After the Associated Press published an article, based on a China Aid press release, reporting the harsh 12-year prison term given to Pastor Zhang Shaojie of China’s central Henan, authorities in Nanle County released two other Nanle County Christian Church members, Zhao Guoli and Wu Guishan, on Saturday, 5 July. Both men had been held in an undisclosed location since their arrest on 15 November, 2013. Their release came days after the Nanle County People’s Court handed down a ten-year prison term for the church’s pastor for a fabricated fraud charge and a two-year sentence for 'gathering a crowd to disrupt public order.' The pastor was also given a fine of 100,000 yuan (US $16,100) (see http://www.chinaaid.org/2014/07/court-sentences-three-self-pastor-to-12.html). Zhao, 38, and Wu, 43 had been detained as they travelled to Beijing to petition authorities there for a better outcome to a land dispute between the church and local authorities.
The United Nations put a damper on ‘gay pride’ festivities last Thursday when it re-affirmed that the natural family is the fundamental unit of society. The Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on 'Protection of the Family' with a traditional definition of the family last Thursday, even as revellers readied themselves to celebrate gay pride weekend. It recognises the importance of the family for society and individuals, and that countries must strengthen and protect the family. The resolution not only echoes language from the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights about the family as the 'natural and fundamental unit of society,' it also states that the family is the 'natural environment' for the education and development of children. The resolution passed by a comfortable margin, with 26 votes for, 14 against, and 6 abstentions. It was greeted by thunderous applause.
Typhoon Neoguri batters Japan
10 Jul 2014Typhoon Neoguri headed for the Japanese mainland on Wednesday after crossing to the southern Okinawa island chain, killing two people and leaving a trail of damage. With gusts of up to 110 miles an hour (180km/h) the typhoon was forecast to hit the southern main island of Kyushu as early as Thursday before moving east along the Japanese archipelago, the national weather agency said. Officials said Neoguri would bring heavy rainfall and warned of the risk of flooding and landslides after the storm which has weakened from a super typhoon forced half a million people to seek shelter in Okinawa on Tuesday. Kyushu (which is next to the biggest island of Honshu, where major cities including Tokyo and Osaka are located) experienced heavy rain and strong winds. Authorities were considering an emergency alert for residents to seek shelter ahead of Neoguri's landfall. By Thursday lunchtime, heavy rain brought in by the Typhoon had caused three fatalities, extensive damage and forced thousands to leave their homes. A 12-year-old boy was killed in the central farming town of Nagiso after rocks and boulders swept away his home. Neoguri, which first threatened Japan as a super typhoon, had weakened to a tropical storm by the time it came ashore but was still gusting at up to 126 kph (78 mph).
Afghan presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah has claimed victory in last month's election, despite results giving a lead to his rival, Ashraf Ghani. Addressing supporters in the capital, Kabul, Mr Abdullah repeated claims that the election was marred by fraud. US Secretary of State John Kerry had earlier warned against a power grab, amid reports that Mr Abdullah was planning a ‘parallel government’. The Abdullah camp has decided to take things into their own hands and he appears to have some support. Several influential figures - governors, district leaders, mayors, and warlords - have come out in his favour. But Afghanistan is a divided country: Mr Ghani and Mr Abdullah both command a lot of support. Preliminary results announced on Monday gave Mr Ghani 56.44% of votes in the 14 June run-off. Mr Abdullah, who fell just short of an outright majority in the first round, had 43.56%. Both men have alleged fraud in the election. Votes are being re-checked at more than 7,000 polling stations - nearly a third of the total number. Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Kerry said Afghanistan risked losing security and aid support if anyone tried to ‘take power by extra-legal means’.
Terror group, Hamas has vowed to continue firing rockets at Israel after an Israeli air strike on Tuesday killed seven people in a house in the Gaza Strip. Hamas intends to step up its attacks in retaliation. Its spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused Israel of perpetrating ‘massacres’ against women and children in Khan Yunis. Referring to an Israel Air Force bombing of a house belonging to a Hamas operative, Abu Zuhri said: ‘This massacre against women and children is an ugly war crime. All Israelis have now become legitimate targets.’ Ismail al-Ashqar, a Hamas legislator, said that his movement would continue the rocket attacks until Israel succumbs to its demand and lifts the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip
More than 60 women and girls are reported to have escaped from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, security sources say. They were among 68 abducted last month near the town of Damboa in north-eastern Borno state. But some women who made it home said they feared other escapees had been recaptured, villagers told the BBC. Boko Haram is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from Borno's Chibok town in April. Initial reports said the women escaped when the militants went to attack a military base near Damboa on Friday. Local vigilante Abbas Gava told journalists he had ‘received an alert from my colleagues that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home’. ‘They took the bold step when their abductors moved out to carry out an operation,’ he said. But 18 women who have made it back to villages around Damboa over the last three days - and are being treated at a hospital in Lasa village - said the militants were asleep when they escaped, a Lasa resident told the BBC Hausa Service.
More than 60 women and girls are reported to have escaped from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, security sources say. They were among 68 abducted last month near the town of Damboa in north-eastern Borno state. But some women who made it home said they feared other escapees had been recaptured, villagers told the BBC. Boko Haram is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from Borno's Chibok town in April. Initial reports said the women escaped when the militants went to attack a military base near Damboa on Friday. Local vigilante Abbas Gava told journalists he had ‘received an alert from my colleagues that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home’. ‘They took the bold step when their abductors moved out to carry out an operation,’ he said. But 18 women who have made it back to villages around Damboa over the last three days - and are being treated at a hospital in Lasa village - said the militants were asleep when they escaped, a Lasa resident told the BBC Hausa Service.
Four churches have been attacked and scores of people killed in the latest bout of violence by suspected Boko Haram members. Gunmen fired at worshippers gathered in Kwada village just 6 miles from Chibok in Borno state, where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped and taken hostage on 14 April. The militants then set fire to the buildings, which included the Protestant Church of Christ in Nigeria and the Pentecostal Deeper Life Bible Church, before heading to nearby Kautikari village where they continued their rampage; shooting local civilians and setting fire to their homes. The death toll is reported to be at least 30 in Kwada, though this figure is expected to climb. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Muslim-majority Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States in May 2013 and has authorised an increased military presence in an attempt to combat extremism.