Greece asks faithful to be COVID-clear to attend church
Athens, Greece Reuters Greece introduced new restrictions obliging churchgoers to present negative COVID-19 tests to attend services on Sunday following a surge in infections in recent weeks. Under new rules announced on 18th November, unvaccinated people are barred from indoor spaces including restaurants, cinemas, museums and gyms, even if they test negative for the coronavirus. […]
Postcards: Empty houses litter Nigeria’s cities despite housing crisis
KELECHUKWU IRUOMA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on the lack of affordable housing in Nigerian cities…
In the US, Phil Saviano, key clergy sex abuse whistleblower, dies at 69
Updated: 11.45am (AEDT)Boston, Massachusetts, USAP Phil Saviano, a clergy sex abuse survivor and whistleblower who played a pivotal role in exposing decades of predatory assaults by Roman Catholic priests in the United States, has died. He was 69. Saviano’s story figured prominently in the 2015 Oscar-winning film Spotlight about The Boston Globe’s investigation that revealed how scores […]
Pope Francis pained at migrant deaths in English Channel
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis on Sunday expressed pain and sorrow at the deaths and suffering of migrants crossing the English Channel, at the border between Poland and Belarus and in the Mediterranean Sea. The Pope asked the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square for the traditional Sunday blessing to pray “for migrants and their suffering”. […]
Omicron variant detected in more countries as scientists race to find answers
Reuters The Omicron coronavirus variant spread around the world on Sunday, with new cases found in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia even as more countries imposed travel restriction to try to seal themselves off. The World Health Organization said it is not yet clear whether Omicron, first detected in Southern Africa, is more transmissible than […]
France says it is willing to discuss autonomy for Guadeloupe
Paris, FranceReuters France is willing to discuss autonomy for the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe if it is in the interests of the people who live there, government minister Sebastien Lecornu said. Guadeloupe and the nearby French island of Martinique have seen several days of protests against COVID-19 measures that have spilled over into violence. […]
Seoul, Barbados check into metaverse as governments eye virtual presence
Thomson Reuters Foundation The metaverse will soon be a place to not just buy virtual goods and meet avatars, but to also get essential public services, as governments prepare to enter the rapidly expanding digital world despite concerns about privacy and other rights. The city of Seoul and the island nation of Barbados earlier this month […]
Brazil police recommend homicide, environmental charges in Vale dam disaster
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilReuters Brazilian police have recommended multiple criminal charges against miner Vale SA and Germany’s TUV SUD for their role in a 2019 dam burst that killed 270 people and caused extensive environmental damage, according to a statement on Friday. The federal police probe, one of several parallel investigations into the incident that […]
The Long Read: Women step up, fill the gaps in Burkina Faso’s virus fight
SAM MEDNICK, of Associated Press, reports on the role women are playing in the West African nation’s coronavirus response…