Queen 'could move out of Buckingham Palace'
The Queen may have to move out of Buckingham Palace to allow maintenance work costing £150m to be carried out. It is one option being considered by the royal household, which says the palace needs new plumbing and wiring and has not been decorated since 1952. It comes as the Crown Estate, which owns property on behalf of the Queen, returned record profits of £285m to the taxpayer last year. The publication of the royal accounts can be an uncomfortable time for palace officials. Under scrutiny is the way the Royal Family spends public funds. The palace puts the cost of funding the royals at 56p per person in the UK. It's a figure Sir Alan Reid, the keeper of the Privy Purse described as excellent value for money. Royal sources reported significant amounts of asbestos needed to be removed from Buckingham Palace in a project described as a fundamental re-service.
15-year-old petitioning NHS England for life saving drug
15-year-old Lewis Brimble was recently told by the NHS that they had declined his application for Eculizumab, the only drug that could save his life. He said ‘I have had a rare kidney disease since I was nine years old which progressed into end stage renal failure. I spent two years on dialysis. When I was 11 Mum donated her kidney to me, and I slowly got back to being normal. Then after 15 months my disease came back, with damage to my transplanted kidney. Since then I have been deteriorating. Doctors said there is only one drug, Eculizumab, that can stop my disease from getting worse and forcing me to go back to a nightmare half-life on dialysis. But now, NHS England have rejected my application for the drug simply because it is ‘too expensive’.’
Christian charity to train UK churches against IS
A British charity that provides assistance to Christians in predominantly Muslim countries hosted a training session in London on Tuesday to advise UK churches on protecting their premises and congregations against an attack by Islamic State militants. The Barnabas Fund, which says it offers ‘practical aid for the persecuted church’, invited fifty church leaders to participate in the half-day session at Westminster’s Central Hall. The charity’s international director, Patrick Sookhdeo, and police representatives were present to give advice. An email with the subject line ‘Protecting British churches from terrorist attack’ warns, ‘Given the dramatic growth of IS in the Middle East and the increased anti-Christian rhetoric and attacks from that group, plus the recently thwarted attempts to attack churches in Paris, the possibility of an IS attack on British churches cannot be discounted.’
Irish pastor ready to go to jail for calling Islam 'satanic'
An elderly evangelical Christian preacher suffering from cancer and diabetes would rather go to prison than withdraw a statement he made last year during a sermon in his north Belfast church where he called Islam ‘satanic.’ In an interview, an obdurate Pastor James McConnell, 78, who is facing a potential hate crime conviction, told the Belfast Telegraph that he is ready to serve his time in jail, unafraid to be locked up with sex offenders, hoodlums, and paramilitaries. ‘I have no regrets about what I said. I do not hate Muslims but I denounce Islam as a doctrine and I make no apologies for that. I will be pleading 'not guilty' when I stand in the dock in August.’
Northern Ireland cannabis factory discovered
Detectives in Dungiven discovered a cannabis factory worth £250,000 and arrested a 38-year-old woman. Some of the plants were four feet high. The owner of the property - who discovered the cannabis factory - said, ‘I’m shocked, I can’t believe it.’ Detective Chief Inspector, Colin Gillis, from Crime Operations Dept. said, ‘I would like the people involved in the use and supply of illegal drugs to know that Northern Ireland is not a safe environment for them to spread their misery and destroy people’s lives. When members of the public work along with police we see time and again that successes can be made against the drugs gangs and I would actively encourage anyone with any information about the use or supply of illegal drugs to contact police on 101 to enable us to continue taking these substances off our streets.’
Afghanistan: Parliament attacked by Taliban suicide bomber and gunmen
A woman and child were killed and 40 civilians were injured in a brazen bomb and gun attack on the Afghan parliament in Kabul. A suicide car bomber and six gunmen were also killed in the attack. MPs were evacuated to safety amid chaotic scenes. The speaker of the parliament, Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, managed to continue talking during the blast in a moment of calm under fire, captured live on TV. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack that was timed to coincide with the appearance in parliament of Afghanistan’s new defence minister. The attack raises new questions over Afghanistan’s ability to maintain security without Nato’s help. Over the weekend Taliban forces took control of Chardara district in Kunduz. The continued insurgency also suggests divisions within the Taliban as it occurred soon after some senior Taliban figures entered talks in Qatar.
USA: Charleston response to killings
The shooting in a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, has raised new concerns about racism and gun violence. On Wednesday night, 21-year-old Dylan Roof walked into the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and after sitting for some time with the congregants, shot and killed nine people. Federal officials are investigating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime. The family of Dylan Roof posted on Twitter that they extend their deepest sympathies and condolences to families of the victims, saying, ‘Words cannot express our shock, grief and disbelief as to what happened that night. We offer our prayers and sympathy to all of those impacted by these events. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those killed this week. Our hope and prayer is for peace and healing for the families of the victims, the Charleston community and those touched by these events throughout the state of South Carolina and our nation.’ See also
Pakistan: Bid to reduce false accusations of blasphemy
In a move to prevent the abuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, the government has drafted a bill attempting to reduce false accusations. A mandatory death sentence for the crime of ‘defiling the name’ of Muhammad makes false accusations a serious risk to non-Muslims; they are often used to settle personal grudges. The mob violence that sometimes follows an accusation poses a risk to whole Christian communities if one of their members is accused. If passed, the bill would impose penalties for false accusation and also make it necessary to prove that a person accused of defiling the name of Muhammad had done so intentionally. Pakistan has a secular legal system and an Islamic one based on sharia. According to the constitution, the Federal Shariat Court has the power to decide whether any of the country’s laws are ‘repugnant to the injunctions of Islam’ - the president must then ‘take steps to amend the law’.
Vatican State: Pope speaks out on climate change
On 18 June Pope Francis called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, criticising consumerism and irresponsible development and calling for swift and unified global action. The vision he outlined in a 184-page papal encyclical is sweeping in ambition and scope: he describes relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment and says apathy, reckless pursuit of profits, excessive faith in technology and political shortsightedness are to blame. The most vulnerable victims are the world’s poorest people, who are being dislocated and disregarded. He places blame on overuse of fossil fuels and human activity, while warning of an ‘unprecedented destruction of ecosystems’ with ‘serious consequences for all of us’ if swift corrective action is not taken. Developed countries are mostly responsible and are obligated to help poorer nations confront the crisis. See also article below and read the full encyclical at:
Lebanon: Prayer for government, help to refugees
As Muslims fast and pray during Ramadan, we pray for them. ‘The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.’ Christians in Lebanon are asking us to pray Psalm 92:12-13 with them. Lebanon still does not have a president. This could lead to bigger issues. Pray for a strong godly leader to move Lebanon forward. Pray for the local churches reaching out to Syrian refugees. Pray for them to grow deeper in Jesus, pray for them to have strength to continue to reach out and to be bright lights in this darkness. Without a central ruling government, the refugee camps and the large population create an economic burden for the country. In the midst of this, Christians are trying to bring physical care and support to the poor. Pray for Christian brothers and sisters as they minister to the suffering.