Pelosi meets Pope as abortion debate rages in US; Vatican announces Pope will not be at COP26
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis met on Saturday with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who has come under criticism from some bishops in the United States for her support for abortion rights. Their meeting took place several weeks before Joe Biden is expected to meet the Pope while the US President is in Rome […]
Colombian nun held hostage in Mali since 2017 has been freed
Bamako, MaliReuters A Colombian nun who was kidnapped in 2017 by Islamist militants in Mali has been freed, Mali’s presidency said on Saturday. Gloria Cecilia Narvaez was kidnapped by the Macina Liberation Front, an al-Qaeda-linked group, in February, 2017, near the border with Burkina Faso. “The presidency of Mali salutes the courage and bravery of […]
Development banks linked to nature loss worth $US800 billion per year
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation Investments made by public development banks around the world could destroy nature worth $US800 billion each year, researchers warned on Thursday, urging greater testing and transparency of the institutions’ lending to reduce the risks to biodiversity. A study published by the Finance for Biodiversity Initiative (F4B), a global thinktank, analysed how […]
Young people make their mark at Religions for Peace conference
RNS The 2021 Religions for Peace conference, which closed on Thursday, will be remembered as the first hybrid meeting, with most observers looking in via internet as 130 participated in person. It was also the most youth-oriented gathering in the 51-year-old interfaith organisation’s history. Nearly a quarter of those who came to this year’s conference, […]
‘Digital divide’ hits rural Black Americans hardest
Los Angles/Washington DCThomson Reuters Foundation The lack of internet access in the United States is particularly pronounced in rural, southern areas with higher Black populations, researchers said this week amid a battle in Congress over how to close the digital divide. African Americans across rural counties in 10 mostly southern states were nearly twice as likely […]
As Brazil passes 600,000 COVID-19 deaths, vaccines offer hope worst is over
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilReuters Brazil became the second country in the world to pass 600,000 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, a dark milestone for a government that has been sharply criticised for mismanaging the outbreak. President Jair Bolsonaro has drawn the ire of health experts for his failure to implement measures to contain the pandemic. He […]
‘The Jesus Music’: In a new documentary, Erwin Brothers recount the glory and mess of Christian music
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports on the making of a new US documentary about the Christian music scene…
Journalists who took on Putin and Duterte win 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
Oslo, Norway/Moscow, Russia/Manila, The PhilippinesReuters Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, who braved the wrath of the leaders of the Philippines and Russia to expose corruption and misrule, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, in an endorsement of free speech under fire worldwide. The two were awarded “for their courageous fight for freedom of […]