UN rights commissioner warns of escalating Myanmar violence
Reuters The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Friday of intensifying violence in Myanmar and condemned the army’s “outrageous” use of heavy weapons, while urging a wider diplomatic effort to pressure the ruling generals. Michelle Bachelet said the junta had shown no willingness to implement a five-point consensus it agreed with the […]
Updated: EU countries clear plan to ease cross-border tourism over summer
Updated: 10.45pm (AEST)Brussels, BelgiumReuters European Union countries agreed on Friday to an easing of travel restrictions over summer that will allow fully vaccinated tourists to avoid tests or quarantines and broaden the list of EU regions from which it is safe to travel. Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states approved a modified European Commission […]
Snapshot: Lopé National Park, Gabon
See RALPH MESSI’s image…
Soundbite – The TCM Update: Newsboys’ manager in mid-air drama
Wes Campbell Listen to this week’s TCM Update…
Secret recordings show Southern Baptist dispute on sex abuse
Nashville, Tennessee, USAP Releases of leaked letters and secret recordings from within the Southern Baptist Convention intensified Thursday as critics sought to show top leaders were slow to address sexual abuse in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination and worried more about its reputation and donations than about victims. A former executive of the denomination’s ethics […]
UK report says Hong Kong security law used to “drastically curtail freedoms”
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Beijing has broken its legal obligations by undermining Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and used a national security law to “drastically curtail freedoms” in the global financial hub, according to a report by Britain on its former colony. In a foreword in the six-monthly report covering July-December, 2020, British Foreign Minister […]
Food aid ramps up in Yemen, but funding crisis persists
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters More food is making its way to Yemenis most in need after donors heeded United Nations warnings about impending famine, but aid groups said the world’s largest humanitarian operation still does not have enough cash to see out 2021. The World Food Programme said it would this month resume monthly distributions […]
Building bridges: The Jesuit priest linking Indians and Pakistanis as unlikely pen pals
PRIYADARSHINI SEN, in an article published on Religion Unplugged, reports on the efforts of 80-year-old Jesuit priest Joseph Kalathil to build bridges between India and Pakistan…
Quickfacts – 10 facts about rising child labour around the world
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaThomson Reuters Foundation The United Nations says child labour is on the rise for the first time in 20 years, with millions more young people at risk of becoming child labourers due to the economic shocks and school closures caused by COVID-19. Here are 10 facts about where and why child labour persists, […]
Essay: As more climate migrants cross borders seeking refuge, laws will need to adapt
US-based experts in migration and climate risk, KATHARINE M DONATO, AMANDA CARRICO and JONATHAN M GILLIGAN, look – in an article first published on The Conversation – at how national laws may need to adapt to consider climate refugees…