Hillsong founder Brian Houston announces investigation after NYC pastor Carl Lentz’s firing
New York City, USRNS Brian Houston, global senior pastor of the international Hillsong Church, announced Thursday that an independent investigator will review the “inner workings” of Hillsong’s New York City branch after the firing of its lead pastor, Carl Lentz, last week. “We need a solid foundation for a fresh start and new beginning,” Houston said in a […]
This Life: The journey home – a certain faith in uncertain times
An expat Australian living in New York when the coronavirus pandemic broke, MARCUS CHEONG writes about the uncertainty expats like himself have faced in getting back home…
Kosovo’s rival communities reach deal on World Heritage site
Pristina, Kosovo/Tirana, AlbaniaAP Italian mediation on Thursday helped resolve a long-running dispute between Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian government and the Serb minority, allowing a highway project that will bypass a historic Christian Orthodox monastery listed as an endangered World Heritage site. Serb Orthodox leaders long protested works to greatly widen a road brushing the 14th century […]
Gates Foundation adds $US70 million more funding for COVID vaccines for poor
London, UKReuters The Gates Foundation added another $US70 million of funding on Thursday to global efforts to develop and distribute vaccines and treatments against the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it hoped other international donors would now also pledge more. An extra $US50 million will go to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment led by the GAVI vaccine […]
Vatican calling: Pope congratulates Joe Biden on election
AP It’s not exactly divine intervention, but even the Pope considers the US presidential race over. President-elect Joe Biden, a lifelong Roman Catholic, spoke to Pope Francis on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump refusing to concede. Trump claims – without evidence – that the election was stolen from him through massive but unspecified acts of […]
WHO chief says coronavirus is “not tired”, urges vigilance; WHO in talks on Russian vaccine
Paris, France/Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters People are becoming weary of the coronavirus pandemic but should remain vigilant and continue to take precautions while the world awaits a vaccine, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday. Eleven months into the pandemic that has killed more than 1.2 million people, derailed economies and turned daily lives […]
In blow to WHO, EU seeks powers to declare health emergencies
Brussels, BelgiumReuters The European Commission on Wednesday proposed rules which would give the EU the power to declare a health emergency and stress test national plans to tackle pandemics, in a potential blow to the World Health Organization. The move follows an often uncoordinated reaction by the 27 EU governments to the COVID-19 pandemic, which […]
Women bear brunt of online abuse as world goes digital in pandemic
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Women bear the brunt of digital abuse – threatened with rape and exploited for porn – as the coronavirus pandemic drives ever more people online, media experts said on Wednesday. Through salacious claims and viral memes, Brazilian journalist Patricia Campos Mello said she has repeatedly faced attack online for reporting on […]
GreenSight: The ‘rimmon’ or pomegranate
ALVIN JOHNSON looks at Biblical mentions of the pomegranate, known as the ‘rimmon’…
With scant power or freezers, Pfizer vaccine brings little cheer to coronavirus-hit India
New Delhi, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Despite hopes raised by Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, it will take huge efforts for India to defeat the coronavirus, with its 1.3 billion population and the world’s second-highest caseload. Pfizer Inc’s Monday announcement that initial trials showed their experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective sparked cheer across […]