English shooter killed five, including very young girl, in nation’s worst mass shooting in more than a decade
Plymouth, UKReuters A man shot dead five people, including a three-year-old girl, in violence that police in the southern English city of Plymouth believe began with a domestic dispute and the killing of his mother. Mass shootings are rare in the United Kingdom, where gun ownership is relatively low, and Thursday’s six-minute rampage was the […]
China cities declare rain ‘red alerts’ as flood death toll hits 21
Shanghai, ChinaReuters Five cities in the central Chinese province of Hubei have declared “red alerts” after torrential rain left 21 people dead and forced the evacuation of nearly 6,000 people, state media reported. The deaths were recorded in the township of Liulin, part of the city of Suizhou in the north of the province. More […]
Snapshot: Moraine Lake, Canada
See JAMES WHEELER’s image…
In the US, death-row inmate sues for pastor’s touch during execution
Corpus Christi, TexasAP A Texas death-row inmate has sued state prison officials to allow his pastor to lay hands on him as he dies from a lethal injection. John Henry Ramirez, 37, is scheduled to be put to death in the Texas death chamber on 8th September, but his attorneys said in a federal lawsuit […]
What is AI? Free online courses aim to get everyone up to speed
Thomson Reuters Foundation Is artificial intelligence going to take over the world? Is it going to steal our jobs? Answers to these common worries and more can be found online in India and Singapore, as their governments seek to “demystify AI for people from all walks of life” with a free digital course designed by […]
Indonesian ferry turns into a floating isolation centre for COVID-19 patients
Makassar, IndonesiaReuters A vehicle with a flashing siren and “Makassar COVID Hunter” written on the side pulls up to a ship docked at a jetty in the Indonesian port city of Makassar, and masked COVID-19 patients carrying bags board the boat. This ship, called the KM Umsini, used to ply a route ferrying up to […]
US ships more than 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Iraq
Washington DC, USReuters The US Government will ship just over 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Iraq on Thursday, with the shots due to arrive in the Middle Eastern country on Saturday, a White House official said. A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a “Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine” sticker and a medical syringe in this […]
Faith online: Charismatic TikTok divided over praying in tongues
RENÉE RODEN, of Religion News Service, reports on how praying in tongues has made its way onto social media platforms and how not everyone agrees it’s the right place for the practice…
Migrants’ unpaid hospital bills a barrier to birth certificates in UAE
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Philippine national Maya and her husband lost their low-paying jobs in the United Arab Emirates early in the coronavirus pandemic, and with it their work visas and health insurance. Now they say they face a mounting bill of daily immigration fines because their one-year-old child remains undocumented, as the hospital where […]
Essay: After more than a month of nationwide protests, Cuba needs our prayers
ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, looks at the plight of Protestant pastors in Cuba who were detained in relation to ongoing protests in the country…