MUSIC: ARETHA FRANKLIN STARTED WITH THE GOSPEL, ENDED WITH SOUL AT AGE 76

ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, writes about the legacy of singer Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul”, who died on 16th August at age 76…
Central American child migrants move in ‘shadows’, at risk from traffickers, says UN
Bogota, ColombiaThomson Reuters Foundation Refugee and migrant children fleeing Central America to escape gang violence and poverty are at risk from human traffickers during their journey to the United States, the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said on Thursday. Ten of thousands of children, either traveling alone or with their families from El Salvador, Honduras […]
Trendspotter: The “gig economy”

DAVID ADAMS takes a quick look at the rise of the idea of the ‘gig’ economy…
Music Soundbite – The TCM Update: Tauren Wells leads GMA Dove Award nominations…
Listen to this week’s TCM Update…
MISSION: DODGING DANGERS, US MISSION GROUPS WEIGH RISKS AND REWARDS

STEVE RABEY, of Religion News Service, reports…
Christian summer camps closed down, priests dismissed, in China

World Watch Monitor China has closed several Christian summer camps for children and dismissed two priests for holding a camp, reports Catholic news agency UCAN. The two priests belonged to one of the only two unregistered Catholic churches in Tianshui diocese, in China’s northwest Gansu province. Young people playing at a Christian summer camp in 2008. PICTURE: […]
Crop-munching armyworm could threaten millions of farmers in Asia, says UN

Thomson Reuters Foundation A voracious crop-chomping pest which has wrought havoc in Africa could threaten millions of farmers in Asia, UN experts warned on Tuesday, as India battles the continent’s first reported infestation of fall armyworm. The pest – a moth which devours crops in the caterpillar stage of its lifecycle – prefers maize but […]
MIGRATION: REFUGEES SOW CROPS WITH KENYAN HOSTS AND REAP INTEGRATION

ISAIAH ESIPISU, writing for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on 14 year project that aims to provide refugees with sustainable livelihoods through agriculture, while helping them integrate with the local Kenyan community…
Indian PM speaks out against “menace” of mob attacks for first time

World Watch Monitor India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has for the first time condemned violence against minorities, saying that everyone has a duty to fight the “menace” of mob lynchings. But his critics say that, after four years in power at the head of a Hindu nationalist government, the comments have come too late. Attacks on […]
Essay: The world’s most deadly place to deliver aid

In an article first published by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, JAN EGELAND, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, reflects on the dangers aid workers are facing in countries like South Sudan…