VOA常速英语:澳大利亚年底前全民接种疫苗目标夭折

This is VOA news. Via remote, I'm Diane Roberts. Seven Catholic clergy, including two French citizens, were kidnapped Sunday in Haiti, according to a spokesperson of the Bishop's Conference for the island nation, which has been rocked by unrest. Five priests and two nuns were abducted in the morning in a commune northeast of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where they were "on their way to the installation of a new parish priest," a priest told AFP. He added the kidnappers had demanded a $1 million ransom for the group, which includes one French priest and one French nun. Haitian authorities suspect an armed gang called "400 Mawozo," which is active in kidnappings, is behind the abduction, according to a police source.

Australia has abandoned a goal to vaccinate nearly all of its 26 million population by the end of 2021. This follows advice that people under the age of 50 take Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine rather than AstraZeneca's shot. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a Facebook post Sunday afternoon Australia had banked on the AstraZeneca vaccine for the majority of its shots and had no plans to set any new targets for completing its vaccination program. Australia raced to double its order of the Pfizer vaccine last week. It had originally planned to have its entire population vaccinated by the end of October.

Massive power outages struck the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent before dawn Sunday as officials recorded more explosive activity at a long-dormant volcano that launched into a series of eruptions. After remaining quiet for nearly 42 years, La Soufriere rumbled back into life Friday, blanketing the island in ash and permeating the air with the stench of sulphur. The Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin Tuesday, April 13th, in Egypt and Lebanon. Religious authorities in the two countries announced Sunday. The start of Ramadan is set by both lunar calculations and physical sightings that determine when one month ends and another begins. Via remote, Diane Roberts.