Robbers shoot treasurer at diocesan office

THE bursar of Akure diocese, Ondo State, in Nigeria, Gabriel Abiodun, who was 58 and had four children, was killed during a robbery on Thursday morning of last week after returning to the diocesan offices with funds from the bank, the Anglican Communion News Service reports. The robbers killed him in front of other staff and escaped with 500,000 naira (approximately £1000). The Bishop of Akure, the Rt Revd Simeon Borokini, told the Vanguard newspaper: “We are sad. We are concerned that such an ungodly and devilish act could be perpetrated in the house of God,” and described Mr Abiodun as “a fine gentleman”.

Debt is deepening, and the system is broken, say campaigners

DEVELOPING countres’ debt payments increased by 85 per cent between 2010 and 2018, new data from the Jubilee Debt Campaign, published last week, shows. The average government external-debt payments across the 124 developing countries for which data was available had increased as a percentage of government revenue from 6.6 in 2010 to 12.2 in 2018, the campaign said. Its head of policy, Tim Jones, commented: “The growing debt crisis needs urgent international attention. A vital first step is to require that all loans to governments are publicly disclosed, allowing parliaments, media, and civil society to hold governments to account for new borrowing.” The Chief Executive of Christian Aid, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, will argue that the global economic system is broken when she attends meetings with the World Bank and Finance for Development this month.

Petition against Bangalore metro station gathers support

A PETITION to stop the construction of a metro station in Richmond Town, Bangalore, India, has gained more than 7000 signatures. Eighty trees in the grounds of All Saints’, Richmond Town — some of them more than 100 years old — are expected to be felled if the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) proceeds with the construction of the Vellara Metro station. The new station may also replace a school for children with complex disabilities and a retirement home.