Singapore is trying a new way to get its residents to stay away from each other. On Friday, the government announced it would start deploying Spot, Boston Dynamics’ famous yellow and black canine robot, at one local park. The four-legged robot “dog” will patrol the area starting this weekend and broadcast a pre-recorded message to Read more
Dozens of paving stones made from Jewish gravestones have been found during redevelopment work in Prague’s tourist district, confirming speculation that the former communist regime raided synagogues and graveyards for building materials. Tuesday’s discovery came in the opening phase of a £10.6m facelift project in the city’s landmark Wenceslas Square, scene of the some of Read more
The chief executive of Save the Children Australia has advised international aid charities to innovate now to survive Covid-19. Paul Ronalds was presenting virtually at an event hosted by New Zealand’s Council for International Development. Read more
The 2016 election highlighted Donald Trump’s successful courtship of white evangelicals. This year, much of the focus could be on Catholics. The presidential campaigns are fighting for votes in the Catholic-rich Midwestern states, and the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, is himself a Catholic. “You could view it as the ultimate swing constituency in the Read more
West Papua Action Auckland said the government should be engaging with Indonesian authorities more after a shooting attack at mining company PT Freeport Indonesia’s offices in Papua province killed a New Zealander Graeme Wall on 30 March. Continue reading
After nearly two months of not hearing church choirs singing hymns due to Covid-19 restrictions, Samoans piled into church buildings Sunday morning in unusually large numbers. The streets were again whitewashed with flashy Sunday best attire. Inside one church in Apia, there was initial trepidation as parishioners looked around to see who would be the Read more
In Pakistan, descendants of lower-caste Hindus who converted to Christianity centuries ago still find themselves marginalized, relegated to dirty jobs and grim fates. Before Jamshed Eric plunges deep below Karachi’s streets to clean out clogged sewers with his bare hands, he says a little prayer to Jesus to keep him safe. The work is grueling, Read more
The Vatican has announced that new “measures” have been taken against officials at the Vatican Secretariat of State as part of ongoing investigations into financial dealings at the curial department. In a statement sent to journalists April 30, Holy See press officer Matteo Bruni said that in response to “some questions from journalists,” he could Read more
Cardinal Pell’s release has a number of influential Catholic figures across Australia expressing concern that the divisive atmosphere stoked by the recent quashing of Pell’s sexual abuse convictions could frustrate hopes for an upcoming once-in-a-generation assembly of the nation’s church. The assembly, a plenary council in preparation for two years and involving the direct input Read more