The US Supreme Court has decided a recent test case in favour of a religious viewpoint. The HHS mandate (part of “Obamacare”) introduced by the current government requires employers who provide employee health care (i.e. most US employers) to pay for specified health treatments, or to pay $100 per employee per day in fines. Many Christian-run organisations (including at least one convent) had objected to the fact that the list of specified treatments included contraceptives and abortion drugs. When the Government proved largely deaf to protests, there was a flurry of litigation; in the end, a test case went through the legal process and ended up at the Supreme Court, which decided that there should be a conscience-based exception to parts of the HHS mandate. The decision also has potential implications for businesses who are reluctant to serve or support gay marriages, since it establishes the principle that US companies (with five or fewer owners, and who do not provide a personal service) can be considered in law to have a conscience.
Meriam Ibrahim is now in the US embassy in Khartoum, having been released following her detention at the airport. She told reporters about the humiliation and difficulties of being forced to give birth with her legs shackled together. She is also concerned that her newborn daughter appears to be physically disabled, and wondered whether that may be due to the circumstances of birth.
The Sudanese authorities have followed China’s lead and started demolishing churches. A church in north Khartoum was demolished this week while a neighbouring mosque remains untouched.
The three Jewish teenage boys (two Israelis and one with dual Israeli-American citizenship) who were kidnapped by Palestinian militants while hitchhiking have been found dead. They were apparently killed soon after being kidnapped. The Israeli Prime Minister has promised revenge; this has coincided with an upsurge in Israeli-Palestinian violence (and at least one death), with some sources blaming the desire for revenge, and others blaming terrorist groups for firing rockets at Israelis.
A documentary about Sam Childers, the “Machine Gun Preacher” has been released and is available through iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/machine-gun-preacher-documentary/id892907696.
In sports news, the Times reported Andy Murray’s easy win in the last 16 of Wimbledon by saying “the Briton has yet to drop a set,” but when he lost in the quarter finals it said “The Scot made a strong start.” It’s not clear why Murray’s nationality changes when he loses.
In technology news, a recent DNA study of 57 hair samples supposedly taken from yetis, Bigfoots, or similar creatures found that the vast majority were from common animals – cats, dogs, brown bears or even humans. However, two samples (both from the Himalayas) caused some surprise because the only DNA match that could be found was with a fossilised polar bear from approximately 40 000 years ago. Scientists have suggested that the “yeti” may in fact be a cross-breed between a polar bear and a brown bear.
And finally, a cyclist in Cologne, Germany was fined €25 for having an unroadworthy bicycle because it only had one handbrake. However, the cyclist appealed on the grounds that he only had one arm, and had modified the bicycle to have a back pedal brake for the rear wheel – facts that the cyclist tried to point out to the officer when the fine was being issued. The police have apologised and refunded his fine.
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