CNA Staff, Aug 5, 2020 / 02:01 pm (CNA).- Researchers based at the University of Toronto announced Monday that Bishop Benoît Alowonou of Kpalimé was among six targets of spyware in Togo last year. The country's bishops have supported political reform and denounced the government's injustice.

The spyware, known as Pegasus and which targets WhatsApp users, was made by NSO Group, an Israeli technology firm. It gives its operator access to the target's mobile device.

CNA Staff, Aug 5, 2020 / 01:10 pm (CNA).- New York governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed a bill Tuesday partially reversing immunity protections given to facilities like nursing homes against lawsuits during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The new law keeps in place immunity for healthcare staff and facilities in cases directly related to COVID-19 care, but removes the legal protections for preventative COVID-19 care and the arrangement of health care services for patients.

CNA Staff, Aug 5, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- The Maronite eparchs of the United States are pleading for prayers and aid for the people of Lebanon in the wake of the large explosion in Beirut on Tuesday, August 4, as Lebanon’s bishops call for a day of fasting and prayer this weekend. 

Dozens are feared dead and thousands were injured by the blast, the cause of which is still unknown. Harrowing images from Beirut show buildings reduced to rubble, and an estimated hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless by the explosion.