Madagascar’s ongoing crisis continues to defy definition. Some call Andry Rajoelina’s taking power in March 2009 a popular uprising. Others say this was a military-supported coup, pure and simple. The legitimacy of the new regime remains in question both internally and externally, and peace agreements mediated by the international community lie in tatters.

While the reality and extent of the coup announced yesterday by military officers is still uncertain, the latest events demonstrate the fragility of the situation in Madagascar and the urgent need for a new international strategy to end the long crisis. Negotiations should now focus on international support to the electoral process based on strict conditions.

A l’approche de la décision de la SADC, il est important qu’elle porte toute son attention sur les mesures qui permettent de garantir l’équité de traitement entre les protagonistes. Sans modifier le texte de la feuille de route, les autorités ont la possibilité de prouver leur volonté de garantir la neutralité du processus, afin que l’opposition soit libre de faire le choix d’entrer ou non dans cette transition sur une base équilibrée. Le rejet des autorités de ces mesures exposerait leur absence de volonté de voir se dérouler une transition et des élections crédibles. Il démontrerait également leur choix de plonger le pays dans l’instabilité plutôt que d’accepter des mesures qui renforcent la transition. Le refus de l’opposition d’adhérer au processus ne pourrait plus être justifié par un déséquilibre de la solution proposée.

During the last few months, new options for resolving the Madagascar crisis have emerged in the form of the most recent roadmap proposed by the mediation team of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Accepted by the authorities and rejected by elements of the opposition, the roadmap remains the subject of debate and there is still no agreement on how to achieve a peaceful transition. In a few weeks from now, the SADC is due to make a statement on the document and accept, reject or amend it. There are other options for changing the course of events without changing the roadmap and these should be explored as quickly as possible.

Madagascar’s recent elections marked an ostensible return to democracy, but unless the new government works hard to implement meaningful political, economic and social reforms, the prospect of further crisis is just a matter of time.

An incorrect GPS coordinate leads a worship team to the end of the road, yet God has another route planned.

OM Guatemala teaches women participating in Project Rescue a new craft in order to give them more possibilities to provide for themselves.

London, England, May 1, 2020 / 05:00 am (CNA).- The metropolitan archbishops of England and Wales acknowledged the pain of Catholics who cannot receive the sacraments because of the coronavirus lockdown in a message issued Friday. 

In the message, entitled “A People who Hope in Christ”, published May 1, the archbishops said that while livestreamed Masses nourished faith, they were no substitute for public liturgies.

“None of us would want to be in the situation in which we find ourselves,” they wrote. “While the livestreaming of the Mass and other devotions is playing an important part in maintaining the life of faith, there is no substitute for Catholics being able to physically attend and participate in the celebration of the Mass and the other sacraments.”

Writing on behalf of the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, the five archbishops continued: “Our faith is expressed powerfully and beautifully though ‘seeing, touching, and tasting.’ We know that every bishop and every priest recognizes the pain of Catholics who, at present, cannot pray in church or receive the sacraments. This weighs heavily on our hearts.” 

“We are deeply moved by the Eucharistic yearning expressed by so many members of the faithful. We thank you sincerely for your love for the Lord Jesus, present in the sacraments and supremely so in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” 

“The bishops and priests of every diocese are remembering you and your loved ones at Mass each day in our churches as we pray ‘in hope of health and well-being.’ We thank our priests for this faithfulness to their calling.”

Nevertheless, the archbishops said, the Catholic community had to play its part in preserving life and seeking the common good amid the pandemic. Restrictions on public liturgies would therefore have to remain in place until they are lifted by the government.

The U.K. is among the countries worst affected by the pandemic. With a population of 67 million, the U.K has had more than 172,000 documented coronavirus cases and 26,700 deaths as of May 1, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

The archbishops emphasized that Church officials were in talks with public health agencies and the government about the reopening of churches, which were closed March 24. 

“As the government’s restrictions are relaxed step by step, we look forward to opening our churches and resuming our liturgical, spiritual, catechetical and pastoral life step by step,” they said. 

“This will also be of service to those beyond the Catholic Church who depend on our charitable activity and outreach through which much goodness is shared by so many volunteers from our communities...”

“Together with Catholics across England and Wales, we desire the opening of our churches and access to the sacraments. Until then, we are continuing to pray and prepare.”

The message was signed by Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool, Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, Archbishop George Stack of Cardiff and Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark.

