Friday, 3 January 2014

Not The BBC News: 3 January 2014

The extensive line-up of Christian films due out in 2014 includes at least two more films worth noting. One is a remake of 2001’s “Left Behind” starring Nicholas Cage; the other, “Compelled by Love”, tells the (literally) miraculous story of Heidi Baker and her husband’s Christian work in Mozambique. The latter premieres on www.bethel.tv on 5 January at 6pm [TBC] UK time.

The research ship that was trapped by Antarctic ice on Christmas Eve is still trapped. The 52 passengers have now been taken off by helicopter but the 22-strong crew remain on board.

A French priest who was kidnapped by the Boko Haran Islamic militants in Cameroon, near the Nigerian border, has been released after seven weeks in captivity following interventions by several senior figures including Cameroon’s president. He described his captivity as “terribly boring”.

Israel has made a complaint to the European Union about double standards. EU organisations were recently banned from trading with any Israeli organisations based in the territories disputed between Israelis and Palestinians. However, the EU has just signed a fishing agreement with Morocco that includes the seas off the disputed territory of Western Sahara; and it often trades with companies in Turkish Cyprus, despite the fact that the Turkish occupation of the island is still not officially recognised.

In sport, Sunderland’s Tom Huddlestone scored a goal last weekend, and immediately headed for the touchline where the club’s physio chopped off some of his hair. Huddlestone had vowed not to cut his hair until he next scored a goal; that was 2 ½ years ago, when he was playing for Tottenham Hotspur. Huddlestone’s haircut raised ₤35,000 for charity.

In technology news, the long-running argument about the Italian woman who was subjected to a forcible Caesarean section under the authority of Essex social workers has had an unexpected side effect; a (male) Liberal Democrat MP has been banned from the Mumsnet social network/bulletin board after discussing the issue. The MP posted Italian court documents to justify his opposition to the social workers’ actions, not realising that the documents named the woman, and that he was therefore in breach of a court order. He also circulated some Twitter comments that could have been used to unmask the identities of some Mumsnet contributors.

And finally, a priest from a retreat centre in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire took a painting to TV’s Antiques Roadshow, and discovered that it is the most valuable antique that the program has ever seen. Not only is the painting a 17th century Van Dyck, it is a study of a character from a lost Van Dyck masterpiece. The painting, which he purchased in Nantwich 12 years ago for ₤400, is estimated to be worth ₤400,000. The priest says he’s considering selling it to fund a new set of church bells for Whaley Hall’s chapel.

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