Two American missionaries in Liberia, who have been helping treat patients with Ebola in a clinic, have themselves contracted the disease. Attempts to evacuate them to Europe have so far failed because of complaints from the countries they would have to fly over en route. One of the two, a 33 year old doctor from Texas, has simply asked people to pray for him and his (absent) family. Several top Liberian doctors have already died of the disease. A Canadian missionary doctor working for the same organisation as the Americans has returned to Canada, and even though he has no symptoms of Ebola, has quarantined himself as a precaution.
A Pentecostal church in Rio de Janeiro is about to open a new 10,000 capacity building that is an exact replica of Solomon’s temple. The building, which is twice the height of the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer, allegedly includes a replica of the Ark of the Covenant.
The USA’s Internal Revenue Service was strongly criticised last year for targeting strict and detailed investigations at pro-life, pro-family and right-wing groups, and is currently prevented from investigating any tax-exempt organisations while a congressional investigation takes place. However, it has emerged that the IRS has agreed (once investigations restart) to monitor the content of church sermons after a lawsuit from the atheist Freedom From Religion Foundation alleged that churches promote political issues, legislation and/or candidates from the pulpits – subjects that are forbidden to registered tax-exempt organisations. This issue is likely to develop on the grounds that (a) such monitoring may violate freedom of speech (b) there have been more complaints about churches that preach a right wing political message than those that preach a left wing one and (c) the rules about tax exemption suggest churches don’t actually need to register.
Also in the USA, the “Hobby Lobby” decision by the Supreme Court, which freed Christian-run businesses from parts of Obamacare on grounds of conscience, is still producing strong reactions amongst opponents. The latest initiative has come from Satanists who claim they want to be exempted from restrictions on abortion because such restrictions go against their consciences. While this suit is unlikely to succeed (even in literal-law America), it shows how unhappy many Americans are about the Supreme Court respecting conscientious objections by business owners.
A UK judge has ruled that a 13 year old boy can be treated with donated blood plasma, even though his mother, a Jehovah’s Witness, is unable to consent because of her beliefs. The boy is suffering from a disease of the central nervous system, and the judge was advised that the boy’s prospects of recovering without the plasma treatment were slight.
In sport, I have to make a correction. When Clare Balding, commentating on the Commonwealth Games, said “We have two English swimmers, one from Scotland, one from Wales,” she was referring to a total of four British swimmers in that final, rather than confusing England with Britain. Other stories from the Games include England taking all three medals in women’s all-disciplines gymnastics; Kiribati (formerly the Solomon Islands) winning their first ever gold medal from a 103.5kg (16st4lb/228lb) weightlifter who celebrated with some fancy dancing footwork; and Olympic champion and world record holder David Rudisha being surprisingly beaten in the 800 metres by Nijel Amos from Botswana, who sprinted the last 70 metres.
In technology news, Russia has passed a law requiring all bloggers with 3000 readers or more to register with the mass media regulator. The bill also contains measures to ensure that bloggers cannot remain anonymous, and new powers for the government to obtain data from ISPs. An influential Russian blogger argues that individual bloggers will find a way around the restrictions, but the new rules do provide grounds for blocking social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
And finally, a major incident was avoided at Aberdeen airport thanks to some clever flying and brave ground crew. A helicopter with 16 passengers was unable to lower its front undercarriage wheel, so the pilot decided to hover four feet from the ground while ground crew manually lowered the leg. The helicopter firm has commended all who were involved.
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