Attacks continue on Christians in Nigeria
FIVE people were killed and one person injured when armed men attacked a village in the local-government area (LGA) of Kajuru, in the Nigerian state of Kaduna, on 13 May. Before this, Christian Solidarity Worldwide recorded 11 attacks by Fulani militia in five LGAs since 25 March, when the Covid-19 lockdown started, and the morning of 12 May. Two people were killed and three injured in the attacks. They are believed to be targeted assaults against the Christian communities of Kaduna state by Fulani militia, which have continued during the lockdown.
Californian church sues Zoom
A CHURCH in San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against Zoom after its Bible-study class was “Zoombombed” on 6 May with pornographic videos. St Paulus Lutheran Church filed a complaint on Wednesday in a federal court, stating that the videos showed adults having sex with and abusing children. The church alleged that Zoom “did nothing” after the complaint. Zoom has been criticised for hiding flaws in its software which have allowed exploitation by online trolls. The company has said that it blocked the account of the user who hacked the Bible study, and is improving its security levels.
World leaders call for free Covid-19 vaccine
MORE than 140 world leaders signed an open letter from UNAIDS on Thursday of last week, calling on governments to unite behind the idea of a “people’s vaccine” against Covid-19. It would mean making it patent-free, mass-produced, and equally distributed. The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, is pushing for the scientific research to be shared between countries. “Nobody should be pushed to the back of the vaccine queue because of where they live or what they earn,” he said. Other signatories include Gordon Brown and the former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. No member of the present British Government is a signatory.
Christian apologist dies, aged 74
THE Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias died at home in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday, aged 74. His 48-year career included his founding of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, an organisation for sending scholars out to speak, resource, and train those asking questions about the Christian faith. He helped to found the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. His academic credibility was questioned in 2017 when he was accused of using the prefix “Dr” despite not having a Ph.D., and of giving a false impression that he had studied at Oxford and Cambridge.