Faith is driving many Trump administration policies, says White House chief of staff

Washington, DC RNS White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney declared at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday that faith drives the Trump administration’s policy proposals, arguing that “the principles of our faith [are] being manifest” under the President’s watch. Also in attendance at the breakfast – a largely conservative religious gathering that meets […]
Sri Lanka detains Syrian in investigation of blasts; toll rises to 321

Colombo, Sri Lanka Reuters Sri Lankan police detained a Syrian among 40 people being questioned about the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels, government and military sources said on Tuesday, as the toll from the coordinated bomb attacks rose to 321. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which officials said were carried […]
Dumping plastic waste in Asia found destroying crops and health

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Thomson Reuters Foundation The world’s recyclable plastic is being shipped to Asia where it is illegally dumped, buried or burned in the country with the lightest regulations, environmentalists warned on Tuesday calling for greater transparency in the global waste trade. A report by Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Greenpeace East Asia […]
Myanmar’s top court rejects final appeal by jailed Reuters journalists

Naypyitaw, Myanmar Reuters Myanmar’s top court on Tuesday rejected the appeal of two Reuters reporters sentenced to seven years in jail for breaking the Official Secrets Act, in a landmark case that has raised questions about the country’s transition to democracy. “They were sentenced for seven years and this decision stands, and the appeal is […]
“This is our story”: Photographs reimagine South African inequality

Johannesburg, South Africa Thomson Reuters Foundation Photographs of South African children in after-school tutoring groups and a mother and son carrying seedlings are among 30-odd images lining the walls of the old Women’s Jail, which once housed political prisoners like Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. The exhibition in Johannesburg’s former prison complex – where thousands of women were […]
GARISSA ATTACK ANNIVERSARY: “I WAS LAST TO COME OUT ALIVE” – KENYAN STUDENT TALKS ABOUT HER LIFE-CHANGING INJURIES

World Watch Monitor speaks with Reachel Ginkonyo who survived an attack targeting Christians on a university campus in north-east Kenya four years ago…
UK soap opera ‘Coronation Street’ to spotlight modern slavery

London Thomson Reuters Foundation British soap opera Coronation Street began a storyline on modern slavery on Monday, highlighting the plight of tens of thousands trapped in abusive work conditions across the country. Campaigners and slavery survivors have praised the storyline, which revolves around a nail salon worker trafficked by an Eastern European slavery ring, for […]
Essay: Who are Sri Lanka’s Christians?

In an article first published on The Conversation, MATHEW SCHMALZ, associate professor of religion at College of the Holy Cross in the US, looks at the history of Christianity in Sri Lanka following the Easter Sunday terror attacks in the island nation…
THIS LIFE: WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS

US columnist CAROL ROUND, in an article first published by ASSIST News Service, looks at the power of the Holy Spirit to convict…
Australian rugby player Israel Folau’s code of conduct hearing for controversial social media comments set for 4th May

Sydney, Australia Reuters Rugby Australia has scheduled a code of conduct hearing for 4th May over Israel Folau’s controversial social media comments, the governing body has said. Israel Folou representing Australia in a game against England at Twickenham last November. PICTURE: REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo. The 30-year-old Folau, a devout Christian, sparked controversy for the second time […]