To view more press releases, please visit http://www.snl.com/irweblinkx/news.aspx?iid=1024452.

Did you know that cash transfer (CT) programmes in countries of the sub-Saharan Africa actually have a significant impact? In Malawi, these programmes helped families invest in agricultural equipment and livestock to produce their own food and reduce levels of negative coping strategies, like begging and school drop-outs. In Kenya, secondary school attendance rose by 9 percent and access to [...]

Cash transfer programmes – regular money payments to poor households - aim to reduce poverty, promote sustainable livelihoods and increase production in the developing world. During the past decade, an increasing number of governments in sub-Saharan Africa have launched cash transfer programmes that target the most vulnerable groups, including subsistence farmers, people with disabilities and HIV/AIDS, as well as families [...]

It’s not quite a meat dress, but Kaikaia gaga does boast some impressive horn-like appendages

The spacecraft Hayabusa2 hurled a four-pound copper ball toward the asteroid's surface at about 4,500 miles an hour to create an artificial crater

This eruption is the longest since 2018 when the volcano caused a deadly tsunami

Narrated by Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar Richard Kurin, the 24-part video series blends history with modern mainstays

In New York City, a desperate need among healthcare workers has pushed to the forefront the question: Is homemade equipment safe to use?

A Brown Bear takes a quick dip while hunting for salmon at Anan Creek Bear Observatory in SE Alaska.

During his 20-year professional career, his boisterous style endeared him to fans but rankled traditionalists

The smart tool gives users step-by-step instructions based on WHO’s handwashing protocol

Days before Saint John council passed a motion to ensure Saint John Energy could not be sold, the Ontario cities of Peterborough and Orillia both got approval to sell their municipally owned power distribution companies.

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Discover the real George Washington through his restored home and gardens, over 1,000 artifacts, and an immersive Revolutionary War "snow" experience

Voted "Washington's Best Tour" by Washingtonian Magazine. See the best of Washington aboard on our 2 hour tour with live narration

The Best Museum Experience of All Things Washington, D.C. Experience the stories behind the people and events of the Nation's Capital.

Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says he won’t continue with a fellowship at Harvard University following backlash over his role in Flint’s water crisis.

Equities are likely to keep trading in volatile ranges until the many conflicting narratives in the market give way to a singular message for investors.

1. Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: Maharashtra reports 1,089 new COVID-19 cases across state, 748 in Mumbai; total infections at 19,063  Firstpost
2. Migrant workers | Maharashtra train accident victims were battling hunger  The Hindu
3. Maharashtra: They thought no trains were running, loco driver spotted them too late to stop  The Indian Express
4. ‘Stay where you are’: Shivraj Chouhan appeals to migrants after train tragedy  Hindustan Times
5. MP Ministers Ask Shivraj to Probe Tenure of Kamal Nath to ‘Expose Massive Corruption’  News18
6. View Full coverage on Google News

Twenty-five years after meeting Johnny Cash, a Newfoundland musician is trying to track down a photo of the pair.

Where are they from? Why are they there? Crates full of steel-toe boots showed up at the Yellowknife dump last week. Now they're almost gone.

Paramedics who come back from COVID-19 related calls have to remove and either discard or wash their PPE. They are getting help from students called doffing assistants.

An Essex County OPP officer has been slapped with a cut in pay because of "inexplicable" investigative delays into a fatal collision, allowing the at-fault driver to "evade criminal prosecution."

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Friday the coronavirus pandemic keeps unleashing "a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering" and appealed for "an all-out effort to end hate speech globally."

A young fan of the Jurassic Park film franchise sporting a Tyrannosaurus Rex costume got to meet some of the cast and crew who have been filming the latest instalment of the franchise in his hometown of Merritt, B.C.

Equities are likely to keep trading in volatile ranges until the many conflicting narratives in the market give way to a singular message for investors.

European Systemic Risk Board Occasional Papers by Greg Ros

As the pols take the fight out back to the web, will the dank memes prevail?

What’s bad for America is sometimes good for the market.

A number of popular iOS apps, including TikTok, Pinterest and Spotify, began to crash on Wednesday after an update to Facebook's SDK rolled out, software that many developers rely on to streamline the user login process.

CNA Staff, Apr 23, 2020 / 01:30 pm (CNA).- Iran has sentenced a 21 year-old Christian woman to prison and lashing for “disturbing public order,” after she protested the destruction of a passenger jet by the military.

Mary (Fatemeh) Mohammadi, a 21 year-old Iranian convert to Christianity, was arrested on Jan. 12 after taking part in anti-government protests that followed the shooting down of a passenger jet, Ukrainian Air Flight 752, by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG).  Iran announced several days after the incident that the IRG mistakenly shot the plane down, resulting in the deaths of all 176 people on board the flight.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Mohammadi said her sentence of three months and one day in prison is suspended for one year. She was also sentenced to 10 lashes.

Mohammadi said she has been tortured in prison and suffered “terrible conditions” for “protesting against the slaughter of human beings.” She said she did not appeal her sentence “because the appeal courts have turned into affirmative tribunals.” 

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) tweeted a condemnation of Mohammadi’s sentencing on Wednesday, saying that “No peaceful activist should be targeted on the basis of their religious beliefs.”

President Trump highlighted her case in his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 6, saying that she “was seized and imprisoned in Iran because she converted to Christianity and shared the Gospel with others.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also discussed Mohammadi’s case in a Feb. 12 interview with Tony Perkins on Washington Watch. Perkins is also the chair of USCIRF.

Pompeo said the U.S. was “deeply concerned” of reports of Mohammadi’s arrest, and said she was “targeted by the regime because she made the choice to convert to Christianity.”

