Jerusalem: In contested Old City, shrinking Armenian community fears displacement after land deal
ISABEL DEBRE, of Associated Press, reports on concerns among the Armenian community over their future in the city…
Spain to help young citizens fly the nest with foreclosed homes
Madrid, Spain Reuters Spain is aiming to help millions of young adults still living with their parents to rent their own homes by offering them properties abandoned when its housing market collapsed a decade ago. The rising cost of rent is set to become a key campaign issue as Spain gears up for regional ballots […]
Postcards: US renters fall foul of algorithms in search for a home
CAREY L BIRON, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how automated screening programs are under scrutiny amid broader concerns about the potential of algorithms to lock in bias and perpetuate inequality…
Gaza struggles to accommodate the living and the dead as population grows
Gaza City Reuters In the densely populated Gaza Strip, a battle for space is pitting the living against the dead as homeless squatters settle in the area’s cemeteries while authorities grapple with the growing demand for new housing. In the Sheikh Shaban cemetery, the area’s oldest, Kamilia Kuhail’s family live in a house built by […]
Baghdad’s historic homes crumble as real estate booms
Baghdad, Iraq Reuters Overlooking the Tigris river in Baghdad, a 100-year-old Iraqi mansion stands dilapidated and neglected. Visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of its faded glory are warned off by a sign near the door saying: “Danger of collapse”. The 16-room building once boasted latticed windows, delicate carvings, a balcony and an inner courtyard […]
Urban revitalisation: Can crowdfunded property turn rundown neighbourhoods around?
CAREY L BIRON, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how the idea of harnessing small-scale investors for real estate development – boosted by digital platforms – is gaining momentum nationally…
Pope hopes London building last Vatican financial scandal
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis said he hoped that the recent sale of a luxury London building at the centre of an ongoing corruption trial meant the Vatican can see the back of financial scandals. Vatican finances were one of the many church and international topics the 85-year-old pontiff discussed in an exclusive interview with […]
Cardinal skips Vatican trial to boycott talk of rumoured liaison with woman
Vatican City Reuters A cardinal who is a defendant in a Vatican corruption trial stayed away on Tuesday because he did not want to be in the room when lawyers spoke of rumours that he had an intimate relationship with a woman, which he has denied. The trial, in which 10 defendants are accused of […]
Spain: Catholic Church agrees to return usurped real estate
Madrid, SpainAP The body representing Catholic bishops in Spain has acknowledged that nearly 1,000 real estate properties across the country were registered as possessions of the Church despite having no proof of ownership or clearly belonging to others. The Catholic Church will now begin a process to “regularize” those properties, according to a joint statement […]
Vatican financial reform efforts continue amid scandals and deficit
Vatican City RNS While Vatican finances suffered greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic and high-profile financial scandals maimed the church’s credibility worldwide, Pope Francis and his team of reformers continue their efforts to promote transparency in the institution’s wrought finances. In a long interview to Vatican media outlets on Monday, Bishop Nunzio Galantino, president of the […]