Delta spreads “like wildfire” as doctors study whether it makes patients sicker
Los Angeles, US Reuters With a new wave of COVID-19 infections fueled by the Delta variant striking countries worldwide, disease experts are scrambling to learn whether the latest version of coronavirus is making people – mainly the unvaccinated – sicker than before. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that Delta, first identified […]
Death toll from floods in China’s Henan province rises to 302
Beijing, China Reuters The death toll from last month’s floods in the central Chinese province of Henan rose to 302 as of Monday, officials said, triple the figure of 99 that was reported last week, with most of the fatalities reported in the provincial capital Zhengzhou. In Zhengzhou, a city of 12 million that lies […]
Venezuela to receive COVAX vaccines in coming days, Maduro says
Caracas, Venezuela Reuters Venezuela will receive 6.2 million doses of coronavirus vaccines through the COVAX initiative “in the coming days”, President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday, potentially speeding up an inoculation campaign well behind regional peers. A pack of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines is seen as the country receives its first batch of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines […]
Malaysian opposition march on parliament, demand PM resigns
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Reuters Malaysia’s opposition lawmakers tried to march on the country’s parliament building on Monday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, after the premier deferred a parliamentary sitting amidst political turmoil. Muhyiddin cited the detection of COVID-19 infections for postponing the final parliamentary session scheduled for Monday, but the opposition […]
Explainer: Can vaccines save Bangladesh’s garment sector?
Dhaka, Bangladesh Thomson Reuters Foundation Save lives or save livelihoods? Bangladesh, the world’s second largest apparel producer, is hoping it can do both as it begins vaccinating its garment workers who make clothes for major brands like H&M, Inditex and Marks and Spencer. A surge in cases of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant has […]
New Zealand human rights commission launches inquiry into housing crisis
Wellington, New Zealand Reuters New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission on Monday launched an inquiry into the country’s housing crisis as cooling measures by the government this year have failed to ease a red-hot property market, leaving many people homeless. Property prices in New Zealand have soared by the most among OECD nations in the past […]
Mexico holds referendum on whether to probe ex-presidents
Mexico City, Mexico Reuters Mexicans on Sunday began to vote on whether to investigate five of the country’s former leaders in a referendum championed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, amid criticism that the move is a political stunt and turnout could be low. Lopez Obrador has cast past administrations as deeply corrupt and made […]
Reflecting on Games past: Former US Olympians talk about faith and the mental health challenges
HAMIL R HARRIS, in an article first published on Religion Unplugged, speaks with Dominique Dawes and Rochelle Stevens…
More countries hike climate pledges, piling pressure on major emitters
Brussels, Belgium Reuters A group of mostly smaller countries submitted new, more ambitious climate pledges to the United Nations last week, raising pressure on big emitters including China to do the same ahead of a major UN climate summit in November. UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said that as of Saturday the United Nations had […]
Essay: India’s vaccine rollout is ignoring the many inequities in its society
In an article first published on The Conversation, RAJIB DASGUPTA, chair of the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health at Jawaharlal Nehru University, looks at the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in India..