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Texas megachurch pastor sent to prison for fraud scheme

US Rev Kirbyjon Caldwell Windsor Village United Methodist Church

Houston, US AP A former Houston megachurch pastor who once was an adviser to presidents has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for his part in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme.  “They trusted me with their money, and I abused that trust,” Kirbyjon Caldwell, former pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church, an […]

Two members of WHO delegation to Wuhan held back over health screening

Coronavirus China experts in Wuhan

Wuhan, China/Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Two members of a World Health Organization-led team that arrived on Thursday in China’s Wuhan city to investigate the origins of COVID-19 remained behind in Singapore after testing positive for coronavirus antibodies, the global body said. The team of 15 had all tested negative for the disease prior to leaving their […]

Aid sector blasted as “last safe haven” for sex abusers

Haiti aid sector

London, UK Thomson Reuters Foundation The aid sector is rife with sexual abuse, British lawmakers said on Thursday, calling it “the last safe haven for perpetrators” despite a slew of scandals that prompted promises of a cleanup. Lawmakers rounded on the international aid sector, saying abusers were too often allowed to act with impunity while […]

African Union secures 270 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine

Nairobi, KenyaAP South Africa’s President says a task team under the African Union has secured 270 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the African continent, the largest such deal so far for the region.  President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current AU chair, says the doses will come from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca via the […]

“Ecological Ponzi scheme” threatens to bring down humanity, scientists warn

US California Bobcat Fire Sept 2020

London, UK Thomson Reuters Foundation Accelerating biodiversity loss, climate change and over-consumption are swiftly pushing human societies toward a “ghastly future” of growing hunger, political division and societal breakdown, leading scientists said on Wednesday. Despite years of warnings, the threats are underestimated and not broadly understood, and efforts to head them off are hamstrung because […]

Team from WHO heads to China in search of COVID origins

WHO expert team Wuhan

Geneva, Switzerland/Singapore Reuters An international team of scientists led by the World Health Organization was set to arrive in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus that sparked the pandemic. The United States, which has accused China of having hidden the extent of its initial outbreak […]