USA: protests over police brutality
Protests in Memphis on 27 January blocked a major highway and small-scale demonstrations were held elsewhere when over an hour of video footage was released of police violently arresting Tyre Nicholas twenty days earlier. There were no signs of Tyre resisting arrest. He was beaten unnecessarily and died in hospital three days later. Five officers were charged with his murder before the videos were released, to avert anticipated protests against police violence. Protests are spreading. Two thousand miles away in Los Angeles, demonstrators vandalised eight businesses and one person in possession of spray paint and a glass-breaking tool was arrested for felony vandalism. Marchers met in Hollywood, and Black Lives Matter continue to press for an end to traffic stops by police.
66 kidnapped women & children rescued
Burkina Faso has been suffering a decade-long insurgency that has displaced nearly two million people. On 12th & 13th January, 66 women and children were kidnapped by the militant jihadists in the north of the country while they were gathering food. The military found them 125 miles away boarding a bus at an airport security checkpoint. It is not clear if their captors have also been detained.
Sheriff refuses to remove Bible verse from office
Jody Greene, the sheriff of Columbus County, who's gained national attention for refusing to remove a Bible verse from a wall at his office cited ‘a need for more Jesus’ as the reason for his decision not to comply with the demands of an atheist legal organisation to take it down. The organisation’s concerns about the Bible verse Philippians 4:13 being displayed on a wall at the Sheriff’s Office was posted in a Facebook post two weeks after they sent a letter to Greene asking him to remove the ‘exclusionary’ and ‘unconstitutional religious display,’ which proclaims, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.’ Green said the scripture is ‘very motivational to me and my staff.’ Companies spend thousands on motivational classes to come up with motivational slogans. My motivation comes from the greatest motivational speaker of all time, Jesus Christ.’
Benefits worth millions unclaimed
Three months ago, Christians Against Poverty (CAP), the debt relief charity, launched an online calculator service that over 21,000 have used to check if they are entitled to extra benefits. Over £6m in potential extra annual income has been found that was previously left unclaimed - meaning an extra 2,000 people are likely to see a boost to their household budgets. CAP’s Director of External Affairs said, ‘£15bn every year goes unclaimed in social security and benefits. That's money that you and I pay in our taxes to be there for us when life happens. But that’s currently sat on a desk in Whitehall when it should be in people's pockets.’