The archbishops concluded: “May the peace of the risen Lord reign in our hearts and homes as we look forward to the day we can enter church again and gather around the altar to offer together the Sacrifice of Praise.”

CNA Staff, May 4, 2020 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- The Republic of Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission has decided that an atheist child was discriminated against by his Catholic school when students were rewarded for attending a religious ceremony.

The commission, an independent, quasi-judicial forum, ruled that the Yellow Furze National School in County Meath had discriminated against an atheist student.

Early in the 2019 school year, the students had been promised a homework pass if they took part in the choir during a First Communion ceremony

The boy’s mother complained, but the school defended its policy.

"Any student, regardless of his/her religion in our school who opted not to participate in this extracurricular event was not 'rewarded,'" the school said, according to the Irish Post last year.

The school added that children of any religion were able to participate in the choir, and that the claim of discrimination was thus “wholly unfounded.”

The commission said the school “does not appreciate this action had an adverse effect on students who are not of a Catholic faith,” the Irish Times reported.

His mother said that "on that day my son was the only child in the class who was not participating. He was also the only non-Catholic child in the class." She added that “he came out of school crying.”

“We are atheist and this is not a choice that is open to him,” she said.

The Irish Post reported in 2019 that the boy was one of two pupils in his class of 33 to receive homework instead of attending the choir ceremony.

According to the commission the boy’s parents were “deeply hurt and upset” by the school.

“We felt that the school had disregarded the fact that we have a different set of beliefs,” the mother told RTE News. “We felt that our child had been singled out and punished for not being a Catholic,” and she added that she hoped the ruling would “change things for children here who are not Catholic".

The mother has since enrolled her son in a different school.

The commission ordered the school to pay €5,000 and demanded the school review its policies so it complies with the Equal Status Acts. The school will also have to post a memo of its compliance in a noticeable location within the school.

The mother told RTE News she will return the €5,000 to the school, “because it will be our friends and our neighbours who will be funding it, through school fundraising. We have been vindicated, but we feel that it would be wrong to accept this money.”

Catholic schools in Ireland make up 90% of all primary schools in the country, the Irish Times reported. The ruling is likely to affect how other schools promote and organize religious events.

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Denver Newsroom, May 7, 2020 / 08:19 pm (CNA).- A Christian ethic of service and solidarity must be an important feature of the business response to the coronavirus epidemic and its economic impact, Catholic business educators have said.

For Karel Sovak, associate professor in the University of Mary’s Gary Tharaldson School of Business, two of the biggest skills that business can bring to recovery efforts are self-awareness and empathy.

“A business needs to help the community identify who they are, which may have been lost during this time of stay at home,” he told CNA. “Businesses need to help communities focus on what makes it viable in the first place, which are the people. Business can be used as a force for good only if they understand what that ‘good’ means. Being aware of those strengths can help transform a community as they seek to overcome any devastating tragedy, natural or otherwise.”

He cited the symbolic unity and mutual support shown by individuals and businesses, whether by showing hearts in windows, purchasing gift cards for businesses, or taking meals to essential personnel.

Over 75,000 deaths are attributed to Covid-19 in the U.S., with over 1.25 million confirmed cases, John Hopkins University said Thursday. Efforts to prevent the spread of infection led to public officials’ orders to close businesses, with the exception of some businesses deemed essential services.

Millions of people have been left unemployed due to the closures, while those with essential jobs worry that their places of employment are newly dangerous.

Sovak emphasized the importance of trust as a business skill, but noted that low trust and polarization were problems even before the epidemic. Community is about bringing people into communion, and business has a role to play in that community building.

“Business can reassure families, non-profits and churches that they are there for them. Solidarity is the word that comes to mind when determining how to establish trust,” he said. The social and spiritual nature of the human being means people will need to come together once again “to use the gifts God gave to each person to meet the needs of others.”

Laura Munoz, associate professor of marketing at the University of Dallas’ Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business, said her business school emphasizes both a skill-based and a virtue-based education that can help respond to the crisis.

Business professors aim to help students become resilient and adaptable. They must become critical thinkers “aware of multiple stakeholder perceptions in an ethical way,” she told CNA. These skills can also help in the service of others, as in the case of a business student who used her business skills to fund raise for an Argentine orphanage on social media.

“Yes, skills are needed but they cannot come if the ‘business person’ is not aware of the needs of the environment and does not have love, charity, for others,” said Munoz. “Businesses that acknowledge that serving a community is give and take, not just take, will probably receive more community support as well.”

