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."

Pope Francis canonizes two Palestinian nuns

Reuters,

Pope Francis named two Palestinian women as saints on Sunday, in a ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square just days after the Vatican formalised its de facto recognition of the State of Palestine.

The canonisation of Sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, founder of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem, and Maryam Baouardy, who founded a Carmelite convent in Bethlehem, was not directly connected with the Vatican’s Wednesday announcement of a new accord with the State of Palestine.

US appeals court orders release of nuclear-activist nun

Reuters

The three were convicted of cutting fences to get into the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on the night of July 28, 2012.

 

A US appellate court on Friday ordered the immediate release of an elderly nun and two other peace activists a week after overturning their sabotage convictions for breaking into a Tennessee nuclear defense facility in 2012, their lawyer said.

 
Reuters

In a 2-1 decision last Friday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed sabotage convictions against Megan Rice, 85, and US Army veterans, Michael Walli, 66, and Greg Boertje-Obed, 59.

 

The panel majority found that the three lacked the necessary intent for a violation of the federal Sabotage Act for the break-in at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, an incident that embarrassed US officials and prompted security changes.

Toddler Who Miraculously Survived Car Crash in River—Thanks in Part to Mysterious Voice—Goes Home from Hospital

Aimee Herd : FOX News

"She should be gone. She shouldn't be here. I'm blessed. I'm counting all my blessings right now."

In a Fox News report on Thursday, the resilient toddler "Lily" who survived the deadly car crash into a Utah river last weekend, which killed her mother, was able to go home with her dad. (Photo via Fox News Insider)

She reportedly made a full recovery, after being found unconscious, still in her car seat in the overturned car, when first responders found her, after being alerted to the wreck by a fisherman.

Suicide bombings in Christian area of Pakistani city kill at least 1

By Sophia Saifi and Jethro Mullen, CNN

Suicide bombers attacked a Christian community in eastern Pakistan on Sunday, setting off two blasts that killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, officials said.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the deadly attack and warned of more to come.

The explosions, which struck the Nishtar Colony area in the city of Lahore, wounded at least 78 people, said Dr. Muhammed Saeed Sohbin, medical superintendent at Lahore General Hospital.

 

Video from the scene aired by CNN affiliate GEO News showed twisted metal, shattered glass and panicked residents outside a church compound. Ambulance and security personnel were seen moving in. Later footage showed water cannons arriving to disperse the crowd.

How Libya's Martyrs Are Witnessing to Egypt

Murders spark largest outreach ever amid new freedoms and new threats.

Jayson Casper in Cairo


Image: Bible Society of Egypt
Covers of the English and Arabic tracts.

Undaunted by the slaughter of 21 Christians in Libya, the director of the Bible Society of Egypt saw a golden gospel opportunity.

“We must have a Scripture tract ready to distribute to the nation as soon as possible,” Ramez Atallah told his staff the evening an ISIS-linked group released its gruesome propaganda video. Less than 36 hours later, Two Rows by the Sea was sent to the printer.