Nigerian police hunt for 200 kidnapped children
Abuja, NigeriaReuters Nigerian authorities said on Tuesday that about 200 children had been seized in the latest school kidnapping in its violent north but they ruled out securing their freedom by paying a ransom. Police were trying to track the route the kidnappers had taken with the children, who were seized in a raid on […]
Vatican law criminalises abuse of adults by priests, laity
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis has changed Catholic Church law to explicitly criminalise the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority and to say that laypeople who hold church office also can be sanctioned for similar sex crimes. The new provisions, released Tuesday after 14 years of study, were contained in the revised […]
10 years after Breivik attacks, survivors seek to confront far-right extremism
Uoteya, NorwayReuters Nearly 10 years after Anders Behring Breivik tried to kill her on the Norwegian island of Utoeya, Astrid Hoem is back there to explain to a group of teenagers how she ran for her life and hid in a beach cove while Breivik murdered others around her. “He shot a girl next to […]
Paris accord rules must be wrapped up this year, says UN climate chief
Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation Governments must finalise rules for the Paris Agreement on climate change at November’s COP26 summit so the pact can be fully implemented and serve as the basis for a green recovery from the pandemic, the UN climate chief said on Monday. As three weeks of virtual climate talks opened, Patricia Espinosa also called […]
Old church records shed new light on US smallpox outbreaks in 1700s
Boston, USAP A highly contagious disease originating far from America’s shores triggers deadly outbreaks that spread rapidly, infecting the masses. Shots are available, but a divided public agonises over getting jabbed. Sound familiar? In this image provided by the American Ancestors & New England Historic Genealogical Society, a digitized copy of a page from a […]
Acute malnutrition surging among Haitian children, UNICEF warns
Havana, CubaReuters Cases of life-threatening malnutrition are expected to more than double among young Haitian children this year, due to COVID-19, gang violence and extreme weather associated with climate change, the UN children’s fund UNICEF said on Monday. Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has long had one of the world’s highest levels of […]
Is it all Greek to you? Coronavirus variants get new names
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Coronavirus variants with clunky, alphanumeric names have now been assigned the letters of the Greek Alphabet in a bid to simplify discussion and pronunciation while avoiding stigma. The World Health Organization revealed the new names on Monday amid criticism that those given by scientists such as the so-called South African variant which goes […]
Moral injury
There’s a new term that is finding traction on our world – it is especially being used in the area of things like post-traumatic stress disorder. A Holocaust memorial in Hungary. PICTURE: Mika/Unsplash It’s called ‘moral injury’. Not physical injury, but moral injury. It’s when someone has had an experience that is so repugnant to […]
History reappraised: In the US, scrutiny mounts of legacy of pioneering Northwest missionary
NICHOLAS K GERANIOS, of Associated Press, reports on how the legacy of Protestant missionary Marcus Whitman, who established a mission in the US’ Pacific Northwest, is now being re-evaluated…
Bodies at Indigenous school in Canada not an isolated incident – Trudeau
Toronto, CanadaAP Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday it’s not an isolated incident that over 200 children were found buried at a former Indigenous residential school. Trudeau’s comments come as Indigenous leaders are calling for an examination of every former residential school site – institutions that held children taken from families across the nation. People […]