The death of Fidel Castro, long-time leader of Cuba has divided public opinion with some praising him for his long term left wing policies and others criticising his suppression of opposing voices. Armando Valladares, a former postal clerk in Castro’s Revolutionary Government revealed how he was jailed for 30 years on trumped-up charges after refusing to put a communist slogan on his desk at work. His first prison camp executed scores of men every night, and he would hear them shouting “Long Live Christ the King, Down with Communism!” He gave his life to Christ which enabled him to resist further attempts to break his spirit – eight years naked in a totally dark cell, then being told he could return to his family if he merely signed a document renouncing Christianity. He wrote poetry while in prison, using his blood as ink; he is now a painter.
Christian groups are already responding to Castro’s death. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association distributed 40,000 Bibles in Cuba last year, where it is not unusual for a whole church to have one Bible between them. They plan to deliver another 50,000 soon.
Friends of a murdered priest in Florida are lobbying against the death penalty for the murderer because the priest wrote and filed a letter 20 years ago requesting that “should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstance, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I have suffered.” Father Rene Robert became acquainted with his killer while working in prison ministry. State officials are currently seeking the death penalty for kidnap and eventual murder of 71 year old Father Robert.
The king of Jordan has called on Jews and Christians to unite with Muslims to defeat ISIS. He called on the world to take “a global, holistic approach” or “we’re never going to win.” Israel is already providing Jordan (and Egypt) with military intelligence.
A pastor from Clermont, Florida told his congregation that God had told him to sing the song “In His presence”. Jim Watson sang it and immediately died of a heart attack. Steven Halford, pastor of a church in Lee on the Solent near Portsmouth, said: He was a loving husband, father, brother, son, pastor and of course, friend. He took me in and loved me and gave me a chance when few others did. I love you, Pastor Jim. I'll be seeing you.”
Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe has said that Christians are facing increasing oppression and persecution in the UK. The former Home Office minister recalled that when she was recently in Gibraltar, a senior politician there told her that it was important for them “not to be like Britain”. Citing the judgment against Ashers bakery in Northern Ireland, he spoke of the need to protect freedom of religion and conscience in statute. Widdecombe argues that in the Ashers case, “the principle of not being allowed to express a view has been extended to being forced to affirm one – an infringement of individual liberty that would have been unthinkable not so very long ago.” She contrasts this with a judgment in 2012 when a Christian who was demoted at work for stating on his personal Facebook page that gay marriage was “an equality too far” won his case against his employer.
A teaching assistant for children with special needs at a school in Bodmin, Cornwall told a 14 year old autistic boy, in response to his questions, that she did not like the way the biblical rainbow symbol had been adopted as an emblem of gay pride and that she disapproved of same-sex relationships. She was disciplined by the school and given a 12 month written warning, She raised the case at an employment tribunal but the school settled the case and apologised to her shortly before the tribunal was due to begin.
A senior Anglican bishop is to preside at a LGBT Eucharist. Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester, will celebrate a ceremony set up by Inclusive Anglicans. A traditional Anglican liturgy will be used.
Planned Parenthood, the biggest provider of abortion services in the USA, invited Twitter users to describe them in one word. In the words of the Washington Times, the strategy hasn’t turned out exactly as planned […] unless responses like ‘deceitful,’ ‘barbarous,’ ‘villainous,’ and ‘scandal-ridden’ were what organizers had in mind.”
In sport, Nico Rosberg has retired from Formula 1 racing just five days after becoming World Champion. Rosberg, whose father Keke was also a top racing driver, said, “Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target. And now I've made it.” Team-mate Lewis Hamilton added that Rosberg wanted to focus on his family.
In technology news, a report into UK warehouse space found that more than a quarter of all UK warehouse space rented in the last year was rented by Amazon – and other online retailers took enough for 1 in 3 UK warehouses to be dedicated to online retail last year. A spokesman said that Amazon’s Prime Now service, which promises delivery within an hour, has meant the company needs to take more warehousing space in different places.
And finally, highway managers on New Zealand’s South Island were puzzled to find their road cones in odd places on State Highway 94 at the Homer Tunnel, the entrance to Milford Sound. When they checked camera footage from each end of the tunnel they discovered ground-dwelling kea birds dragging cones on and off the road. A video entitled “The Kea Movie” can be seen at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11757422
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