For Sovak, Catholic business education focuses on virtues, “servant-leadership,” and upholding the tenets of Catholic social teaching.

“There is no proof that any instruction can adequately prepare anyone, let alone young minds, for such a large-scale disruption as this pandemic has caused,” he said. However, teaching students the cardinal virtues of prudence, courage, justice and temperance is a good path in both strong economies and in economic downturns.

Such an education helps students “to understand that life is not about them; it is about serving others who are in need, which is what we are called to do.” Students should be prepared “to recognize their vocation is more than a job and they are called to greatness, ‘magnanimity,’ especially in dire times.” This helps them to “focus less on self and more on the situation at hand” and to bring about “true humility.” This path helps students be optimistic and trusting in innovative ways and help contribute to solutions

“Life is full of disruptions, simply because we can’t predict the future,” Jay Wesley Richards, assistant research professor at the Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business, told CNA. “I think two of the most important business skills are simply virtues. One is courage—which means you’ll act even if you might fail. The other is resilience or anti-fragility—which means you learn from disruption and failure. The pandemic, and more precisely, the shutdown in response to it, is a historic and massive disruption. But disruption itself is part of life.”

Richards said one of his classes this semester had been discussing looming disruptions from technology and “the need to develop virtues and skills that humans will always do better than machines.”

“The discussion was mostly abstract until spring break, when the semester itself was disrupted by the pandemic shutdown, and we had to move online,” he said. “Suddenly, we were using disruptive (if imperfect) video-conferencing technology! At that point, students started asking more questions about disruption in the economy.”

Economic downturns in the business cycle are a standard topic in business education. Munoz said a pandemic is one of many possibilities taught through case studies, role playing, business planning, and discussions.

“We focus on going beyond a disruption and thinking ‘so what? How do we continue?’”

“Instead of the business coming to a stop, we think: ‘and what else can we do? How else can we do it?’” she said.

Michael Welker, an economics professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville, reflected on the need for creativity given the conditions of a pandemic event.

“Such an event, in our lifetimes, is one that is unprecedented, complex, and so widespread, that there is a need for courage, openness to failure, iteration of ideas and experiments, and a need for management decisions to frame their enterprise cultures to engender this powerful way that human beings image the Creator,” Welker said.

Efforts to re-open businesses and other social venues, including places of worship, have come to be the focus of debate, planning, and activity.

Welker said the focus on “restarting the economy” means a focus on “a critical aspect of human life--a prudent and wise engagement with the world in many dimensions.” These dimensions include work, leisure, community, worship, and recreation. He suggested any approach to “restarting” the economy should take place in a context that recognizes “the great dignity of work” with the added sense of “the essential things, which are beyond just ‘making a living’.”

“This disruption has brought much multi-dimensional damage to people,” he said. “I believe authorities are attempting to walk the fine line between a serious and known risk and the need to get people into ‘normal’ living and acting, with the heightened concerns for safety and health.”

Sovak said that while there was indeed economic disruption, in part the economy “never really stopped.” Consumers continued to purchase, many people found different ways to trade, and the government infused additional money seeking a positive impact.

“If we are discussing how to get people back into the mix of work, travel, or play, again, much of that never stopped with work at home, it just got more creative,” he said.

At the same time, Sovak said that a too cautious approach to re-opening business will mean many businesses close, unable to adapt to the coronavirus epidemic.

There is also another risk.

“The risk of being too reckless means this thing (the epidemic) will come back around in a couple of months and bring about an even more devastating grind to the economy,” he added. “Again, the virtue of prudence comes to mind on how to tell what the times call for.”

“This isn’t a one-size fits all solution – what is controllable and what is predictable will be two ways to view the danger,” Sovak continued. “How much certainty does one have in the situation? The more certainty there is, the less risk and easier the decision that can be made.”

Richards similarly said there is no one right answer for a business response.

“Every business will have specific, even unique challenges, depending on where it is and what it does,” he said. “But the same general rules apply for businesses as for everyone else: Treat every person with respect and dignity, and that includes employees and customers.”

“It’s a serious mistake to present the current debate as if it were between the ‘economy’ on one side, and ‘lives’ on the other,” Richards said. “We should care about the economy precisely because we care about human lives and well-being. Really families, real companies, employers, and employees. Real lives.”

