Wow!: “Giving life to dying land” – solar water pumps quench thirsty Kenyan farms
KAGONDU NJAGI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on the difference solar water pumps are making in the lives of farmers in Kenya’s Makueni County…
Pope Francis calls for greater female leadership ahead of G20 summit
Vatican CityRNS In a message read by his secretary of state to a women’s advocacy group meeting ahead of the G20 summit, Pope Francis called for greater female leadership in world affairs on Monday, telling the Women’s Forum G20 that “our world needs the collaboration of women, their leadership and their abilities, as well as […]
Efforts drag on to free 17 missionaries kidnapped in Haiti
Port-au-Prince, HaitiAP Efforts to win the return of 17 members of a US-based missionary group and a local driver stretched into a fourth day Wednesday, with a violent gang demanding $US1 million ransom per person. The group seized includes five children aged from eight months to 15 years, although authorities were not clear whether the […]
Philippines to review thousands more ‘drug war’ killings
Manila, PhilippinesReuters The Philippines will look into thousands of killings in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, its justice minister said on Wednesday, after a review of a sample of cases indicated foul play in dozens of deadly police operations. Menardo Guevarra said his Department of Justice would expand its review to the more than […]
Floods death toll rises in India and Nepal
New Delhi, IndiaReuters Floods unleashed by days of unseasonal heavy rain have wrecked crops, blocked roads and washed away bridges in northern India, killing at least 46 people, officials said on Wednesday, as they mounted rescue efforts for those stranded. Aerial images gave glimpses of engorged rivers and partially submerged villages in affected areas in […]
Explainer – Net zero: just patching over emissions or path for saving planet?
London, UKReuters More than 190 countries committed in 2015 to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in an effort to stave off the worst effects of climate change such as drought, flooding and loss of species. Scientists say bringing global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2050 is the […]
Fashion companies investing more than ever in ethical sourcing, but their efforts still aren’t reaching garment workers, says Baptist World Aid Australia report
Last updated 5pm (AEDT) Sydney, Australia Fashion companies are making “slow progress” prioritising the elimination of modern slavery and improving outcomes for climate change, Baptist World Aid Australia’s 2021 Ethical Fashion Report and Guide has found. Almost 100 companies with a turnover of $A50 million (as well as some smaller companies), representing 420 fashion brands, were […]
StrangeSights: Room to cry in Spain; unusual haircuts; and, crusader sword found in Med…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Bangladesh’s ruling party rallies for Hindus after deadly clashes
Dhaka, Bangladesh Reuters Thousands of members of Bangladesh’s ruling party rallied on Tuesday in support of the nation’s besieged minority Hindus after one of the worst bouts of communal violence in the Muslim-majority nation for over a decade. The wave of clashes left at least six people dead and dozens of homes destroyed, according to local […]
France returns marble angels stolen from Italian church in ’89
Rome, ItayAP A British art collector who bought a pair of 17th-century marble angels from a Neapolitan antiques shop two decades ago has returned the winged “putti” to Italy’s art police after learning that they had been stolen from a church. Italy’s carabinieri art police said the unnamed collector had tried to resell the angels […]