New website offers resources for US churches responding to coronavirus
RNS A new website guiding churches and ministry leaders as they respond to the coronavirus pandemic was launched Thursday as a partnership between two Wheaton College institutions — the Billy Graham Center and the Humanitarian Disaster Institute — as well as Saddleback Church in California, led by pastor Rick Warren. “Churches often don’t know what […]
Australian PM advises against big gatherings amid virus outbreak
SydneyReuters Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday urged people not to gather in groups of more than 500 from Monday, but said he would still go to a weekend rugby game, as officials warned millions of residents would contract coronavirus within months. Australia has recorded 156 infections and three deaths from the flu-like respiratory […]
Updated: Trump declares US emergency as coronavirus chaos spreads
Updated 12pmWashington, DC, Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters US President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the quickly spreading coronavirus on Friday, opening the door to more federal aid to combat a disease that has infected over 138,000 people worldwide and left more than 5,000 dead. The impact of the coronavirus on everyday life deepened around the […]
SNAPSHOT: TRAKAI ISLAND CASTLE, LITHUANIA
See VALDEMARAS D’s image…
New Zealand’s Ardern leads Christchurch shooting memorials amid coronavirus scare
Christchurch, New ZealandReuters FLOWERS, MESSAGES OF SUPPORT ADORN MOSQUE Aya al-Umari looks at the bunches of flowers and reads messages of support outside the Al Noor mosque, tributes left for the victims of the Christchurch shootings a year on from the attacks. Al-Umari’s brother Hussein, 35, was was one of 51 Muslim worshippers killed when […]
Father of web, Tim Berners-Lee, urges end to abuse of women online
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Growing online abuse of women and girls is threatening global progress towards gender equality, the inventor of the web Tim Berners-Lee said on Thursday. Berners-Lee, who invented the web in 1989, said he was “seriously concerned” about the impact of harassment and other online abuse, urging governments and companies to do […]
Asia’s rapid urbanisation, deforestation linked to deadly viruses
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation The rapid pace of deforestation, urbanisation and road building are major factors in the spread of infectious diseases across Asia, including the coronavirus, health and environment experts said on Wednesday. Worldwide, more than 119,000 people have been infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus, which emerged from China late last year, and more […]
In the US, religious conference organisers cancel, monitor upcoming events in light of virus
RNS A couple of weeks ago, Religion Communication Congress executive Shirley Struchen thought plans were set for the once-a-decade conference she had helped organise, just as she had two times before. Some 250 people had registered for the meeting to be held next week – 17th to 21st March – at an Arlington, Virginia, hotel. […]
CORONAVIRUS IMPACT: DESERTED CITY – DISPATCHES FROM ROME IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS
CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, of Religion News Service, reports from Rome on how life there has changed…
Growing number of young men in Australia targeted for ‘sextortion’
Kuala LumpurThomson Reuters Foundation A rising number of young men in Australia are falling victim to online “sextortion”, the head of the country’s internet safety agency has warned, bucking a global trend of primarily targeting vulnerable women and girls. Seven out of 10 victims of sextortion – a form of extortion that involves sexual acts […]