As of 7^th September, the total global figure for cases of Covid-19 stood at 606 million according to Johns Hopkins University.

In addition to this, the recorded number who have died totalled 6,506,262

67.7% of the world population has received at least one dose of a vaccine and 12.2 billion doses have been administered globally.  Only 21% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.  

The following table charts the worldwide 7-day average of cases over the course of the pandemic.

Data on a county by country level can be found here.  

More than 10.5 million children have lost one or both parents during the coronavirus pandemic — nearly double the previous estimates — according to new data. Southeast Asia and Africa suffered the greatest rate of losses, with one out of every 50 children affected compared with one out of 150 children in the Americas, according to the research letter published in JAMA Paediatrics.  Among the countries with the highest rates of parent and caregiver deaths are Bolivia, Peru, Namibia, Egypt, Bulgaria, South Africa, Ecuador, Eswatini, Botswana and Guyana, the analysis found. Before the pandemic, there were an estimated 140 million orphaned children worldwide.

Lead author Susan Hillis, a former CDC epidemiologist who is now at the University of Oxford, called the findings “sobering” and urged world leaders to prioritise orphaned children by providing economic, educational and mental health support.  In their letter, she and her co-authors wrote that “while billions of dollars are invested in preventing COVID-19-associated deaths, little is being done to care for children left behind.”  The consequences for children can be “devastating,” including institutionalisation, abuse, traumatic grief, mental health problems, adolescent pregnancy, poor educational outcomes, and chronic and infectious diseases, they wrote.

Only a small number of countries, including the United States, have made national commitments to addressing the effects of orphanhood associated with covid. The White House under President Biden has released a memorandum promising that affected families would be able to access support programs and “connect to resources they may need to help with their healing, health, and well-being.”

Pray:

For divine intervention and for God's name to be glorified even as each nation and government tries its best to vaccinate, prevent or control the emergence of new waves of infection. (1 Peter 4:16)

For all children whose lives have been irevesibly changed by the loss of a parent or caregiver through covid. (James 1:27)

That individuals, leaders and nations continue to focus on the needs of others rather than themselves, and that co-operation and compassion lie at the heart of the world’s response to the crisis.  (Proverbs 16:12)

We continue to release faith, hope, and love over the peoples of the world. May the Church seize this opportune time to manifest Jesus our Lord and Saviour to those who are seeking answers and purpose. 

One week into a new counter-offensive, Ukrainian forces are making gains in the south, with the ambitious goal of taking back most of the Russian-occupied region of Kherson by the end of the year.

The last week has seen the most ambitious ground assaults by the Ukrainians since the beginning of the invasion, following sustained attacks on command posts, ammunition stores, and fuel reserves far behind the front lines, according to geolocation of video and satellite imagery.

The US has observed Ukrainian forces achieve some success in attacking Russian supply lines, with the intention of cutting off and isolating Russian troops currently deployed west of the Dnipro River, according to a senior US official.

At the same time, Ukraine is considering switching off the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant for safety reasons, amid fears that the diesel used to power back-up generators could run out.  The facility, the largest of its kind in Europe, is currently disconnected from the national power grid, following damage to external power lines.

Oleh Korikov, Kyiv’s top nuclear safety expert, said: “The option of switching off the station is being assessed, if conditions necessitating the station to be switched off arise.”

He added: “We could potentially reach a situation where the diesel runs out, which would cause an accident involving the damage of the active zones of the reactors, which would cause the expulsion of radioactive substances into the environment,” he said.

“This would have consequences not only for the territory of Ukraine, but also cross-border consequences,” he said.  Shutting down the plant would cause further energy shortages in Ukraine this winter.

More:   CNN, Independent, EEA

Pray: A CAFOD prayer for Ukraine

Loving God,
We pray for the people of Ukraine,
for all those suffering or afraid,
that you will be close to them and protect them.

We pray for world leaders,
for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.

We pray for the world
that in this moment of crisis,
we may reach out in solidarity
to our brothers and sisters in need.

May we walk in your ways
so that peace and justice
become a reality for the people of Ukraine
and for all the world.

Amen.

The U.S. economy is going to fall into a recession next year, according to Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, and that’s not necessarily because of higher interest rates.  “We will have a recession because we’ve had five months of zero M2 growth, money supply growth, and the Fed isn’t even looking at it,” he told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Monday.

