School term delayed in Nigerian capital zone amid kidnapping crisis
Abuja, NigeriaReuters The start of the school term has been pushed back to an unusually late date in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory without explanation, after schools in nearby states were targeted by kidnappers seeking ransoms. More than 1,100 pupils have been abducted from their schools across northwest Nigeria since December, including in the states of […]
Afghanistan commercial flights resume as UN warns of humanitarian crisis
Reuters Kabul on Thursday saw the departure of its first international commercial flight since last month’s chaotic Western airlift, but hopes for a return to order were offset by UN reports of rising restrictions on women and a looming humanitarian disaster. The flight marked an important step in the Taliban’s efforts to bring a degree […]
Remote learning is setting back millions of South Asian children – UNICEF
New Delhi, IndiaReuters Hundreds of millions of children in South Asian are suffering because their schools have been closed because of the coronavirus but they lack online devices and connections for remote learning, UNICEF said on Thursday. Authorities should prioritise the safe reopening of schools because even before the pandemic, almost 60 per cent of children […]
Texas man gets execution delay over pastor’s touch request
Huntsville, Texas, USAP A Texas death row inmate won a reprieve Wednesday evening from execution for killing a convenience store worker during a 2004 robbery that garnered $US1.25 after claiming the state was violating his religious freedom by not letting his pastor lay hands on him at the time of his lethal injection. The US […]
Philippines’ Duterte accepts 2022 vice presidential nomination
Manila, The PhilippinesReuters Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday accepted his party’s nomination to run for vice president in next year’s election, forging ahead with a plan criticised by rivals as a cynical move to maintain his political power. The mercurial leader, 76, is barred by the constitution from seeking a second term and his interest in […]
A Sustainable Life: Reusable containers aren’t always better for the environment than disposable ones – new research
ALEJANDRO GALLEGO SCHMID, ADISA AZAPAGIC, and JOAN MANUEL F MENDOZA – in an article first published on The Conversation, find reusable containers may have to be reused many times to offset negative environmental impacts – improving recycling infrastructure could be the answer…
Explainer – Madagascar faces one of the world’s first climate change famines
Thomson Reuters Foundation The cracked red earth and sunken eyes of gaunt children, their bellies swollen from acute malnutrition, bear witness to the devastation being wrought by Madagascar’s worst drought in four decades. As the south of the island is pushed to the brink of famine, climate change researchers say such harrowing images should serve […]
Max Lucado asks for prayer after being diagnosed with a serious cardiovascular condition
Texan-based Christian author and pastor Max Lucado has asked for prayer after being diagnosed with a serious cardiovascular condition. In a video released on his website, Lucado said within the last few weeks he had been diagnosed with an ‘ascending aortic aneurysm’ after doctors found a “sizeable” bulge in the aorta. “Though surgery is a possibility, […]
Main suspect tells Paris attacks trial he’s ‘an Islamic State soldier’
Paris, FranceReuters The main suspect in a jihadist rampage that killed 130 people across Paris described himself defiantly as “an Islamic State soldier” and shouted at the top judge on Wednesday at the start of a trial into the 2015 attacks. Salah Abdeslam, 31, is believed to be the only surviving member of the group […]
Pope Francis names new bishop in Wuhan
Vatican CityRNS Pope Francis appointed a Franciscan priest, Rev Francesco Cui Qingqi, as the new Catholic bishop of Wuhan, the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, under a controversial power sharing agreement governing the appointment of church leaders in China. “This is the sixth Chinese bishop to be appointed and ordained within the legal framework of […]