Essay: Welcome to America’s new Gilded Age

Rev PAUL BRANDEIS RAUSHENBUSH, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, says, in an article first published on Religion News Service, that Trump’s praise for a 19th-century President answers the question so many have been asking: When does Trump believe America was great? It’s the Gilded Age…
Latin America poverty hits 33-year low but inequality prevails, UN report says
Santiago, Chile Reuters Latin American poverty levels in 2023 fell to a 33-year low, led by progress in Brazil, the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said in a report on Tuesday, even as severe inequality persists in the region. ECLAC said Latin America is marked by high inequality, limited […]
Lifestory: Remembering Gustavo Gutiérrez

Rev JOSEPH NANGLE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, recounts how he was among a group of priests who met with Gutiérrez but that only later did they realise that what he told them were the first moments of what would come to be called liberation theology…
Debt burden threatens poor countries’ development goals, UN official says

Hamburg, Germany Reuters The world’s poorest countries are having to prioritise debt service over investments, United Nations Development Programme administrator Achim Steiner said on Monday, scuppering progress towards their Sustainable Development Goals. Speaking at an event in Hamburg, Steiner said the financial crunch meant countries worldwide were struggling to meet the goals – a set […]
Food insecurity: In Argentina’s poverty-hit barrios an emergency takes hold

LUCILA SIGAL and JAVIER CORBALAN, of Reuters, report on the food emergency taking hold as poverty rises in poor communities…
Essay: US military is leaving Niger even less secure – why it didn’t succeed in combating terrorism

In an article first published on The Conversation, OLAYINKA AJALA looks at US successes and failures in their mission to tackle terrorism in Niger…
South Africa leader pledges to revive economy, include the poor

Cape Town, South Africa Reuters President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged on Thursday to revive South Africa’s flagging economy and extend prosperity to the many left out of it, by resuscitating factories and farms, building roads and seizing the opportunities presented by green energy. In his first policy speech to a new parliament since the African National […]
In Venezuela, hunger stalks presidential election

Maracaibo, Venezuela Reuters Carolina Leal used to support socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and, before that, his predecessor Hugo Chavez. But now Leal, founder of the ‘Feeding a Dream’ charity, spends her days feeding hungry and sometimes malnourished children in Maracaibo, in Venezuela’s oil-rich state of Zulia. And now she is not so sure. People […]
Thousands of faith leaders, union members, activists rally for poor in the US

Washington DC, US RNS Thousands of clergy, union members and activists rallied on behalf of the poor near the US Capitol on Saturday, with faith leaders calling for lawmakers to embrace a slate of policies and for low-wealth Americans to make their voices heard in November as the nation’s “largest potential swing vote.” Rev William […]
Scammers

Have you noticed how on weekends, and holidays you hardly get any spam emails? I have! PICTURE: Liubomyr Vorona/iStockphoto We know that, many scammers are just everyday people in other countries, employed nine-to-five by nefarious employers to bulk email, call and scam people to bring home their bacon. It’s a little unnerving how banal such […]