Despite Qatar splurging $200 billion on World Cup, the tournament faces infrastructure issues
Qatar has spent an eye-watering $200 billion on hosting this year’s World Cup – nearly 20 times what Russia splashed out on the 2018 edition. The controversial tournament is set to kick off on November 20 amid a backdrop of infrastructure issues, despite the host’s lavish spending. Qatar’s $200 billion...
Eyes on Qatar World Cup: Pundit says Lionel Messi is in best Argentina team he ever played in
It’s been 16 years since Messi first played in the world’s most prestigious football tournament – but so far, it’s the one trophy that has evaded him in his otherwise glittering career. The former Barcelona talisman turned Paris Saint-Germain star has rediscovered his goalscoring form at club level recently after...
How US churches breach privacy with spyware to force congregants conform to what pastors want
While the accessibility functionalities are meant to help software developers build out features that assist people with disabilities, these apps take advantage of such permissions to either capture screenshots of everything actively being viewed on the internet device or detect the name of apps as they’re being used and record...
Shameware: Evangelical churches in US resort to ‘Covenant Eyes’ spyware to root out porn addiction
Gracepoint is the kind of evangelical Southern Baptist church that’s compelled to publicly enumerate all of the ways it’s not a cult. “We’ll admit that we’re a bit crazy about the Great Commission and sharing the Gospel,” reads an FAQ page titled, “Is Gracepoint a Cult?” So when Grant Hao-Wei...
Bolsonaro vs Lula: Brazil’s October 2 presidential poll to determine fate of Amazon rainforest
The upcoming Brazilian election will decide the fate of the Amazon rainforest, ecologists have warned, as the country looks set to choose between re-electing current President Jair Bolsonaro or his rival and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, deforestation records have repeatedly been...
Global fund for environment gets $1.5 billion boost for biodiversity conservation from Germany
A beleaguered global deal to save the environment got a financial boost last week when Germany announced that it was upping its funding for international biodiversity conservation to €1.5 billion ($1.49 billion) a year – an increase of €0.87 billion – making it the largest national financial pledge yet to...
For smashing autistic boy’s phone, Man United superstar Ronaldo’s now charged for violent conduct
Cristiano Ronaldo has been charged with breaching FA rules after he smashed an autistic boy’s phone to the ground. The Man United forward appeared to slap young Jacob Harding’s hand after his side were defeated by Everton at Goodison Park in April. Ronaldo later apologised to the 14-year-old but was...
South Sudan refugee protection: ‘Failing to punish sexual offenders adequately undermines confidence in the system’
One of the overriding complaints from camp residents in Malakal Protection of Civilians (POC) site in South Sudan has been inaction over sexual abuse cases and the absence of justice. A woman who said an MSF worker tried to rape her daughter said community leaders took the side of the...
Sexual abuse in South Sudan’s refugee camps: ‘Perpetrators are mostly humanitarians, UN peacekeepers’
Some cases of sexual abuse in Malakal refugee camp in South Sudan are sometimes covered up by men paying money, proposing marriage, or giving the family a dowry, said Josephina James, assistant head for the women’s group in the camp that holds regular meetings to discuss such abuse and other...
UN’s predators: Harrowing tales of sexual abuse by aid workers and UN peacekeepers in South Sudan
Adeyinka Badejo, World Food Programme’s (WFP) South Sudan acting country director and the co-chair of the UN-led task force that aims to prevent such abuses, said in a written response to reporters that some prevention efforts had also been disrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. An external mid-term review of...
