Fears over Sudanese referendum

THE general secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches, the Revd Ramadan Chan Liol, has voiced fears that there could be vote-rigging in the referendum in southern Sudan, in January, when voters will decide if they wish to secede from the north. He called for the plebiscite to be closely monitored, as there are fears that Khartoum could manipulate the vote in favour of unity. The Council’s offices were raided by police searching for weapons earlier this month, but none were found.

‘Too little Christianity’ in Germany, Merkel says

THE German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has bemoaned the lack of Christianity in modern-day Germany. Addressing members of her Christian Democratic Party in Karlsruhe last week, she said: “We don’t have too much Islam: we have too little Christianity. We have too few discussions about the Christian view of mankind.” She called for more discussion about the Judaeo-Christian tradition, which informed everything society did.

Debt cancelled in DRC

THE Jubilee Debt Campaign has welcomed the cancellation of $7.4 billion of debt against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which originated under its dictator General Mobutu during the Cold War. It raised concerns that “vulture funds” are continuing to sue the DRC over unpaid debts.