More vaccines urgently needed in Latin America to contain Delta, says health agency
Brasilia, BrazilReuters Three-quarters of the people in Latin America and the Caribbean have not been fully immunised against COVID-19 in contrast to the United States and Canada where a majority have been vaccinated, the Pan American Health Organization said on Wednesday. PAHO Director Carissa Etienne stressed the inequality in the access to vaccines in a […]
Pope denies resignation report, defends deal with China, chide’s West’s Afghan war
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis is not thinking of resigning and is living “a totally normal life” following intestinal surgery in July, he said in a radio interview broadcast on Wednesday. Speaking to Spanish radio network COPE, Francis, 84, dismissed an Italian newspaper report that he might step down, saying: “I don’t know where they got […]
Weather disasters killed two million in last 50 years, UN agency says
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The number of disasters, such as floods and heatwaves, driven by climate change have increased fivefold over the past 50 years, killing more than two million people and costing $US3.64 trillion in total losses, a UN agency said on Wednesday. The World Meteorological Organization says its “Atlas” is the most comprehensive review of […]
Pollution likely to cut nine years of life expectancy of 40 per cent of Indians
New Delhi, IndiaReuters Air pollution is likely to reduce the life expectancy of about 40 per cent of Indians by more than nine years, according to a report released by a US research group on Wednesday. More than 480 million people living in the vast swathes of central, eastern and northern India, including the capital, […]
First churchyard scanned under project to create digital maps of all churchyards in England
The churchyard of the ancient church of St Bega on the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake in northern England is the first to be surveyed under a Church of England project to create a free digital map of every churchyard in the country. The maps, which will detail gravestones and other features in the churchyards, are being created by […]
StrangeSights: A rather large boy summits Swiss Alp; a redhead celebration; a strongman record; and, cows take to the air…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
As Afghanistan adjusts to Taliban rule, music goes silent
Reuters Even before the last US flight left Kabul at midnight on Monday, many of the bright and garish sights and sounds of city life in Afghanistan were changing as those left behind tried to fit in with the austere tone of their new Taliban rulers. The Taliban have so far been at pains to […]
“Oh, that’s an idea…”: US parents respond to China screen time ban
Reuters Raleigh Smith Duttweiler was folding laundry in her Ohio home, her three children playing the video game Minecraft upstairs, when she heard an NPR story about new rules in China that forbid teenagers and children under age 18 from playing video games for more than three hours a week. “Oh, that’s an idea,” Duttweiler, […]
US agency says Tigrayan forces looted aid warehouses in Ethiopia’s Amhara region
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaReuters Forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region in recent weeks looted warehouses belonging to the US Government’s humanitarian agency in the Amhara region, USAID’s Ethiopia director said on Tuesday. War broke out in the mountainous region last November between Ethiopian troops and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which controls the region. The conflict has […]
When marriages break down: How Australian churches are helping people move from “healing to hope”
PETA MCCARTNEY reports on how Australian churches are using the US created DivorceCare program to help people through marital breakdown, separation and divorce…