The British government announced a new COVID-19 community-testing plan Monday, under which people who test negative for the virus in certain regions may face fewer restrictions, Forbes reports. Dubbed “freedom passes” by UK media, the lower restrictions would be available for people testing negative in areas of the country that will be coming under the strictest measures.
The attorney general of Kentucky has joined a lawsuit filed by a Christian school against Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., that seeks to prevent the implementation of a state COVID-19 ban on in-person learning, the Christian Post reports. Arguing the ban violates First Amendment rights, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron joined the suit filed Friday by Danville Christian Academy.
After Pope Francis urged “solidarity”, German Chancellor Angela Merkel demands the distribution of controversial coronavirus vaccines among poorer nations. Her appeal comes as countries rush to start with coronavirus vaccinations before Christmas, despite fresh concerns they impact people’s behavior and DNA.
Qantas Airways Ltd. plans to require future international passengers to have a Covid-19 vaccination before they fly, and said it’s likely to become a requirement at airlines across the world.
The liquid that many hope could help end the Covid-19 pandemic is stored in a nondescript metal tank in a manufacturing complex owned by Pfizer, one of the world’s biggest drug companies. There is nothing remarkable about the container, which could fit in a walk-in closet, except that its contents could end up in the world’s first authorized Covid-19 vaccine.
North Korea is hiding coronavirus patients in ”quarantine camps” where they are left to starve to death, Christian aid workers revealed.
Christians and moderate Muslims in Indonesia fear new tensions after a hardline Islamic cleric returned from exile and held a massive wedding despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The Institute of International Finance (IFF) has issued a quarterly report showing that global debt has surged by over $15 trillion since 2019, reaching a massive new record of over $272 trillion in Q3 2020. The IFF also reports that, while there has been a dramatic increase since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has also been an “unprecedented” build-up of debt over the last four years, with global debt rising by $52 trillion since 2016.
A Pentecostal congregation in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province has been told to end worship services because Buddhist monks oppose its activities, Christians said late Thursday.
Writing for CBN News, Michael Cherenkov has highlighted the crucial front-line role the Evangelical church has in Armenia where, although hostilities have currently ended in a ceasefire, an ongoing humanitarian crisis is worsening. “The churches have become the beacons of hope for scared and suffering people,” Cherenkov said following his recent visit to the tiny remote country under Russian control.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the first at-home test for the coronavirus, allowing people to self-collect a swab and get results in 30 minutes to determine if they are positive and need to isolate themselves from society.
Pfizer and BioNTech announced their COVID-19 vaccine candidate is now 95% effective and will soon be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization.
More than half of Israelis (52%) say they “think they would not” or are “convinced they would not” be vaccinated against the coronavirus if a vaccine becomes widely available, according to a new survey by the Israel Democracy Institute.
Government officials in Cuba have demolished an Assemblies of God church building and are preventing other churches from opening again after COVID-19 measures were lifted, Morning Star News reported Sunday. The Cuban government claimed the building was demolished to lay piping for a cement plant, but such infrastructure would have required the destruction of local homes and the relocation of residents: none of this has happened.
Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Bible translation, reports that Nigerian Bible translators are asking for help after suspending Bible translation projects in 30 languages.
Churches in several parts of Britain have told a court that authorities misuse the coronavirus pandemic to restrict Christian worship.
UK church leaders are launching a legal challenge against the British government for what they describe as an “unlawful” COVID-19 ban on worship services, the Christian Post reports. Britain has been placed back under a second lockdown until December 2, with over 1.3 million coronavirus cases and more than 51,000 COVID-19 related deaths.
European leaders say their citizens should prepare for a bleak winter as the coronavirus rages across nations. Countries from West to East Europe warned it is too early to plan for Christmas travel because COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
As the COVID-19 pandemic surges again in the United States, churches are fighting state and local orders that cap attendance at services at lower numbers than allowed at nonreligious places and events, such as stores and protests.
Hungary’s government has proposed a constitutional amendment defending “the order of Creation” that would require children to be raised according to Christian principles and bans adoption by same-sex couples.