Worldwide
Canada: transgender school play
12 May 2017
A Catholic school district in Ontario has cancelled a gender identity play, ‘Boys, Girls and Other Mythological Creatures’ aimed at children aged 5 to 10. The play was booked for five elementary schools, but school officials…
USA: Trump disappoints religious conservatives
12 May 2017
An executive order by President Trump last week fell short of what many had hoped for and drew widespread criticism. ‘The executive order on the whole looks to accomplish very little of substance, against the backdrop…
Iraq: dozens of enslaved Yazidis now free
05 May 2017
Yazidis revere the Bible and Qu’ran; much of their centuries-old religion is oral. Thirty-six Yazidis are free after nearly three years’ captivity by IS. They are in UN centres in Dohuk, in Kurdish northern Iraq. It…
Syria: Christians return to rebuild ancient town
05 May 2017
In the Syrian war, the town of Maaloula - one of the few places where people still speak a dialect of Jesus' language, Aramaic - was occupied by Islamist al-Nusra militants. Almost all of the town's…
Papua New Guinea: violence ahead of voting
05 May 2017
As Papua New Guinea’s official election campaign period started, violence dominated the news. Three people were killed and more injured, following fights between supporters of two candidates. Shops, schools and businesses are shut in Kimbe. Things…
Guinea Bissau: outreach
05 May 2017
The Guinea Bissau Free Methodist work is led by Pastor Rito Mande. He first connected with Free Methodists after a mission trip by Cindi Angelo, a Brazilian missionary who speaks Portuguese (Guinea Bissau has historical and…