According to the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, Mohammadi was “physically and emotionally abused during her arrest and transfer to Qarchak prison,” and was questioned about her faith at her hearing.

Correction: This article originally stated that Mohammadi was one of a group of survivors of religious persecution who met with President Trump last July at the White House, as reported in the Christian Post. It was a different Iranian Christian, Dabrina Bet Tamraz, who met with Trump, not Mohammadi.

After many challenges, the vision for a community centre becomes a reality.

By Maureen Ferguson

One can be forgiven for thinking all of Washington, D.C., has been consumed by impeachment frenzy these past weeks. Look closer, though, and you’ll see that while Trump administration lawyers have been tied down by the Senate trial, other administration officials have been engaged in a flurry of policy making. These new policies have gone largely unnoticed, but they are of crucial – and positive – importance to all people of faith.   

 

The last weeks alone have witnessed sweeping developments on prayer in public schools, discrimination against religious organizations, mandatory abortion coverage in health insurance plans, and government funding of programs encouraging childbirth over abortion. Additionally, the president himself attended the March for Life, and Vice President Pence held a significant meeting with Pope Francis.

 

On school prayer, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued guidance clarifying that students do not compromise their right to pray because they attend a public school or university. The DeVos directive also ensures that religious student groups remain on equal footing with secular student groups. This is a critical response to the recent trend of universities’ disallowing any and all religious expression or association at public institutions of higher education. As DeVos stated, "Too many misinterpret a separation of church and state as an invitation for government to separate people from their faith."

 

Public colleges and universities won’t be able to get away with this any longer, thanks to the Trump Administration. The DeVos directive reaffirms the First Amendment right of students to express religious beliefs in their schoolwork as well as to gather to pray at appropriate times. This sends a strong message to school bureaucrats inclined to ban students from praying before high school football games or to defund Christian student groups at public universities.

 

The administration also issued far-reaching rules stating that religious and non-religious charities must be treated equally in the federal grant process. Team Trump has leveled the playing field. Religious charities will now be free to compete for federal grants to serve their fellow Americans. Not only is this a huge win for religious freedom, but it’s also a huge win for the poor and vulnerable. Because, as we know, Catholic and other religious charities are highly regarded as among best in the field of adoption and foster care, caring for victims of human trafficking, providing for the elderly and the poor, and working with refugees and other vulnerable immigrant populations. Nine federal agencies participated in this rule making. The new rule applies across the entire federal government, removing discriminatory regulatory burdens that push religious entities out of the public square – and out of public service. In short, our nation’s social safety net just got stronger.

 

Another significant announcement is that the administration will vigorously enforce the Weldon Amendment, a longstanding law protecting conscience rights. California has been flagrantly violating this law by forcing all health insurance plans in the state, including Catholic health plans, to cover and pay for elective abortions. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called the policy “abhorrent, unjust and illegal… [a] supreme injustice.” The bishops welcomed the Trump administration’s action as “extraordinarily good news for the right to life, conscientious objection, religious freedom, and the rule of law.”

 

Moreover, the Department of Health and Human Services just came down squarely in support of state healthcare programs that recognize the sanctity of life. Texas had decided years ago that its Medicaid program would support pregnant women and their unborn children, but not abortion-promoting groups like Planned Parenthood. The Obama administration went after Texas but the Trump Administration just granted the necessary waiver supporting Texas’ pro-life policy.

 

That’s all policy, but it’s worth noting again what President Trump and Vice President Pence have been doing themselves. Trump addressed the March for Life rally in person, something no other president has done. Ever. The vice president also spoke to the pro-life March via video from St. Peter’s square at the Vatican, where Pence also had an hour-long private meeting with Pope Francis. The pope and vice president reportedly had a very warm meeting in which they agreed that the cause of life is the “most pressing moral issue of our time.” They also shared their commitment to persecuted Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East. Pence talked of how proud he is that the United States has partnered with the Knight of Columbus to help rebuild Christian communities once decimated by ISIS in the Nineveh plain.

 

So while the media obsesses over Bolton bombshells and the McConnell vs. Schumer showdown, hardworking policy makers across the administration, empowered by the president to act, have made a significant difference in the lives of people of faith – and the children of God they serve.

Participants in OM Mexico's clothing exchange swop clothing items and support missions at the same time.

Founded by Wendy H Gilmour in 2011, Thankfifi began as a fashion blog and has since grown to cover lifestyle, travel and interiors.

Words: Abbie Lyall

IF there's one thing that online news proves without any shadow of uncertainty, it's that there's no knowing what will capture the popular imagination.

It was the highest catwalk show on earth, 300 metres above Everest Base Camp - and the Herald was the only paper in Britain to have a front row seat.

This season's colours and cuts mix up the wardrobe-staple trench, says Prudence Wade.

OM EAST - Just before Easter 2010, the Hitchings travelled to Serbia with Simon (OM EAST) to deliver 1200 copies of "My First Bible" in Arli to the Arli church...

OM EAST is helping meet the need for Bible study booklets to help Bayash Christians grow in their faith.

OM EAST helps bring God’s truth to a people who believe they are cursed.

Singjay Tashina McKenzie has found herself with a lot of downtime since government- mandated lockdowns and curfews have curtailed nightlife and affected recording studios due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Editor,The COVID-19 pandemic has taken us all by surprise. There are currently approaching the 500 mark for number of COVID-19 cases in Jamaica. Due to the outbreak of this virus there has been a reduction in job availability as companies have closed to combat the virus and promote social distancing.Many believe that it has made life harder, but, newsflash, it has not rendered us useless.

During an outreach in the indigenous region of Costa Rica, a participant blesses a local believer by washing his feet and praying for his family.

An OM Arts student shares how picking up trash led to sharing the gospel in Israel.