In Sanjiang, China, an agreement was reached regarding the (official)
mega-church which was deemed too prominent by a visiting Communist official:
the church agreed to demolish two floors of an accessory building. However,
bulldozers sent by the local government ignored the agreement; they demolished
the entire accessory building and
severely damaged the foundations of the main building. The cross on top of the
building was also toppled. These actions are being seen as a clear sign of a
new wave of religious persecution in China.
A woman buying boots from New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue
department store in 2012 got a shock when she got home. The branded shopping
bag she was given contained a note beginning “HELP, HELP, HELP” from a man claiming to be held unfairly in a
Chinese prison factory, along with an email address and a passport photo of a
black man wearing an orange jacket. She passed the note to an organisation that
highlights human rights abuses in Chinese prisons, but it was not until this
week that the author was tracked down. He is a 34 year old Cameroonian who was
arrested and charged with fraud in 2011 while teaching English in Shenzhen; he
was sentenced to three years in prison where he worked long hours making
electrical parts or bags. He managed to write five letters in that time and
said he was pleased that one had been found. The woman said she had never
previously given any thought to the people who made the consumables she used;
Saks Fifth Avenue confirmed that some of their branded shopping bags are made
in China; the Chinese consulate declined to comment.
A legal case against pro-lifers in Illinois has finally been
concluded in the defendants’ favour after 28 years in the courts, including
three visits to the US Supreme Court. The case accused pro-life counsellors of
using violence or threats of violence by blocking the entrance to abortion
facilities, and later expanded to accuse them of being a “racketeering influenced or corrupt
organisation.” Three times the local judge and the Illinois Appeals court
upheld the complaint; each time, the US Supreme Court reversed the decision.
This week, the final award of costs to the defendants was made.
Kenya’s president has signed a new law that legalises
polygamy. Supporters of the new law see it as a return to tribal traditions
that pre-date colonialism; unofficial polygamy is widespread in Kenya’s
traditional and Muslim communities. Christians and women’s groups opposed it,
especially after a proposed amendment to allow existing wives to veto a
husband’s choice of new wife was voted down.
The husband and wife team who made the TV show “The Bible”
and the film “Son of God”, producer Mark Burnett and actress Roma Downey, have
been signed by Paramount Studios to re-make the classic film “Ben Hur.” The new
version is expected to be released in 2016.
In sport, the UEFA Champion’s League final will be between
two teams from the same city for the first time ever. Atletico Madrid beat
Chelsea to win the right to face Real Madrid in the final.
And finally, a sharp-eyed Edinburgh resident spotted a
poster advertising UKIP’s campaign for the European elections alongside an
advert for a new tent that prominently announced “No Poles Required.” The UKIP
poster was actually criticising the benefits received by members of the
European Parliament, but it is UKIP’s opposition to immigration that seems to
have captured the public’s imagination.
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