New school year at Israel Christian schools in doubt

Roman Catholic clergymen hold candles at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City on April 2, 2015 (AFP Photo/Gali Tibbon)

 Israel's academic year starts Tuesday, but if tough financing talks with the government bear no fruit, the doors of the country's 47 Christian schools will remain closed, a church official said.

Some 33,000 children, mostly Muslim Arabs, attend the schools, which have a history predating Israel's foundation in 1948 and are run primarily by the Roman Catholic church.

Nigeria shuts down churches over noisy worship

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Lagos has seen more than 6,000 traditional and alternative places of worship spring up in recent years (AFP Photo/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

Authorities in Nigeria's financial capital Lagos have shut down churches across the city after a glut of complaints over noisy worship.

 

The chaotic megacity's environmental protection department said it had sealed off 22 premises on Wednesday after receiving dozens of calls a day, according to local newspaper reports.

 

Neighbours of one church -- Jesus Our Lord Divine Catholic Prayer Ministry -- said they were constantly disturbed by a congregation of mainly pregnant women, young mothers and their children.

 

"On my phone alone, I get 20 SMS on a daily basis," said Adebola Shabi, head of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, according to the national daily New Telegraph.

 

"In the next five years, if there is no stringent policy on the siting of religious houses, there will be problem."