Real COVID-19 death toll could be ‘two to three’ times above official stats: WHO
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Official tolls showing the number of deaths directly or indirectly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to be a “significant undercount”, the World Health Organization said on Friday, saying six to eight million people may have died so far. Presenting its annual World Health Statistics report, the WHO estimated that total deaths […]
Extreme weather was the biggest reason for people to flee homes in 2020
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Extreme weather linked to climate change and mass evacuations to protect those at risk are driving a global surge in families forced from their homes, with a share remaining displaced long-term, analysts said on Thursday. About 98 per cent of new movements of people from their houses in 2020 were caused […]
Man pleads not guilty to torching historic California church
San Gabriel, CaliforniaAP A man pleaded not guilty Thursday to setting a fire that caused millions of dollars in damage to a historic Southern California Roman Catholic mission. John David Corey, 57, is charged with breaking in and setting an 11th July pre-dawn blaze that engulfed the rooftop and most of the interior of the […]
Snapshot: ‘Old Bridge’, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzogovina
See STEPH SMITH’s image…
Israel-Hamas truce takes hold after 11 days of fighting
Gaza/Jerusalem Reuters An Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas began on Friday, but Hamas warned it still had its “hands on the trigger” and demanded Israel end the violence in Jerusalem and address the damages in Gaza Strip after the worst fighting in years. US President Joe Biden pledged to salve the devastated Gaza. Aerial […]
US panel says faith community must lead slavery reparations
AP The faith community should guide the way on reparations for America’s history of slavery and racial discrimination and help the nation’s process of reconciliation and healing, religious leaders said during a panel held to discuss the issue. US religious groups have seen widespread interest in reparations, especially among Protestant churches that were active in […]
Air pollution costs each American $US2,500 a year in healthcare – study
New York City, USThomson Reuters Foundation Air pollution from fossil fuels costs each American an average of $US2,500 a year in extra medical bills, researchers said on Thursday, as climate change hurts both health and finances. The national pricetag was put at more than $US820 billion a year, with air pollution contributing to an estimated […]
COVID fight could return ‘to square one’: experts sound vaccines alarm
London, UKReuters India’s export ban on COVID-19 shots risks dragging the battle against the pandemic “back to square one” unless wealthy nations step in to plug a gaping hole in the COVAX global vaccine-sharing scheme, health specialists said on Thursday. COVAX, which is critical for poorer countries, relies on AstraZeneca shots made by the Serum […]
Maintaining contact: Christian higher ed courses in prisons continue, adapt amid COVID-19
EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER and ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, report on how Christian higher education organisations have maintained connections in US prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic…
Poor People’s Campaign, lawmakers unveil sweeping resolution to tackle poverty in the US
Washington, USRNS Lawmakers and leaders of the faith-based Poor People’s Campaign unveiled a sweeping new resolution on Thursday designed to eradicate poverty in the US, with activists touting it as a broad-based legislative framework that hopes to do for poverty what the Green New Deal proposes to do for environmental issues. Speaking to press at the […]