Wow!: A Singapore skyline view for migrant workers
ANNABELLE LIANG, of Associated Press, reports on efforts to bring some joy into the lives of Singapore’s migrant workers…
Pandemic pushes gender equality back a generation – WEF
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Women will not reach parity with men until the middle of the next century as the COVID-19 pandemic hits them hardest, according to a World Economic Forum report released on Wednesday. “The pandemic has fundamentally impacted gender equality in both the workplace and the home, rolling back years of progress,” said WEF’s managing […]
Myanmar insurgents warn of growing conflict as neighbours press junta
Reuters One of Myanmar’s main ethnic minority rebel groups warned of a growing threat of major conflict on Tuesday and called for international intervention against a military crackdown on opponents of last month’s coup. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on […]
Vatican makes moral case for supporting people displaced by climate change
Vatican CityRNS Pope Francis and other Vatican leaders reiterated the Catholic Church’s commitment to “eco-justice” in a new document on Tuesday, addressing the growing number of people being displaced by climate change and calling on the church to take an active role in this “profoundly moral issue”. “We are one planet, one human family and […]
Data withheld from WHO team probing COVID-19 origins in China – Tedros
Geneva/Zurich, SwitzerlandReuters Data was withheld from World Health Organization investigators who travelled to China to research the origins of the coronavirus epidemic, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday. The United States, the European Union and other Western countries immediately called for China to give “full access” to independent experts to all data about […]
In the US, Georgia’s new GOP election law draws criticism, lawsuits
Atlanta, Georgia, USAP Critics of Georgia’s new Republican-backed election law issued fresh calls Monday to boycott some of the state’s largest businesses for not speaking out more forcefully against the law, a day after advocacy organisations filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging it. In a letter to more than 90,000 parishioners, Bishop Reginald Jackson, […]
Gallup: Fewer than half of Americans belong to a church or other house of worship
RNS Ask Americans if they believe in God and most will say yes. But a growing number have lost faith in organised religion. For the first time since the late 1930s, fewer than half of Americans say they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque, according to a new report from Gallup. PICTURE: Andrew Seaman/Unsplash/Creative […]
Significant Sites: How armchair pilgrims can (virtually) walk Jesus’ 40-day fast from desert to cross
GIL ZOHAR, writing for Religion Unplugged, reports from Israel…
“Instead we pray”: Fearing lost wages, India’s urban poor shun COVID-19 vaccine
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation As a second wave of COVID-19 cases sweeps India, some poor city workers are shunning vaccination because they fear losing a day’s pay to get the jab, or possible side effects that could force them to skip work for longer. Authorities are scrambling to open vaccination centres in the slums, but […]
Thailand enlists industry groups in slavery blacklist effort
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Thailand stepped up efforts to tackle modern slavery on Monday, with a dozen industry associations signing pacts to rid their supply chains of child and forced labour as part of a government drive to get several key exports taken off a US blacklist. The businesses pledged to publicise their policies on […]