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World news in brief

27 September 2024

Mary’s Meals

Mahlet and Aradech attend Ara Primary School, in Tigray, one of the schools in which Mary’s Meals has expanded its feeding programme

Mahlet and Aradech attend Ara Primary School, in Tigray, one of the schools in which Mary’s Meals has expanded its feeding programme

Mary’s Meals to feed 110,000 Ethiopian children

AN APPEAL from Mary’s Meals to support children in the war-torn, drought-stricken Tigray region of Ethiopia has raised enough money to feed more than 110,000 children, a letter from its founder, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, announced last week. Previously, the charity was providing enough meals to feed 24,000 children. “The response from our supporters — and potentially many of your readers — to our Crisis In Ethiopia appeal was yet again overwhelming and beautiful,” he writes. “The promise of a nutritious meal at school attracts these children into the classroom, where they can gain an education and hope of a brighter future.” Mary’s Meals feeds more than 2.4 million hungry children in 17 of the world’s poorest countries, including Ethiopia, every schoolday, he said.

Christian sentenced to death in Islamabad

A COURT in Islamabad, Pakistan, operating under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), has sentenced a Christian woman, Shagufta Kiran, to death, after she was convicted of sharing blasphemous content on social media, the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS-UK) reports. Ms Kiran, a mother of four, was sentenced under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which prescribes the death penalty for blasphemy. She has the right to appeal against the decision in the High Court within 30 days. She was also sentenced to seven years in prison under Section 11 of the PECA Act, and issued a fine of Rs.100,000. She remains in detention in Central Adyala Jail, Rawalpindi. Ms Kiran was arrested on 29 July 2021, after a raid by the Federal Investigation Agency at her home in Rawalpindi. Her husband, Rafique Masih, reported that she had unknowingly forwarded a WhatsApp message. “She was not the author of the post, nor did she understand its content,” he said. Nasir Saeed, the director of CLAAS-UK, said: “This case highlights the urgent need for reform.”
 

Education crisis in South Africa, says Makgoba

THE Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Thabo Makgoba, has criticised the South African government for fuelling what he describes as a “funding crisis” in education in the country. Opening the Anglican Church’s general synod on Wednesday, he said that the government had failed to increase funding for provincial education departments to meet the cost of rising salaries, and that this had “thrown the education sector into a funding crisis in which provinces have to decide what to cut to be able to pay the increases”. He said: “In the sea of unemployment in which we are drowning, cutting education budgets spells disaster. If we are to educate a modern workforce, we should be increasing investment in education, not reducing it. Adopting ‘austerity measures’ in the fields of education, health, and social welfare is a recipe for trouble.” He also said that action was needed on climate change, world conflict, displacement, and the “evil” of violence against women.


Council of Churches in Korea marks its centenary

THE National Council of Churches in Korea celebrated its centenary at an International Conference, last week. Delivering a keynote address on the theme of the gathering, “God of Life, Renew All Creation in Your Love”, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Revd Professor Jerry Pillay, said: “The theme is of particular significance to the Korean context, given the long quest for peace and reconciliation over so many decades. It recognises that God is the God of life.” The Church had been a “faithful and persistent witness for peace, justice, and human dignity and rights through extremely difficult periods in Korea’s history”.


Congolese students boost CMS training programme

A RECORD 45 students have enrolled on the Church Mission Society’s (CMS’s) Pioneer Mission Training programme this year, boosted by a cohort of students from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Bishop of Goma, in the eastern DRC, the Rt Revd Martin Gordon, a CMS mission partner, said that the group of Congolese men and women, who are aged between 27 and 45, would remain in the DRC, but would have an on-site tutor/mentor to assist with their studies. Joseph Ola, a lecturer for the African Christianity MA at CMS, said: “The Congolese cohort come with a burning desire to acquire practical knowledge that directly addresses the unique challenges they face, coming from a war-torn region. We are thrilled to welcome them.”

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