Vladimir Putin has called for an end to persecution of Christians in
the Middle East. “This pressing problem should be a matter of concern for the
entire international community”, he said, at a meeting with Russian Orthodox
Christian leaders. There are unconfirmed reports that large numbers of Orthodox
Christians are fleeing to Russia from nations where they are persecuted.
A pro-life march in Melbourne, Australia was disrupted throughout by
pro-abortion supporters who blocked the route, threw eggs, stole signs, occupied
the stage at the end of the route, and assaulted some participants. Two members
of Parliament who took part were attacked: one was “belted in the head” and
pelted with eggs, the other was “thrown to the ground and stomped on.” One of
the MPs was strongly critical of the police’s failure to intervene: he said
“What we saw today was a public mugging on the streets of Melbourne, and
Victoria Police sat back and watched.” No arrests were made.
In football’s World Cup qualifiers, England beat Poland 2-0 to qualify
automatically for the finals in Brazil next year. None of the other British
Isles nations qualified, though Scotland did finish their disappointing
campaign with a 2-0 win over play-off qualifiers Croatia. Portugal, France and
Uruguay are among the traditionally strong teams who must win a play-off to
reach the finals.
Also in sport, British racing driver Sean Edwards, who was leading the
Porsche Supercup series, has been killed in a crash on a racetrack in Queensland, Australia. Edwards
was the son of Guy Edwards, the driver who rescued Nikki Lauda from his burning
car at the Nurburgring in 1976. Edwards played his father in the
recently-released film “Rush.”
It has
emerged that emails from over 4,000 opponents of the Scottish Gay Marriage Bill
were blocked from getting through to the consultation process by the Scottish
Government’s computer system. A top lawyer says a flawed consultation could be
unlawful, and a court could order the legislative process to start again. The
Scottish Government say they are aware of the problem, but deny any
responsibility for the technical error.
And finally, a Cold War nuclear bunker in Lithuania has been turned
into “Europe’s strangest theme park”. Visitors are welcomed by Soviet anthems
on a creaking radio, flickering striplights, and a huge guard in a green
uniform with a large Alsatian dog. The guard yells at them in Russian, “Welcome
to the Soviet Union. Here you are nobody.” They are then given “coffee” which
has no coffee in it; forced to listen to
a brutal set of rules and to watch the hoisting of the red flag; and are then
given damp overcoats before being interrogated (in Russian) for three hours in freezing
cold rooms, shown socialist propaganda, and pressured to sign false
confessions. “Someone always faints,” said the park’s director, “it’s very easy
to break people’s will.” The park’s goal is to help people understand what the
Soviet Union was really like.
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