US deputy shot armed man who disrupted church service
Waxhaw, North CarolinaAP A sheriff’s deputy shot and wounded a man who was armed with a knife when deputies responded to a complaint that he had disrupted an outdoor church service in North Carolina on Sunday, authorities said. Investigators were trying to determine why the man, whose injuries didn’t appear life-threatening, interrupted the service outside […]
Disruption to global immunisation system could delay COVID-19 vaccinations
Geneva/Zurich, SwitzerlandReuters Massive disruptions to global immunisation programmes from the COVID-19 pandemic have health experts fearful that much of the developing world will not be able to get a vaccine for the new coronavirus, even once one is ready. UN agencies and the GAVI vaccine alliance said on Friday that 80 million children in at […]
Pacific islands urged to retune post-pandemic for new economic age
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation Pacific islands that rely on tourism should reset their economies and invest in sustainable industries and migrant workers to better weather the impact of disease and disaster, according to a senior United Nations official. Kanni Wignaraja, head of the UN Development Programme for Asia-Pacific, urged small Pacific economies that were […]
In the US, Minnesota governor extends occupancy for church services; New England Catholics look forward to Masses
Minneapolis, USAP Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Saturday scrapped his 10-person limit on group gatherings and agreed to allow churches to open at 25 per cent occupancy if certain safety guidelines are met. Walz said the decision, coming on a day when the state reported a record number of COVID-19 cases, has been “a challenging […]
Virus surge in Indonesia raises questions about battle plan
Jakarta, IndonesiaAP Indonesia has seen a surge in coronavirus infections ahead of this this weekend’s celebrations marking the end of Ramadan, raising questions about the commitment to the virus fight from both the government and the public. Indonesia has the most COVID-19 fatalities in South-East Asia at more than 1,300 and on Thursday reported its […]
US church reopenings: Trump’s urging stokes furor in debate over in-person worship
ELANA SCHOR, of Associated Press, reports on the fraught issue of churches in the US…