The Sudanese woman who was condemned under Islamic law for
her apostasy and pregnancy, because the law recognised neither her conversion
to Christianity nor her marriage to a Christian man, has been sentenced in court
to death by hanging for the apostasy charge, and 100 lashes for adultery. The
death sentence will probably be delayed until her unborn child is two years
old; the flogging is due to happen when she has recovered from giving birth.
She told the court, “I am a Christian and I have never committed apostasy.”
In a related story, a Nigerian teenager spoke in Washington
DC about one of Boko Haram’s earlier atrocities. She said three of the
terrorists broke into her home and demanded that her father, a Christian
pastor, recant his faith in Jesus. He replied that he would rather die than go
to Hellfire. They shot him; then they shot and killed her brother too, because
they reasoned he might grow up to become a pastor as well.
A Christian college in Tennessee is coming under fire from
its own staff and students for issuing a ‘clarification’ of its statement of
belief regarding creation. The original statement read that man’s origin was
“by act of creation as related in the book of Genesis;” the added words were
that “We believe that all humanity is descended from Adam and Eve. They are
historical persons created by God in a special formative act, and not from
existing life forms.” The controversy arose because all staff were issued with
new contracts that required adherence to the new wording. Staff passed a vote
of no confidence in in the college president; nine (20%) have decided to leave;
and two have been fired and are suing the college. Students have also protested
in various ways, including wearing black armbands to chapel.
A Miami Dolphins American football player has been fined by
his club because he tweeted “OMG!!!” and “Horrible!” when a gay kiss was
broadcast on TV.
The M62 motorway near Manchester was closed for a day after
a lorry carrying nearly 7000 live chickens in crates crashed and spread its
load across all four lanes. A number of
chickens got free and were rounded up; others are believed to have escaped
across fields. There is no news about the condition of the driver, but the
animal rights group PETA has asked for a memorial at the spot to the 1500
chickens who perished in the crash.
In football, the World Cup squads for the countries have been
named. France, like England, have gone for youth, omitting two older Manchester
City players (Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy) and their experienced defender Eric
Abidal. However, no less than nine of
the 23 first choice French players play their club football in England, whereas
only seven are based in France. Spain, in contrast, have 17 of their squad of
30 playing club football in Spain; they have also selected eight from English
football. Meanwhile, Sevilla won the Europa League competition, with a team
that featured two players on loan from English clubs – Reading and Queen’s Park
Rangers!
And finally, there have been several stories of
very young children phoning emergency services to save their parents’ lives,
but an ex-soldier in Ohio was saved by his dog. The man suffers from post-traumatic
stress seizures, so he has trained his pit bull/Labrador crossbreed to
recognise the seizures, and he has also set up his phone for one-touch calling
to emergency services. During a recent seizure, the dog managed to extract the
man’s phone from his pocket and then stepped on the screen repeatedly.
The dog was waiting at the front of the house for the ambulance when it
arrived, and guided them to its master in the back.
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