Vatican recalls stamp celebrating Portugal’s colonial empire after complaints
Rome, ItalyAP The Vatican has recalled a postage stamp promoting this year’s World Youth Day in Portugal following complaints that it celebrated Portugal’s colonial empire and the nationalist dictatorship of Antonio Salazar at a time when the Holy See has been atoning for colonial-era abuses. The stamp, which was still available for purchase online Thursday, features Pope […]
Essay: Pope Francis in DRC and South Sudan – one of his most challenging visits ever
As the papal trip to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan gets underway, MARIO I AGUILAR, director of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics, at the University of St Andrews, looks at some of the issues and challenges…
Netherlands PM Rutte apologises for role of Dutch state in slavery
The Hague, The NetherlandsReuters Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday apologised on behalf of the Dutch State for its historical role in slavery, and for consequences that he acknowledged continue into the present day. “Today I apologise,” Rutte said in a nationally televised speech at the Dutch National Archives. “For centuries the Dutch state and […]
Mixed feelings among some in Africa for Queen Elizabeth II
Johannesburg, South Africa/Thika, KenyaReuters As condolences poured in from around the world after Queen Elizabeth II’s death, there were mixed feelings among some Africans about the monarch and her country’s colonial legacy on a continent where Britain once ruled more than half the territory. Some had fond memories of Britain’s longest serving monarch – who […]
“Excuses are not enough”: Women taken from African mothers by Belgium now want redress
Associated Press’ SAMUEL PETREQUIN reports on the fight of women to seek compensation after being removed from their families as children in the Belgian Congo…
Survivors of missing, slain Indigenous women in Canada impatient for action
Toronto, CanadaThomson Reuters Foundation A year ago, Canada announced that the disappearance and murder of thousands of Indigenous women amounted to genocide, raising hopes authorities would act to address the historic tragedy. Now the government says a plan of action is delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, a development that survivors and advocates say is […]
Land rights: Indigenous Namibians fight for ancestral land in national park
KIM HARRISBERG, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from southern Africa…