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World news in brief

by
30 May 2014

AP

Prayer: a Roman Catholic priest raises his eyes at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, on Sunday 

Prayer: a Roman Catholic priest raises his eyes at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, on Sunday 

Suspect in Jewish shooting still on the run

THE main suspect in a shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels remains at large, several days after the attack on 24 May, though the police have arrested one other man. Three people, including an Israeli couple, were killed in the shooting. In a statement on Tuesday, the Council of Christians and Jews expressed its sympathy, and said that there were fears of rising anti-Semitism in Europe. A statement from the Board of Deputies of British Jews urged governments in Europe to protect minorities from such "despicable acts".

Welby set for second meeting with Pope

THE Archbishop of Canterbury will visit Rome next month to meet Pope Francis. The trip, from 14 to 16 June, will focus on the anti-slavery initiative that was established in March by the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches (News, 21 March), and will also include visits to the Anglican Centre in Rome, and to a church-based refugee project.

Sudanese 'apostate' gives birth

MERIAM IBRAHIM, the Sudanese Christian woman sentenced to death for alleged apostasy, has given birth to a girl. Mrs Ibrahim's death penalty was announced earlier this month, for allegedly converting from Islam to Christianity, and then marrying a Christian (News, 23 May). She says that she has always been a Christian, and her lawyers to appeal.

Nigeria 'knows where Boko Haram girls are'

NIGERIA's Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, has said that the military know where the schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militants Boko Haram are (News, 2 May), but that they will not attempt to rescue them. The BBC reported on Tuesday that an exchange deal involving some Boko Haram prisoners was close to being agreed, before the plug was pulled on the deal by the President, Goodluck Jonathan. Boko Haram was also believed to be behind a bomb attack that killed 123 people in the town of Jos last week. The atrocity has failed to spark significant violence between Muslims and Christians, however. Many have been directing their anger at the government instead, The Guardian reported last Friday.

Professors sacked for Adam and Eve dissent

TWO professors sacked by an evangelical college in the United States, Bryan College, Dayton, Tennessee, for refusing to sign its statement of faith are suing the college. Professor Stephen Barnett and Professor Steve DeGeorge refused to agree to Bryan College's revised statement of faith, after the college authorities added a clause that stated that Adam and Eve were historical individuals created by God and not by means of evolution. More than 20 other lecturers at the college have backed the pair, but the trustees have said they had every right to change the statement of faith to assert a literal understanding of Genesis.

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