Month: January 2022

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Inside Church Media Room

Media accreditation to WCC Central Committee meeting online press room

The upcoming Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 9 – 15 February will be the fifth meeting of this central committee since it was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, in 2013.

The central committee meets normally every two years and serves as the chief governing body of the WCC between assemblies, but due to the pandemic the central committee has met online in June 2021. It is responsible for implementing the policies adopted by the assembly, reviewing and supervising WCC programmes and the budget of the council. The current central committee’s mandate terminates at the 11th WCC Assembly, which takes place 31 August – 8 September 2022 in Karlsruhe, Germany.  

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Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC

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In The News

SA records close to 3 700 new COVID-19 cases, with 30 deaths

There were 39 654 COVID-19 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, with 3 658 new cases reported across the country.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), this represents a 9.2% positivity rate.

Of the latest infections, Gauteng is leading with 814 cases, followed by 745 in the Western Cape, 329 in the Eastern Cape, 305 in Limpopo and 202 in the North West.

This means the country now has 3 564 578 laboratory-confirmed cases since the outbreak.

In addition, 30 more patients lost their battle to COVID-19 related complications, pushing the tally to 93 551 to date.

Meanwhile, hospital admissions went up by 198 to 7 363 since the last reporting cycle.

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Photo: Unsplash

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In The News

Class of 2021 went through two years of disruption due to COVID-19

The Class of 2021 was the first Grade 12 cohort to experience the harsh realities of the pandemic for two consecutive years, Umalusi said on Tuesday.

Addressing a media briefing, Umalusi CEO, Dr Mafu Rakometsi, said that consequently this class needed more academic support compared to their predecessors.

The matric Class of 2021 was the eighth Grade 12 cohort to write final examinations under the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS).

Rakometsi said that the most important beneficiary of Umalusi’s quality assurance work are the learners – who are eager to know whether Umalusi has done its job to ensure the credibility of their hard earned qualifications.

“The Class of 2021 was subjected to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic for two consecutive years, which included a hybrid mode of teaching and learning such as online and rotational classes,” Rakometsi said.

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In The News

Matric results to be released on media platforms

The Department of Basic Education says that it will abide by the North Gauteng High Court ruling regarding the release of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination results on media platforms.

“This means that the department will make available the results to stakeholders who requested access,” the department said on Tuesday.

This after AfriForum and a Grade 12 learner made an urgent application for the court to reverse the department’s decision to no longer release matric results on public platforms, which cited the violation of the Protection of Personal Information Act or POPI Act.

However, according to the department, the conditions of the court ruling must be taken into account in line with the provisions of the POPI Act.

In addition to accessing results from media such as newspapers, the department has urged candidates to register on the website to view the results when they become available on Thursday, 20 January 2022.

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In The News

SA records close to 1 700 new COVID-19 cases, 87 deaths

There were 1 691 new COVID-19 cases detected in South Africa, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported on Monday.

Meanwhile, 87 people succumbed to the respiratory disease, of which 25 occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours.

This means the country is now home to 3 560 921 laboratory-confirmed infections since the outbreak, while the death toll stands at 93 451.

Of the latest infections reported, Gauteng was the hardest-hit after 456 people tested positive in the province, followed by 316 in the Western Cape, 285 in KwaZulu-Natal, 185 in Mpumalanga, 119 in Limpopo and 110 in the North West.

According to the NICD, hospital admissions increased by 114 in the past 24 hours.

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In The News Inside Church

Pope: Search for Christian unity must be a journey together

Pope Francis began his address to the Ecumenical Delegation from Finland with a reflection on the Magi, the Wise Men of the Gospel who found the Child Jesus and worshipped Him.

“The Magi reached the goal because they sought it,” the Pope said. “Yet they sought it because the Lord, by the sign of the star, had first set out in search of them.” Like the Magi, we too are sought by God, “and our response must surely be like that of the Magi: a journey together.”

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Inside Church Media Room Worldwide

WCC mourns loss of Dr John Taylor, an interreligious bridge builder

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death of Dr John Taylor, who with an initial job title of WCC programme secretary for Christian Muslim relations, later became head of the WCC interreligious office from 1980-83.

He also served as a consultant for the WCC for more than a decade.

He then went on to be secretary general of Religions for Peace and, in the 1990s, was involved in peacekeeping initiatives in the Balkans with his work for the Conference of European Churches.

He also attended and helped support the 9th WCC Assembly in Porto Alegre in 2006.

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Dr John Taylor with Stanley Samartha at a meeting with a muslim delegation from Saudi Arabia, Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, 31 October 1974, Photo: Wendy Goldsworthy / WCC Archive

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In The News

SA opens NantSA vaccine production campus

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to join Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, founder of the multinational conglomerate NantWorks, LLC, in launching the NantSA vaccine manufacturing campus in Brackenfell, Cape Town, on Wednesday.

The President and Dr Soon-Shiong will also launch the Coalition to Accelerate Africa’s Access to Advanced Healthcare (The AAAH Coalition).

This launch comes after an announcement made by Dr Soon-Shiong in September last year of an ambitious initiative to build capacity for advanced health care in Africa.

NantSA, a division of NantWorks, and The AAAH Coalition aim to accelerate domestic production of pharmaceuticals, biologics and vaccines that will reach patients across the African continent.

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Inside Church Worldwide

WCC extends prayers for Tonga in wake of volcanic eruption

Up to 80,000 people could be affected, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Tsunami waves following the eruption also wreaked significant damage.

“Amid the chaos and the uncertainty, we pray for you and we stand in solidarity with you amid a terrifying disaster,” said Sauca. “We pray for God’s mercy on you and on the rescue workers and first responders at the scene. We pray that God might guide the churches responding to the needs of the people as those needs change in the coming days.

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https://www.oikoumene.org/news/wcc-extends-prayers-for-tonga-in-wake-of-volcanic-eruption

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In The News Inside Church Worldwide

Fire destroys refugee camp on Church grounds in Alindao

“The fire broke out after a child tried to cook with palm oil,” said Philomene Dounda, the prefect of the Lower Kotto region where the camp is located.

Anita Cadonau, a communications officer with the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told AFP that the blaze happened on Tuesday at a camp in Alindao, 500 Kilometers east of the capital Bangui.,

About 5 000 people are now in urgent need of shelter, household necessities, food and water.

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