Pope on new year: Pandemic is hard, but focus on the good
Vatican CityAP In his New Year’s wishes to the world, Pope Francis encouraged people Saturday to focus on the good which unites them and decried violence against women while acknowledging that the coronavirus pandemic has left many scared and struggling amid economic inequality. “We are still living in uncertain and difficult times due to the […]
Essay: The shape of jobs in 2022
MAL FLETCHER, chairman of UK-based thinktank 2030plus, looks at how the coronavirus pandemic has changed the shape of work…
Study: Religion soothed US evangelicals at start of COVID. Politics put them at risk.
RNS Religion provided great comfort to evangelical Christians in the US in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But according to a study in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, their politics made them less likely to see the virus as a threat. Researchers Landon Schnabel of Cornell University and Scott Schieman of […]
Luxury to essential: Latin America boosts internet access in pandemic
ANASTASIA MOLONEY and FABIO TEIXEIRA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on how the pandemic exposed a deep digital divide across Latin America and the Caribbean – and what is being done to address it…
Kenya’s President pledges millions to fight surge in gender violence
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Kenya’s President pledged millions of dollars in state funds on Friday to help tackle a surge in gender-based violence during the pandemic, outlining plans to open women’s shelters across the country and improve policing. Uhuru Kenyatta said crime statistics showed cases involving violence against women had almost doubled between January and […]
Israelis gather for Passover, celebrating freedom from virus
Jerusalem, IsraelAP A year ago, Giordana Grego’s parents spent Passover at home in Israel, alone but grateful that they had escaped the worst of the pandemic in Italy. This year, the whole family will get together to mark the Jewish feast of liberation and deliverance from the pandemic. Israel has vaccinated over half its population […]
Greeks fly kites for ‘Clean Monday’ holiday despite pandemic
Athens, GreeceAP Colourful kites danced in the skies above the hilltops and seafront promenades of Athens on Clean Monday as Greeks turned out to celebrate the Eastern Christian holiday in their traditional fashion after being hit hard by the pandemic during the winter. The country is still in lockdown, with most retail businesses shut and […]
Hungry for change: Faulty food systems laid bare by COVID-19 and climate crises
THIN LEI WIN and CORMAC O’BRIEN, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on how the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the world’s food crises…
Essay: COVID-19 shouldn’t kill cash
As Black Friday sales take place around the world, London-based social commentator and futurist MAL FLETCHER, in an indepth article, looks at the implications of a cash-free society…
Essay: ‘End COVID For All’ and the five surprises on aid
TIM COSTELLO, executive director of Micah Australia and spokesperson for the ‘End COVID For All’ campaign, applauds recent Australian Government decisions to help the nation’s regional neighbours through the COVID-19 crisis…