“Stop denying racism, start dismantling it”, UN rights chief says
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Nations should “start dismantling racism”, set up reparations programmes and prosecute law enforcement officials for unlawful killings of people of African descent, the UN human rights chief said on Monday. Michelle Bachelet, in a global report sparked by the murder of African American George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in May, […]
Blinken and Pope meet but unclear if US bishops’ vote discussed
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday in the wake of a decision by American Catholic bishops that could lead them to deny communion to President Joe Biden. But it was not clear if the topic came up in talks at the Vatican as Blinken became the […]
Second blast hits Congo’s Beni city after Catholic Church attack
Beni, Democratic Republic of CongoReuters A suspected bomber was blown up when his improvised explosive device went off in a busy intersection of the Democratic Republic of Congo eastern city of Beni on Sunday, authorities said, the second blast in Beni on the same day. No-one was killed in the two incidents apart from the […]
Saving ‘friendless’ churches from demolition in England and Wales
Religion Unplugged The structure of St Baglan’s Church in North Wales is simple, with plastered stone walls and whitewashed timbers between the slate slabs of its roof and floor. The 13th century sanctuary was rebuilt in the 1800s, but the carved doorway lintel dates from the 5th or 6th century. An adjacent field contains the […]
India’s digital database for farmers stirs fears about privacy, exclusion
Thomson Reuters Foundation A plan by India to build digital databases of farmers to boost their incomes has raised concerns about privacy and the exclusion of poor farmers and those without land titles. Tech firm Microsoft will run a pilot for the agriculture ministry’s AgriStack in 100 villages in six Indian states to “develop [a] farmer interface […]
Vatican probes alleged abuse negligence by Polish cardinal
Warsaw, PolandAP The Vatican’s embassy in Poland said Saturday that a Holy See envoy spent 10 days in the country checking reports of alleged negligence by a retired archbishop of Krakow who had served as personal secretary to the late Pope St John Paul II. The embassy said that during his 17th to 26th June […]
Food security: Soaring prices squeeze family budgets around the world
Thomson Reuters Foundation reporters KIM HARRISBERG, ANASTASIA MOLONEY, ROLI SRIVASTAVA, NANCHANOK WONGSAMUTH and MAYA GEBEILY speak to five people across the globe about how they are coping with rising food prices…
Australia’s Anglican Church working to disrupt and end domestic and intimate partner violence
Sydney, Australia Initiatives to tackle and end domestic violence within Australia’s Anglican Church have been implemented across the nation, even as a national survey revealed the incidence of intimate partner violence within the church was equal to or higher than the general population. It is widely reported that on average in Australia, one woman each […]
Essay: North Korea food shortage – why Kim Jong-un’s COVID-19 policy could lead to mass starvation
In an article first published on The Conversation, SOJIN LIM, an expert in Korean studies, looks at why North Korean leader Kim Jong-un isn’t letting international aid into the country despite what appears to be a growing food shortage crisis…
Postcards: Lisbon man breathes new life into city’s historic trams
CATARINA DEMONY, of Reuters, reports from Portugal…