Not The BBC News: 11 July 2014

Tensions between (largely Protestant) Unionists and (largely Catholic) Republicans in Belfast are rising again as the traditional parade season arrives. There have been claims that a statue of Mary, recently stolen from a memorial, was burned on a Unionist-organised bonfire. However, it has been confirmed that a photo on a parody social media site that allegedly shows the statue being thrown onto the bonfire is actually of a person climbing on the (unlit) bonfire. Also, a Republican Facebook page has published the name and car registration number (with a photo of the car) of a Protestant who is accused of stealing and burning the statue; Facebook have refused multiple requests to remove it. Unionist councillors have called for the stolen statue to be returned.

The military action by the Israeli army against Palestinians continues, with the usual accusations being levelled by both sides: Palestinians accuse Israelis of heavy-handed tactics and unjustified violence against civilians; Israelis accuse Palestinians of provocation and of faking evidence of atrocities, and claim their own good deeds are under-reported. The only certainty is that (mostly Palestinian) people continue to be injured or killed. Unusually, the BBC has given significant space to some Israeli accusations as well as Palestinian ones, prompting a columnist for the Independent newspaper to call for what he describes as “a return to balanced reporting” by the BBC.

The issue of the Christian bakery which is being taken to task by the Equalities Commission for refusing to bake a cake that said “Support Gay Marriage” was raised as the first question at Prime Minister’s Question Time this week; a Northern Irish MP asked the Prime Minister if he supported Baroness Hale’s proposal for a “conscience clause” in English law. David Cameron’s reply was that he had not heard of the case, and to talk about the importance of equality in general. Given that PMQs are submitted ahead of time (though follow-up questions aren’t), there is speculation that Cameron’s claim that he hadn’t heard of the case indicates he is trying to avoid involvement.

The Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Enda Kenny, is supporting a Bill that would allow abortion up to birth if the mother was suicidal. He claims that this will not effectively mean ‘abortion on demand’; however, he also claimed that he would not support any abortion legislation when he was elected in 2011. The main argument of the Bill’s opponents is that medical evidence shows that abortion is not an effective treatment for suicidal feelings.

The Church of England has finally divested itself of its investment in the payday lender Wonga. The Archbishop of Canterbury has accused payday lenders of exploiting the poor. Wonga has also been ordered to pay ₤2.6 million in compensation after sending letters from fake solicitors’ firms to customers several years ago.

In this “year of the Christian film,” a recently released “abortion comedy” film has flopped spectacularly. Following the success of “Knocked Up,” a romantic comedy in which a woman decides to keep her unplanned baby and “Juno,” an independent rom-com in which an unplanned baby is adopted, “Obvious Child” is a rom-com in which the woman has an abortion. However, “Obvious Child” has made less than $2 million box office dollars in four weeks; “Juno” had taken $26 million by the same stage, and pro-life film “October Baby” about $5 million.

In sport, Brazil crashed out of the World Cup in dramatic style as they lost 7-1 to Germany in the semi-final. Brazil’s captain, the devoutly Christian defender David Luiz, was guilty of trying too hard to inspire his team and consequently being out of his defensive position for some of the goals; he talked to God at the end of the game before he talked to anyone else, publicly praying on the pitch. The best thing about Germany’s seventh goal was that it avoided UK newspaper headlines reading “The Joy of Sechs,” although some journalists did slip the phrase into their reports.

Also in sport, the government of Singapore is suffering embarrassment because it has made and repeatedly shown an anti-gambling commercial in which a young boy is upset because his father put his life savings on Germany to win the World Cup.

And finally, the idea of policemen patrolling in bicycles has been taken into the 21^st century by a policeman in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, who patrols on a skateboard – with extra-wide wheels and red and blue LED lights.