US must decide quickly on whether to extend 31st August Afghan evacuation deadline
Kabul, Afghanistan/Washington DC, US Reuters With thousands of desperate Afghans and foreigners crowding into Kabul airport in the hope of fleeing Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers, US officials said on Monday they were scrambling to figure out how to extend a looming 31st August deadline to airlift Americans and their allies to safety. Biden warned on […]
“They are hungry”: Haiti quake survivors fear for children’s future
Camp-Perrin, Haiti Reuters Many survivors of an earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people in southern Haiti are worried about providing for their children, with more than half a million minors feared to be at risk from the fallout. The 14th August quake hammered infrastructure, destroying or damaging some 130,000 homes, cutting off roads and […]
Vietnam deploys troops to enforce lockdown in largest city
Hanoi, VietnamReuters Vietnam deployed soldiers to the streets of Ho Chi Minh City on Monday to help enforce a strict lockdown in the country’s biggest urban area and the current epicentre of its worst coronavirus outbreak to date. After managing to contain COVID-19 for much of last year, Vietnam has recorded a total of 348,000 […]
Afghan panic over digital footprints spurs call for data collection rethink
Thomson Reuters Foundation Concerns about sensitive data falling into the hands of the Taliban after they took control of Afghanistan have rekindled a debate among privacy experts on the ethics of data collection by aid agencies and multilateral institutions. As the insurgents moved into the capital, Kabul, on Sunday, residents fretted that biometric databases maintained […]
Books: ‘Christians’, past and present
DAVID ADAMS reads Greg Sheridan’s latest book, ‘Christians’…
Australian Christian leaders urge Prime Minister to take 20,000 Afghanistan refugees following Taliban takeover
Sydney, Australia Australian Christian leaders have called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to accept 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan after the Taliban reclaimed power when Western forces left after 20 years in the country. It comes as more than 130,000 people – supported by the National Council of Churches in Australia and the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce – have […]
Malaysia’s new PM invites opposition to join COVID-19 effort
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaReuters Malaysia’s new Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Sunday he will invite opposition leaders to join the government’s special committees to address the COVID-19 crisis, seeking to stabilise politics after years of turmoil. Ismail Sabri took charge on Saturday with a slim parliamentary majority as the Southeast Asian nation battles its […]
Jesse Jackson and wife remain under observation for COVID-19
Chicago, USAP Rev Jesse Jackson, and his wife, Jacqueline, remained under doctors’ observation Sunday at a Chicago hospital and were “responding positively to treatments” for COVID-19, their son told The Associated Press. The couple, married for nearly six decades, were admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital a day earlier. Physicians were “carefully monitoring their condition” because of their […]
COVID-19 vaccinations: Priests navigate Catholics’ fears and consciences in vaccine exemption pleas
ALEJANDRA MOLINA, of Religion News Service, reports on the debate among US Catholics over the granting of religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines…
Rising prices, shuttered banks add to misery for Kabul
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters A week after the Taliban’s lightning seizure of Kabul, growing numbers of people in the Afghan capital are facing a daily struggle to get by with their jobs gone, banks still shuttered and food prices soaring. The thousands crowded outside the airport entry points and fighting for seats on flights out of Kabul […]