Richards cited the massive unemployment in recent weeks. The unemployment rate was at an historic low of 3.5% in February. Since mid-March, 33.3 million people have filed unemployment claims, making the unemployment rate higher than 20%, BBC News reports.

“There’s no such thing as a zero-risk option this side of the kingdom of God,” Richards continued. “Any challenge, like the coronavirus, involves a multi-side risk: Lives were at stake no matter what path we took,” he said. “The path of wisdom lies in understanding what the real risks are, and how likely various outcomes are. Only then do we have much chance of responding so that the benefits are greater than the costs.”

In the coronavirus epidemic, policymakers face the challenge of making “far-reaching decisions without having very good information to work with.”

“A response that puts 30 million people out of work isn’t just an economic inconvenience. It leads, and will lead, to loss of life and well-being,” said Richards. “The president understood this from the beginning. This is why he worried on Twitter that the ‘cure’ not be worse than the ‘disease’.”

“The question we will be asking for the next several years is this: Did the government response, and in particular, the shutdown of businesses and shelter-in-place orders for healthy people, save more lives than, in the long run, it will have cost?”

Sovak told CNA there are signs that tell whether a business mentality is dominating a discussion or or being neglected. When there is “negativity, pessimism or placing blame,” a conversation is likely headed in a wrong direction, whether a business community is being criticized or is offering criticism.

“Business certainly can’t solve every issue or does it have all the answers; however, there can be many benefits in taking a business approach to address any situation,” he said.

At the same time, a business analysis may not appeal to many, given the human cost.

“People are acting on emotion more today than facts and reason. Thirty million people are unemployed – putting a business touch on that doesn’t help that situation,” Sovak said. “Supply and demand means prices will rise, and inflation will come about but that doesn’t mean we have to bring that approach into the conversation when many people’s lives have been disrupted both financially and health-wise. This is where empathy has to come into play.”

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Veracruz, Mexico :: Visitors to Logos Hope are delighted to learn they have longer to visit the ship than originally scheduled.

Veracruz, Mexico :: The Ship Ministry receives the largest number of visitors in a single port, breaking a 30-year record.

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CNA Staff, May 4, 2020 / 11:45 am (CNA).- Modern society is formulating an “anti-Christian creed” and punishing those who resist it with “social excommunication,” Benedict XVI has said in a new biography, published in Germany May 4.

In a wide-ranging interview at the end of the 1,184-page book, written by German author Peter Seewald, the pope emeritus said the greatest threat facing the Church was a “worldwide dictatorship of seemingly humanistic ideologies.”

Benedict XVI, who resigned as pope in 2013, made the comment in response to a question about what he had meant at his 2005 inauguration, when he urged Catholics to pray for him “that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.”

He told Seewald that he was not referring to internal Church matters, such as the "Vatileaks" scandal, which led to the conviction of his personal butler, Paolo Gabriele, for stealing confidential Vatican documents. 

In an advanced copy of “Benedikt XVI - Ein Leben” (A Life), seen by CNA, the pope emeritus said: “Of course, issues such as ‘Vatileaks’ are exasperating and, above all, incomprehensible and highly disturbing to people in the world at large.”

“But the real threat to the Church and thus to the ministry of St. Peter consists not in these things, but in the worldwide dictatorship of seemingly humanistic ideologies, and to contradict them constitutes exclusion from the basic social consensus.”

He continued: “A hundred years ago, everyone would have thought it absurd to speak of homosexual marriage. Today whoever opposes it is socially excommunicated. The same applies to abortion and the production of human beings in the laboratory.”

“Modern society is in the process of formulating an ‘anti-Christian creed,’ and resisting it is punishable by social excommunication. The fear of this spiritual power of the Antichrist is therefore only too natural, and it truly takes the prayers of a whole diocese and the universal Church to resist it.”

The biography, issued by Munich-based publisher Droemer Knaur, is available only in German. An English translation, “Benedict XVI, The Biography: Volume One,” will be published in the U.S. on Nov. 17.

In the interview, the 93-year-old former pope confirmed that he had written a spiritual testament, which could be published after his death, as did Pope St. John Paul II.

Benedict said that he had fast-tracked the cause of John Paul II because of “the obvious desire of the faithful” as well as the example of the Polish pope, with whom he had worked closely for more than two decades in Rome.

He insisted that his resignation had “absolutely nothing” to do with the episode involving Paolo Gabriele, and explained that his 2010 visit to the tomb of Celestine V, the last pope to resign before Benedict XVI, was “rather coincidental.” He also defended the title “emeritus” for a retired pope.

