Postcards: Bolivians forced to get creative as COVID-19 hits cash-in-hand workers
ANASTASIA MOLONEY and WARA VARGAS, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on how people in one of South America’s poorest countries are being forced to adapt to make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic…
Canada votes to collect data to document “environmental racism”
Toronto, CanadaThomson Reuters Foundation Canada will collect data on the impact on siting a disproportionate number of polluting industries and landfills in areas inhabited by racial minority communities, federal lawmakers voted Wednesday. The bill aims to tackle “environmental racism”, where Indigenous, Black and other racial minority communities are exposed to higher levels of dirty air, […]
In the US, faith groups celebrate Virginia’s death penalty ban
RNS Faith groups are celebrating Virginia’s decision to ban the death penalty, a move considered to be a victory for religious opposition to capital punishment. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the ban – the first of any Southern state and the 23rd overall – into law on Wednesday, declaring it “the moral thing to do.” […]
AstraZeneca vaccine’s global rollout faces more complications
Reuters The rollout of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, the shot much of the world is relying on to beat the pandemic, faced further complications on Thursday as India halted exports of the vaccine and Europe discussed its own export controls. India has put a temporary hold on all major exports of the Anglo-Swedish firm’s vaccine from […]
Waves, smiles but no cheers as Olympic torch relay kicks off under pandemic shadow
Fukushima/Tokyo, JapanReuters With waves, smiles and streamers, but no cheers, the Olympic torch relay kicked off on Thursday, beginning a four-month countdown to the postponed 2020 summer Games in Tokyo, the first ever organised during a deadly pandemic. Casting a pall over celebrations already scaled back because of coronavirus measures, North Korea launched two short-range […]
Some Australians return home as others evacuated in floods crisis
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australians hit by devastating floodwaters began returning to their homes on Thursday as skies cleared and authorities accelerated clean-up efforts, though fresh evacuation orders were issued in some areas where water levels were still rising. Relentless rains for five straight days – the worst downpour in more than half a century – burst […]
A Sustainable Life: To help insects, make them welcome in your garden – here’s how
As the northern hemisphere transitions into spring, BRIAN LOVETT, a postdoctoral researcher at West Virginia University, looks – in an article first published on The Conversation, at how to invite insects into your garden…
Pope taps Chilean sex abuse whistleblower for Vatican panel
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis on Wednesday named a Chilean survivor of clerical sex abuse to serve on a Vatican commission that advises the pontiff on how to protect children from paedophile priests. The Vatican said Juan Carlos Cruz is the latest member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Other members of the […]
On the Screen: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ restores an epic tale to glory
MARCUS CHEONG watches writer/director Zack Snyder’s effort to redeem 2017’s ‘Justice League’…
Another man is free to leave US church sanctuary as immigration policies ease
RNS An undocumented immigrant who had taken refuge in a Raleigh, North Carolina, church for more than three years will now be allowed to leave without the danger of being deported. Eliseo Jimenez, a 42-year-old itinerant laborer who worked in the state’s tobacco fields and later in construction laying floors, has been living at Umstead […]