Bolivia is to become the first country in the world to give
comprehensive legal rights to Nature. Based on an indigenous Andean worldview
of Mother Earth as a living being, the law will legally bind the government to
prioritise the wellbeing of its citizens and the natural world by promoting
sustainability and controlling industry. In fact it will give the natural world
equal status to human beings.
A Christian school in the Home Counties has been told by
Ofsted inspectors that its rating is to be downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘adequate’
because it has not made enough efforts to actively promote harmony between different
faiths – for instance it has not invited an imam to lead morning worship and
some lessons. Furthermore, the downgrade would lead to a further inspection
which could theoretically result in the school being closed. New regulations,
introduced over the summer holidays when schools were less likely to be able to
object, require such active promotion; the new regulations were introduced in
response to the “Trojan horse” scandal of Muslim-run schools in Birmingham, but
were immediately criticised for going too far. A spokesman for the Christian
Institute said, “The wording of the regulations inevitably results in these
kinds of outcomes. While we obviously support attempts to address the problem
of radicalisation, the current regulations fail to do this.”
The subpoenas issued on pastors in Houston, Texas by the
city authorities, requiring them to submit sermons on particular topics to the
mayor’s office as part of an ongoing legal dispute, has produced an unusual
response. Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has called for pastors
from all over the USA to send sermons, and Christians everywhere to send
Bibles, to the mayor’s office in Houston. “Obviously she could use a few,” he said. The Twitter hashtag for the
latest on this situation is #HoustonWeHaveAProblem.
Canon Andrew White, the “Vicar of Baghdad”, spoke about the
situation in Iraq at a church in the USA. “We are a million times worse off
than under Saddam,” he said. “The terrible thing is for Americans to realise that
all their intervention, everything they tried to do, has been totally wasted.”
He criticised President Obama for pulling out all the troops in 2011, rather than leaving behind a force of 10,000 as the Iraqi
government requested.
Despite recent legal advice to the contrary, magistrates and
even pastors in the USA are being told they are required to solemnise gay
marriages. In North Carolins, several magistrates have resigned in protest; and in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, two pastors who run a wedding chapel have been told by the city
authorities that they will be fined and jailed if they refuse to do so.
One of the daughters of the leaders of Hamas has been given
emergency medical treatment in an Israeli hospital, following complications when
she was treated at an overstretched hospital in Gaza. An Israeli doctor said, “The
request of a Palestinian physician is normally enough to guarantee the
admission from Gaza of patients deemed urgent cases.”
Another Christian film being made this year for release next
year is “Do You Believe?” It’s a human interest story following the intersecting
stories of several characters. Stars include Cybil Shepherd, Sean Astin and Lee
Majors.
In technology news, Toshiba have unveiled a robot that can
speak – in sign language. Intended as a companion for the elderly, the humanoid
robot is currently only capable of simple phrases and greetings, but is
expected to develop a more complex vocabulary soon. It is also yet to be
equipped with speech recognition capabilities.
And finally, in 1979, an Indian teenager whose island had
been eroded until it was bare of vegetation decided that he would plant trees
on the island to prevent the local snakes from dying. 35 years later, he has
planted a 3,000 acre jungle (about 4.5 square miles) which supports wildlife including
elephants. A short documentary about him can be seen at http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/forest-man-of-india-film/.
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