Child soldiers and deaths surge in Mali as violence worsens
Dakar, Senegal Thomson Reuters Foundation The number of children forced to join armed groups in Mali has doubled since last year amid worsening jihadist and ethnic violence, the United Nations said on Tuesday. In the first six months of 2019, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, recorded 99 cases of children in Mali being recruited or […]
Australia should reduce emissions, coal mining – Pacific leaders
Funafuti, Tuvalu Reuters Australia should do more to reduce its carbon emissions and giving cash to countries battling climate change was not enough, Pacific island leaders said on Tuesday in a rebuke of Canberra’s latest attempt to improve ties with the region. Australia will give $A500 million to Pacific island nations for renewable energy projects […]
Know It All: The Geneva Conventions
As the world marks the 70th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, DAVID ADAMS looks at some facts and figures surrounding the conventions…
In Australia, Israel Folau case set for trial in early 2020
Melbourne, Australia Reuters Israel Folau’s unfair dismissal case against Rugby Australia and the New South Wales Waratahs will head to trial in February, 2020, if no settlement is reached beforehand. Fundamentalist Christian Folau is fighting the termination of his four-year contract in May after he posted a meme on social media that said hell awaited […]
Colombian pastor found shot dead; speculation his killing may be linked to protests
A Colombian pastor was shot and killed in his home in the country’s north late last week with speculation that it was linked to a church protest calling for the restoration of peace in the region. PICTURE: Pastor Plinio Rafael Salcedo/via Facebook UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW says the body of Pastor Plinio Rafael Salcedo, […]
Corner of world’s largest refugee camp recreated in British mall
London Thomson Reuters Foundation British shoppers were given the chance to experience the world’s largest refugee camp on Monday when a charity attempted to recreate the jungles of southern Bangladesh – home to nearly a million displaced Rohingya – in a London mall. The interactive installation by the British Red Cross allows shoppers to see […]
ANNIVERSARY: FORMER REFUGEES MARK 75 YEARS SINCE ARRIVAL AT THE ONLY US SAFE HAVEN DURING HOLOCAUST
RENEE K GADOUA, in an article published by Religion News Service, reports from the US…
In the US, Boston’s Catholic archdiocese expands effort to digitise archives
Boston, US RNS When Thomas Lester began his job as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston’s archivist in 2014, he quickly noticed that many of the archdiocese’s bound archives containing centuries of records of sacraments performed by its clergy were beginning to fall apart. “It was very obvious right from the beginning that these thousands […]
Essay: The maddeningly untraditional and modern faith of Abraham Lincoln
In an article first published on Religion News Service, US author STEPHEN MANSFIELD looks at the surprising faith of Abraham Lincoln…
Postcards: In Kenya, women trafficked from South Asia to dance in Bollywood-style bars
NITA BHALLA, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Kenya…