Another Three Self (official) church is being demolished in China because Communist party officials decided that its cross was too prominent. Worshippers in Ningbo, about 140 miles south of Shanghai, were told that the church’s cross was “too eye catching, too shiny and too big” and were instructed to build a wall around it. However, given that the building is similar in size and shape to London’s Battersea Power Station, and the 20ft cross is at the highest point of a stepped gable end, building a wall was infeasible and the congregation refused – so the authorities decided to demolish the building.
A UK Government consultation on childcare agencies and the role of local authorities has attracted a response from the British Humanist Association that proposes withdrawal of state funding from providers who teach “creationism or other pseudoscientific ideas” as scientifically valid. They add that “We know the Government agrees with us on this” and include a quote from a the Under Secretary of State for Education that “providers should follow the Government’s position on creationism and evolution.” If you have different views, or believe the Government’s position (if they have one) should be different from the humanists’ views, fill in a form soon as the consultation closes tomorrow. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/childminder-agencies-and-changes-to-the-local-authority-role
A pro-life organisation has decided to demonstrate outside a major UK church event, with pictures of aborted foetuses, after being denied an opportunity to exhibit inside the event. Abort67 say that they were refused permission to set up a table with leaflets and models of foetuses at “The Big Church Day Out”, even though other social justice organisations were given permission. They claim they were told that no pro-life group would be permitted to exhibit at the event.
The Miami Dolphins player who was fined for using Twitter to object to a gay kiss on TV (by a newly drafted player for another NFL team) has now received death threats to him and his family for his comments.
Boko Haram have killed 135 people in Nigeria in the past week – 118 with two bombs in the city of Jos and 17 in an extended attack on a village. These events have received less publicity than the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls, but more publicity than similar atrocities committed before the abduction.
Pastor Saeed Abedini, the American citizen of Iranian extraction who was arrested in 2012 while working on an orphanage project and jailed for eight years, has been returned to prison after spending two months in hospital recovering from beatings he received in prison. His family say that the transfer took place without notice and that he was severely beaten again during the incident. The offence for which he was jailed was “compromising national security”, although many believe his actual offence was that he was instrumental in establishing many house churches in Iran between 2000 and 2005.
In technology news, the US Department of Justice has sued named members of China’s army for industrial espionage. A prominent businessman said, “The reality is that the US and China are actually engaged in a cyber war;” a lawyer specialising in cyber crime added, “This takes things a step further. The message is clear; we know who you are and we know what you’re doing.” The Chinese government has responded by accusing the USA of hypocrisy.
Also in technology news, a series of arrests have been made of people using a software package called Blackshades Remote Access Tool. The software is sold commercially and is marketed as a tool to test network security, but it is capable of taking control of a victim’s computer; recording their keystrokes; viewing and encrypting their documents; and even activating their webcam to take surreptitious pictures. It became notorious when it was used to capture nude photos of Miss Teen USA; the perpetrator subsequently attempted to obtain a nude video through blackmail, and is now serving 18 months in prison. 97 people have been arrested worldwide, including 17 in the UK.
And finally, Sir Nicholas Winton, the “British Schindler” who helped 669 Czechoslovakian Jewish children to escape from Prague at the start of World War 2, is to be given the Czech Republic’s highest state honour, the Order of the White Lion. Winton was a diplomat but acted entirely on his own initiative. Beginning with a three week “holiday” in Prague, he advertised in newspapers for foster homes; organised immigration permits from the UK authorities; and obtained permission from the recently installed German authorities for children to leave by the trainload. Winton, now 105 years old, kept quiet about his actions after the war; they were only revealed 50 years later when his wife found a scrapbook, passed it on to BBC’s “That’s Life” programme, and Winton’s story was revealed in front of an audience which turned out to consist largely of children he’d saved.
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