In recent months, money supply has stagnated and that’s likely to lead to an economic slowdown, Hanke warned.  “We’re going to have one whopper of a recession in 2023,” he said.  Meanwhile, inflation is going to remain high because of “unprecedented growth” in money supply in the United States, Hanke said.

Historically, there has never been “sustained inflation” that isn’t the result of excess growth in money supply and pointed out that money supply in the U.S. saw “unprecedented growth” when Covid began two years ago, he said.  “That is why we are having inflation now, and that’s why, by the way, we will continue to have inflation through 2023 going into probably 2024,” he added.

“The bottom line is we’re going to have stagflation — we’re going to have the inflation because of this excess that’s now coming into the system,” he added.  “The problem we have is that the [Fed Chair Jerome Powell] does not understand, even at this point, what the causes of inflation are and were,” Hanke said.

Powell, in his policy speech at the annual Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday, said he views the high inflation in the U.S. as a “product of strong demand and constrained supply, and that the Fed’s tools work principally on aggregate demand.”

This fall echoes dangerous parallels to the previous economic crisis of 2008-9. Some points for prayer for the USA and the world

1. According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, if honest numbers were being used the real rate of unemployment in the United States would be over 24 percent. About half of all U.S. companies say that they will be eliminating jobs within the next 12 months.

2. According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, if the rate of inflation was still calculated the way that it was back in 1980, the real rate of inflation would be somewhere around 17 percent right now.

3. At one company, the number of Americans taking out short-term loans for groceries has nearly doubled this year.

4. One out of every five home sellers in the United States dropped their asking price last month.  This is more evidence that home prices are starting to rapidly move in a downward direction. Sales of previously owned homes were about 20 percent lower this July than they were last July. One recent survey found that 3.8 million Americans believe that they could be evicted from their homes within the next two months. 

5. According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, approximately 20 million U.S. households are currently behind on their utility bills. 

6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen for three weeks in a row.  We also witnessed this sort of a gradual slide just prior to the big crash of 2008. 

7. In August, a whopping 2,150 corporate executives sold off shares in their companies.  Are they trying to cash in while they still can? 

More:   Prophecy newswatch, CNBC

Pray:

Pray for God’s children to find His protection and provision as in Goshen. (Genesis 45:10)

Pray for listening ears and obedient hearts to position ourselves as God directs. (Proverbs 25:12)

Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has warned of a “humongous challenge” ahead following catastrophic floods in the country that have coincided with an acute financial crisis and a deepening political conflict between the government and former leader Imran Khan.

After flood waters swept away settlements, pooled in low-lying areas and caused the country’s largest lake to overflow on Wednesday, officials said about 1,400 people had been killed and as many as 40mn, or about a fifth of the population, had been displaced.

A third of the country is under water and more than half of its 160 districts have been declared “calamity hit”.

Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s climate change minister, has described the disaster as “the climate catastrophe of the decade” and “a super-flood to beat all”. 

The government estimates at least $10bn of destruction has been caused, with analysts saying the damage appeared to be worse than in 2010, when floods across almost one-fifth of Pakistan killed nearly 2,000 people.

UN secretary-general António Guterres is due to tour some of the worst-hit areas on Friday, in a visit that Pakistan’s leaders hope to leverage to persuade foreign donors to provide emergency funds.

“This natural disaster, this calamity, should elicit an international response — which it has not elicited so far,” said Shahnaz Wazir Ali, a former MP and minister of social welfare. “If there isn’t a reasonably substantial rescue programme, then it will be a complete disaster,” she added. “There could be food riots, instability.” 

Prices are already soaring for food and other essentials. “Onions and tomatoes are twice or four times as expensive as just a month ago, and we haven’t had fruit for months,” said Dilawar Khan, a father of seven who lives with his wife and parents in a poor area of Islamabad. “We now even have to conserve on tea.” 

Analysts have warned that unless Pakistan’s ruling elite and international donors respond urgently, the crisis could fuel political unrest and militancy in a country that has long struggled to contain both.

More:    FT

Pray:

That the entire church in Pakistan will be resourced to serve people who are suffering. (Isaiah 41:10)

For wisdom and energy for local, national and international leaders as they respond to this crisis. (James 1:5)

For provision of clean water, food and safe shelter for people who have lost their belongings, homes, livestock and livelihoods. Ask God to give them courage and strength during these challenging times. (Phil. 4:6-7)