US pushes world leaders to embrace 70 per cent global COVID-19 vaccination target
Washington DC, US Reuters The United States is pushing global leaders to endorse what it calls ambitious targets for ending the COVID-19 pandemic, including ensuring 70 per cent of the world’s population is vaccinated against the virus by the year 2022, according to a draft US document viewed by Reuters on Tuesday. The three-page outline […]
Pope, in Slovakia, says don’t exploit religion for politics, calls out prejudice
Presov, Slovakia Reuters Pope Francis said on Tuesday that the cross should not be used as a political symbol and warned against Christians trying to be triumphalist, in an apparent criticism of the use of religion for partisan ends. Francis flew to the city of Presov, in eastern Slovakia, where he presided at a long […]
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi returns to court but still “somewhat dizzy”
Reuters Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi returned to court on Tuesday, a day after she did not appear because she was unwell, seeming relieved but saying she was still “somewhat dizzy”, her lawyer said. The health of 76-year-old Suu Kyi is closely watched in Myanmar, where she spent many years in detention for challenging its […]
Malaysia’s germ-busting clown finds new role in pandemic
Taiping, MalaysiaReuters When the coronavirus pandemic struck Malaysia, Shaharul Hisam Baharudin, like many others working closely with people, soon lost his work as an entertainer who juggled and sometimes dressed up as a clown. But rather than give up, the 43-year-old from Taiping, in western Malaysia found a new way of using his skills – […]
Founder of South Korea’s biggest church, Cho Yong-gi, dies
Updated: 5.45pm (AEST)Seoul, South KoreaAP Rev Cho Yong-gi, whose founding of the biggest South Korean church once stood as a symbol of the post-war growth of Christianity in the country before that achievement was tainted by corruption and scandals, died Tuesday. He was 85. Cho, an emeritus pastor at Seoul’s Yoido Full Gospel Church, died […]
Family of US hostage held by Taliban calls for envoy’s firing
Washington DC, USReuters The family of Mark Frerichs on Monday urged US President Joe Biden to fire his chief Afghanistan peace negotiator, charging that the envoy has done little to win the release of the last American believed to be held hostage by the Taliban. The call for US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad’s dismissal comes […]
Environmental threats are biggest challenge to human rights – UN
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The UN rights chief said the “triple planetary crises” of climate change, pollution and nature loss represented the biggest threat to human rights globally at the opening on Monday of a month-long session set to prioritise environmental issues. “As these environmental threats intensify, they will constitute the single greatest challenge to human rights […]
Life is a game?
Psychologist Jordan Peterson suggests that we consider life a series of games, where how we play now determines which games we get to play later. Psychologist Jordan Peterson suggests that we consider life a series of games. PICTURE: Karthik Balakrishnan/Unsplash. When you think about life like this, it quickly becomes apparent that the best way to […]
On campus outreach: Australian evangelical groups grapple with the ups and downs of student ministry during COVID-19
PETA MCCARTNEY reports on how evangelical ministries at Australian universities have weathered the COVID-19 storm…
Killings of Colombia environmental activists hit record, NGO says, despite gov’t promises
Putumayo Province, Colombia Reuters An environmental activist in southern Colombia’s steamy jungle province of Putumayo was preparing to run some errands earlier this year when she received a warning from a contact, she said. “He wrote me a message saying it’s better I don’t go outside…They’ve sent someone to kill you three times already,” she […]