Global coronavirus death toll hits 200,000
Reuters Global deaths linked to the coronavirus passed 200,000 on Saturday, while confirmed cases of the virus are expected to hit three million in coming days, according to a Reuters tally. More than half of the fatalities have been reported by the United States, Spain and Italy. Mortuary employees transport the body of a person […]
He’s number one: UK’s Captain Tom, 99, add hits single to fundraising record
Reuters Coronavirus charity walk hero Captain Tom Moore became the oldest person to top Britain’s main music chart and also added a world fundraising record to his accolades on Friday, just days shy of his 100th birthday. The World War II veteran took the Guinness World Record title for the most money raised by an […]
Africa faces “hunger pandemic” as coronavirus destroys jobs and fuels poverty
Rome, Italy/Johannesburg, South AfricaThomson Reuters Foundation Since South Africa went into lockdown four weeks ago to slow the spread of the coronavirus, hairdresser Nasreen Pillay has had no income. Without a job contract, she cannot apply for government aid either. “If my mother and father-in-law did not help me, I would be going hungry,” Pillay, […]
Australia, New Zealand honour military personnel from home as coronavirus scuppers parades
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Thousands of people across Australia and New Zealand on Saturday honoured their country’s military personnel in private ceremonies held in driveways and on balconies as the coronavirus outbreak forced traditional ANZAC Day memorials to be cancelled for the first time in decades. Scores of people in Australia and New Zealand typically attend dawn […]
Notre Dame: One year after blaze, debates continue to rage on cathedral’s future
A year on from the devastating fire, CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, of Religion News Service, reports on the controversy surrounding the reconstruction of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral…
In the US, black church, civil rights leaders urge churchgoers to continue to “tele-worship”
RNS Top officials of seven black Christian denominations have joined civil rights leaders in calling for people to stay home until it is safe in states whose governors are lifting shelter-in-place orders. “We regard this pandemic as a grave threat to the health and life of our people, and as a threat to the integrity […]
World leaders launch plan to speed COVID-19 drugs, vaccine; US stays away
Geneva/Zurich, SwitzerlandReuters World leaders pledged on Friday to accelerate work on tests, drugs and vaccines against COVID-19 and to share them around the globe, but the United States did not take part in the launch of the World Health Organization initiative. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa […]