World to spend $US157 billion on COVID-19 vaccines through 2025: report

Reuters Total global spending on COVID-19 vaccines is projected to reach $US157 billion by 2025, driven by mass vaccination programs underway and “booster shots” expected every two years, according to a report by US health data company IQVIA Holdings Inc released on Thursday. IQVIA, which provides data and analytics for the healthcare industry, said it […]
India’s coronavirus infections cross 18 million as gravediggers work round the clock

New Delhi/Mumbai, IndiaReuters India’s total COVID-19 cases passed 18 million on Thursday after another world record number of daily infections, as gravediggers worked around the clock to bury victims and hundreds more were cremated in makeshift pyres in parks and parking lots. India reported 379,257 new infections and 3,645 new deaths on Thursday, health ministry […]
Venezuela’s beloved ‘Doctor of the Poor’ to be beatified

Caracas, VenezuelaAP With the austerity of a monk, a vocation to seek the good of others and a bright scientific mind, Jose Gregorio Hernández won the affection of those who called him “the doctor of the poor”. He became a religious icon after his death in 1919, and since then millions of Venezuelans have fervently […]
Migration to flee rising seas could affect 1.3 million Bangladeshis by 2050

Dhaka, Bangladesh Thomson Reuters Foundation Bangladeshi migrants leaving the coast due to rising sea levels could trigger waves of migration across the country that will affect at least 1.3 million people by 2050, according to a new study. A new mathematical model predicts the country’s southern regions along the Bay of Bengal will be the […]
A Sustainable Life: Short-haul flight ban is a good start – now we need to reimagine the modern airport

In an article first published on The Conversation, UK academics ENRICA PAPA and LUIS DELGADO argue that greater sustainability in travel could be achieved through greater integration of transport types…
“Life is precious” say Indian migrants fleeing COVID-hit cities

Mumbai, India Thomson Reuters Foundation Amid India’s COVID-19 crisis, migrant workers are abandoning cities and heading for their villages in droves in a repeat of last year’s exodus when the lockdown shut industries and left them jobless – but this time they are worried about safety. India’s toll from the coronavirus surged past 200,000 on […]
Pope ousts leadership of Ecuadorian diocese amid complaints

Rome AP Pope Francis responded Wednesday to reports of poor governance, financial mismanagement and moral failings in the Ecuadorian diocese of Riobamba by not only accepting the resignation of the retiring bishop but that of his heir apparent as well. Francis on Wednesday accepted the resignations of Bishop Julio Parrilla Diaz, who turned 75 last […]
Myanmar’s war displaces new generation on remote river frontier

Mae Sam Laep, Thailand Reuters Myanmar’s coup has brought war back to a remote South-East Asian frontier after 25 years, sending a new generation of villagers in both Myanmar and Thailand running for their lives from bullets and bombs. Ethnic Karen insurgents and the Myanmar army have engaged in heavy clashes near the Thai border […]
Sermon preparation: Why some preachers rely on holy ghostwriters and other pulpit helps

“Cheating” or much-needed help for busy pastors? BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, explores the use by some churches of sermon ghost writers…
Despite multi-racial congregation boom in the US, some Black congregants report prejudice

RNS Most practicing Christians believe the church can enhance race relations in this country by welcoming people of all races and ethnicities, new research finds. But 29 per cent of Black practicing Christians say they have experienced racial prejudice in multi-racial congregations, compared to about a tenth who report such an experience in mono-racial Black […]