‘Purple Islands’; world’s most expensive honey; and, a surfboard’s odyssey…
DAVID ADAMS reports on the odder side of life…
US faith leaders get COVID-19 shot to curb vaccine reluctance
Washington DC, USAP More than two dozen clergy members from the capital region rolled up their sleeves inside the Washington National Cathedral and got vaccinated against the coronavirus Tuesday in a camera-friendly event designed to encourage others to get their own COVID-19 shots. The interfaith “vaccine confidence” event targeted in particular Black, Latino and other […]
Most British teachers say they lack training on climate change – poll
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Nearly three quarters of British teachers say they have not had enough training to educate students about climate change, the implications of global warming and how best to confront them, a poll showed on Tuesday. Although 90 per cent of teachers thought climate change education should be compulsory, 41 per cent […]