Benedict XVI lamented the reaction to his various public comments since his resignation, citing criticism of his tribute read at the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner in 2017, in which he said that God would prevent the ship of the Church from capsizing. He explained that his words were “taken almost literally from the sermons of St. Gregory the Great.”

Seewald asked the pope emeritus to comment on the “dubia” submitted by four cardinals, including Cardinal Meisner, to Pope Francis in 2016 regarding the interpretation of his apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia.

Benedict said that he did not want to comment directly, but referred to his last general audience, on Feb. 27, 2013.

Summing up his message that day, he  said: “In the Church, amid all the toils of humanity and the confusing power of the evil spirit, one will always be able to discern the subtle power of God's goodness.”

“But the darkness of successive historical periods will never allow the unadulterated joy of being a Christian ... There are always moments in the Church and in the life of the individual Christian in which one feels profoundly that the Lord loves us, and this love is joy, is ‘happiness’.”

Benedict said that he treasured the memory of his first meeting with the newly elected Pope Francis at Castel Gandolfo and that his personal friendship with his successor has continued to grow.

Author Peter Seewald has conducted four book-length interviews with Benedict XVI. The first, “Salt of the Earth,” was published in 1997, when the future pope was prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It was followed by “God and the World” in 2002, and “Light of the World” in 2010.

In 2016, Seewald published “Last Testament,” in which Benedict XVI reflected on his decision to step down as pope.

Publisher Droemer Knaur said that Seewald had spent many hours talking to Benedict for the new book, as well as speaking to his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger and his personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein.

In an interview with Die Tagespost April 30, Seewald said that he had shown the Pope Emeritus a few chapters of the book before publication. Benedict XVI, he added, had praised the chapter on Pope Pius XI’s 1937 encyclical Mit brennender Sorge.
 

 

Vatican City, May 6, 2020 / 11:47 am (CNA).- The annual swearing-in of new Swiss Guards, which would usually take place May 6, was moved to Oct. 4 because of the coronavirus.

Instead, the Pontifical Swiss Guards marked Wednesday’s anniversary of the Sack of Rome with private, more muted celebrations, lacking the presence of guests and streamed over the internet.

The Swiss Guards marked the 493rd anniversary of the May 6, 1527 battle with Mass in the church of Santa Maria of the Pieta in the Teutonic College, followed by the “laying of the wreath,” in the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs in Vatican City.

Afterward, the commander of the Swiss Guards conferred papal honorifics on 15 guards.

After Mass, all but the newest members of the world’s smallest-but-oldest standing army marched to Square of the Roman Protomartyrs, so-named for being the site of the death of several early Christian martyrs, including St. Peter.

The Commander of the Swiss Guards, Christoph Graf, gave a speech at the ceremony in which he recounted the story of the 1527 battle known as the Sack of Rome, when 147 guards lost their lives defending Pope Clement VII from mutinous troops of the Holy Roman Empire.

During the battle, the pope was able to escape from the Vatican to Castel Sant’Angelo via a secret passageway connecting the two. It is the most significant and deadly event in the history of the Swiss Guards.

After the speech, a large wreath was placed in the square in commemoration of the guards who died during the battle.

The anniversary is usually marked by a whole weekend of events attended by representatives of the Swiss army, Swiss government, and Swiss bishops’ conference. Family and friends of the guards, and former guards who return for a visit, also participate.

In past years, the festivities have also included a concert and an audience with Pope Francis.

The main celebrant of the May 6 Mass was the assessor of the Secretariat of State, Msgr. Luigi Roberto Cona. In his homily, Cona said he wishes the guards may “truly experience Christ.”

“May you encounter a Church that is not only an institution, an institution to be defended, to be protected, which you have wisely done for 500 years now, but also a community, a believing community which has met the living and true Christ, which loves him, and intends to serve him in everyday life,” he said.

“Because every day we too, in imitation of the first Christian martyrs – and your brother guards who offered themselves at that very important moment in 1527 – we too, without the heroism of those, can offer ourselves day after day in the services we are called to perform.”

A man expresses thanks to God for good health after cancer by making a sacrifice to God and holding a feast for family and friends.

