Pope pushes through nerve pain to give New Year’s blessing
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis ushered in the New Year on Friday with a traditional Angelus blessing from the papal library, pushing through nerve pain that forced him to skip New Year’s ceremonies in St Peter’s Basilica. The Pope appeared relaxed as he stood at a lectern in the Apostolic Palace wishing the faithful watching via […]
Tech’s long COVID-19: What privacy battles will define 2021?
Thomson Reuters Foundation The coronavirus pandemic added a new layer to the ever-developing debate around privacy and technology in 2020, as governments and companies turned to tools like contract tracing apps and employee monitoring software. As the year comes to an end, the Thomson Reuters Foundation asked privacy experts around the world what issues will […]
In the US, Samaritan’s Purse to open a North Carolina field hospital for COVID-19 patients
RNS Seven months after closing its COVID-19 field hospital in New York City’s Central Park, Samaritan’s Purse is opening another one to treat overflow patients suffering from the coronavirus in western North Carolina. The evangelical humanitarian relief organisation headed by Franklin Graham will open a scaled-down 30-bed field hospital to help five small hospitals in […]
WHO emergency COVID-19 vaccine listing aims to lift access in poor countries
Zurich, SwitzerlandReuters The World Health Organization on Thursday listed Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, in a move seeking to speed access in the developing world. The United Nations health agency said it will work with regional partners to tell national health authorities about the two-dose shot and its anticipated benefits. Syringes are […]
Jericho March plans DC return in the new year to pray Pence will overturn election
RNS A die-hard group of Trump supporters hopes 2021 will start with prayer, fasting and perhaps a miracle. Organisers of the Jericho March, slated for Tuesday and Wednesday, have called on “patriots, people of faith and all those who want to take back America” to travel to Washington on those days for a pair of marches to […]
Vatican denies knowledge of $US1.8 billion transferred to Australia
Vatican CityReuters The Vatican and the Australian Catholic Church have both denied knowledge of transfers worth $US1.8 billion which Australia’s financial watchdog says have been sent from Rome to Australia in the past seven years. “That amount of money and that number of transfers did not leave the Vatican City,” a senior Vatican official with […]
US first – Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben named as first woman to serve as House chaplain
RNS A longtime military officer and minister has been named the new chaplain of the US House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday. Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben. PICTURE: United States Navy /Creative Commons Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben will be the first woman to serve as chaplain of either chamber […]