Lady Warsi, a Muslim who is Great Britain’s Faith and Communities Minister, told the BBC that Christianity in large parts of the Middle East and in a majority of Islamic nations is on the brink of extinction.
I’m concerned that the birthplace of Christianity, the parts of the world where Christianity first spread, is now seeing large sections of the Christian community leaving, and those that are remaining feeling persecuted,” Lady Warsi told the BBC Radio 4 Today program. “One in 10 Christians live in a minority situation and large numbers of those who live in a minority situation around the world are persecuted.”
She said that as Islamic extremist groups gain influence, they are able to convince the local population that Christians are “newcomers” to the area that should be driven out when in many cases the Christians were living in the area before the arrival of the Islamists. She also said that Christians are being made the scapegoat for problems in the Middle East created by Islamists.
She also said that violence against Christians in Pakistan is threatening to drive all Christians from that nation.
She said that violence against Christians worldwide should not just reverberate in the Christian community but in all communities.
Britain’s Prime Minister has announced that the UK will be the first non-Muslim country to issue an Islamic bond.
David Cameron also announced at the World Islamic Economic Forum that a new Islamic index would be introduced on the London Stock Exchange.
Under Islamic rules, no interest on business dealings can be charged and no transaction can involve anything forbidden under Sharia law like alcohol or gambling.
“I don’t just want London to be a great capital of Islamic finance in the Western world, I want London to stand alongside Dubai as one of the great capitals of Islamic finance anywhere in the world,” Cameron told the WIFE.
The British Treasury said they hope to launch the Islamic bond next year.
Andrew Parker, the new head of Britain’s MI5 security service, is warning that the British general public is now a legitimate target for attacks by Islamic extremists.
In an address to the Royal United Services Institute, Parker said that al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Pakistan and Yemen present “direct and immediate threats to the UK.”
“It remains the case that there are several thousand Islamist extremists here who see the British public as a legitimate target,” Parker said.
Parker said that 330 people had been convicted of terrorism offenses in the last decade and that in the first few months of 2013 at least four major trials were connected to terrorist plots. In those cases, 24 terrorists were sent to prison.
Parker said the increase in technology is allowing terrorists to communicate in ways difficult for their intelligence services to track under current laws. He called for lawmakers to allow services to use the same tools the terrorists use to track terror plots.
GlaxoSmithKline is seeking approval for the world’s first malaria vaccine.
Testing of the drug with African children showed it cut the number of malaria cases. The trial showed an approximate 25% decrease in cases among infants. Tests also showed that 18 months after vaccination, children up to age 5 had a 46% reduction in infections.
Worldwide, a child dies from malaria every 30 seconds. It is the leading cause of illness and death in the world. At least 800,000 people every year die from the mosquito-borne parasite.
“Malaria is not just one of the world’s biggest killers of children, it also burdens health systems, hinders children’s development and puts a brake on economic growth. An effective malaria vaccine would have an enormous impact on the developing world,” UK International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone told the BBC. “We welcome the scientific progress made by this research and look forward to seeing the full results in due course.”
A report in the Independent newspaper in London shows that the British government authorized the export of two chemicals that can create Sarin gas to be sold and shipped to Syria last year.
Business Secretary Vince Cable is now facing an inquiry by British members of parliament about the sale and approval. Continue reading →
The National Farmer’s Union of Great Britain says the country’s wheat harvest could be over 30% smaller than last year due to the extreme weather that has battered the country since last fall.
Flooding, severe rain and snow has caused significant damage to crops. A figure released in April showed that the area planted with winter wheat was already ¼ lower than the previous year. Continue reading →
London police have announced the arrest of another man in connection with the terrorist murder of a British soldier on a London street. The 22-year-old man makes the total number of men being held in the terror attack to six. Continue reading →
As the shock begins to wear off from the murder of a British soldier on a London street by Islamic terrorists, British counter terror officials have arrested two more people for suspected connections to the killing. Continue reading →
Two Islamic terrorists almost beheaded an off-duty British soldier on a London street and demanded witnesses record the attack on their cell phones.
The UK’s Counter Terrorism Command is heading up the investigation of the murder. Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters in France where he had been meeting with French President Francois Hollande that the UK will “never buckle” in the face of terror. Continue reading →
Four men who plotted to blow up a British Army base by placing a bomb inside a toy car have been jailed after pleading guilty to the plot.
Zahid Iqbal, Mohammed Sharfaraz Ahmed, Umar Arshad and Syed Farhan Hussain all will be spending at least five years behind bars for their roles in the conspiracy. Iqbal and Ahmed were sentenced to 16 years, 11 in jail, after the judge called them a “continuing risk” to the public. Continue reading →