CONTEXT:

Recommendations conflict regarding universal application of formal screening instruments in primary care (PC) and PC-like settings for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

An adolescent girl with a history of frequent electronic cigarette use of nicotine was hospitalized with severe necrotizing pneumonia. Blood cultures obtained before the administration of empirical broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics had positive results for the growth of Fusobacterium necrophorum. The pathogen is an uncommon but well-known cause of anaerobic pneumonia with unique features that are collectively referred to as Lemierre syndrome or postanginal sepsis. The syndrome begins as a pharyngeal infection. Untreated, the infection progresses to involve the ipsilateral internal jugular vein, resulting in septic thrombophlebitis with direct spread from the neck to the lungs causing multifocal necrotizing pneumonia. The teenager we present in this report had neither a preceding pharyngeal infection nor Doppler ultrasonographic evidence for the presence of deep neck vein thrombi, leading us to explore alternative mechanisms for her pneumonia. We propose the possibility that her behavior of frequent vaping led to sufficient pharyngeal irritation such that F necrophorum colonizing her oropharynx was inhaled directly into her lungs during electronic cigarette use. Preexisting, but not yet recognized, vaping-related lung injury may have also contributed to her risk of developing the infection. The patient was hospitalized for 10 days. At follow-up one month later, she still became short of breath with minimal exertion.

OBJECTIVES:

To determine if a multicomponent intervention was associated with increased use of first-line antibiotics (cephalexin or sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim) among children with uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in outpatient settings.

Almost 1 in 4 adolescents have a sexually transmitted infection (STI). These infections are preventable through safe sexual practices and routine screening. Pediatricians are the first line of clinical care for adolescents and are well positioned to offer sexual and reproductive health care counseling and services to their patients; yet, there is a paucity of sexual health screening provided at routine health supervision visits. This article addresses the epidemiology of STIs in adolescents, reviews the evidence of current clinical practice, presents recommended STI screening from government and medical agencies, and offers strategies to address barriers to providing care for adolescents and for sexual health screening in primary care.

Problematic Internet use (PIU) by adolescents is of growing concern among both parents and pediatricians. Early controversies may have contributed to challenges in defining and measuring PIU. A variety of screening tools have evolved, aligned with different constructs of PIU, although a validated screening tool does exist. Current data and American Academy of Pediatrics policy reflect evidence-driven screening for PIU for all youth.

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Christiana, a short term mission participant from Great Britain, shares insights from her visit to Crossroads church plant in Odessa, Ukraine.

"The door for ministry is wide open to use our gifts," explains OM Ukraine Field Leader Wayne. "In my case, God is using my love for cricket to create relationships and influence people who have never heard the gospel...”

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A Fin24 user looks to an expert for help in improving his credit score by paying off his debt.

A Fin24 user wants to know whether paying off a car loan or credit card will make her credit score 'look better.'

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Not since the Second World War has attention been so firmly focused on food. Before coronavirus we took a steady availability for granted. Now after coronavirus we’re wondering just how secure our food chain really is.

Alan Scott, creative director at Johnstons of Elgin

Beth Pearson, author of The Coorie Home

State adviser says government was sympathetic to the economic difficulties caused by the on-going lockdown but growth in infections in areas such as the Western Cape are biggest risk to the faster reopening of the economy.

Once the coronavirus pandemic is over, the tourism industry will probably find that older, more affluent travellers are more hesitant to do so.

Why and how OM EAST produces Christian comics to reach minority peoples

A Crimean Tatar man shares how he gained courage and learnt vital truths through reading Into the Den of the Infidels, produced by OM EAST.

OM EAST responds to the need for Christian books in the Georgian language.

SIR Andy Murray has sent a heartfelt message to NHS staff for their heroic work during the coronavirus crisis.

ANDY MURRAY will swap a tennis racket for a games controller when he takes part in a virtual Madrid Open later this month.

THE irony that the recent weather would have been ideal for the start of the domestic cricket season is not lost on Kyle Coetzer.

GUS MACKAY was full of good intentions when he agreed to become Cricket Scotland’s new chief executive last October.

Dear Editor,The COVID-19 pandemic has taken us all by surprise. There are currently approaching the 500 mark for number of COVID-19 cases in Jamaica. Due to the outbreak of this virus there has been a reduction in job availability as companies have closed to combat the virus and promote social distancing.Many believe that it has made life harder, but, newsflash, it has not rendered us useless.

To try and make life a little easier for you when trying to navigate the minefield of skincare, we’ve compiled a list of some of the companies out there making an effort to have cruelty-free products.