Saif ul-Malook flew from Amsterdam in the Netherlands at the weekend, according to a tweet published by the Dutch politician Joël Voordewind.

The message, translated by the AFP news agency, said: “This afternoon [Saturday], I escorted Asia Bibi’s lawyer, Mr Malook to Schipol Airport.

“He’s going back to Pakistan to hopefully represent Asia for the last time in her case.”

Mr ul-Malook was granted temporary stay in the Netherlands last year after fleeing for his life from Pakistan in the wake of Asia Bibi’s acquittal.

The lawyer claimed he had been inundated with threats. Ms Bibi’s acquittal prompted demonstrations by hard-line Islamists who said she ought to be publicly executed.

According to lawyers, a court will decide on Tuesday whether to allow an appeal against the Supreme Court’s decision to clear the Christian mother-of-five.

Bibi spent eight years on death row after being convicted in 2010 of insulting the Islamic prophet Mohammad. She was then acquitted in October but has not been able to leave the country.

Speaking in London in November 2018, Mr ul-Malooksaid he had no regrets about representing Ms Bibi.

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Christian staff at The Venue at Waterstone in Celina, northern Texas insisted they “love all people” after they cancelled an enquiry made by Aaron Lucero and Jeff Cannon.

In a statement seen by NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, they said: “We are a family of believers. We love all people because Christ first loved us; Jeffrey and Aaron included.

“We cannot violate the convictions God has placed within us. In love, we would never affirm anyone in something that was to their detriment.”

Publishing a lengthy post on Facebook, Mr Lucero said The Venue at Waterstone had “tried to disguise its discrimination” by not making its stance of same-sex weddings visible on its website.

He claimed the couple were not informed about the unavailability of the venue until the night before they were due to visit on 20th January.

Mr Lucero added: “The reason we are sharing this is not because The Venue at Waterstone refuses to host same-sex weddings; it is because they refuse to publicize their discriminatory policy on their website.

“They want to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus] community in private.”

It is currently legal to discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Mr Lucero, who became engaged to Mr Cannon last November, said they had got “very…

The Church of England issued advice in December for parishes who wished to mark someone’s gender change, saying a baptism or affirmation of baptismal faith would be the ‘natural liturgical context’ for recognising someone’s new gender.

A service would involve using their new name and pronoun through liturgy and a baptism certificate.

This guidance has been criticised since it was published but got its most stinging blow this weekend.

1,857 vicars, lay preachers, readers and ordinands have now signed an open letter accusing the House of Bishops (one of the three houses in the General Synod) of changing church doctrine by effectively bringing in new liturgy – which is meant to reflect doctrine which has been agreed on collectively by the Anglican church.

The signatories say the services appear to be a “misuse of liturgy” as “Although reaffirmation of baptismal vows might well be appropriate at certain seasons of life, it should primarily be focussed on celebrating new life in Christ rather than a new situation or circumstance”.

Rev Peter Ould, a Church of England commentator and preacher based in Canterbury diocese, signed the letter and spoke to Premier’s Cara Bentley:

They say baptism should always focus on salvation, faith and repentance and not ‘unconditional affirmation’.

It also highlights their concerns with “the inclusion of new biblical readings within the…

He refused to say if the Holy See would recognise opposition leader Juan Guaido in his claim for the presidency, which has been backed by the United States and other regional leaders.

The Vatican has been frustrated in the past in its attempts to mediate between socialist President Nicolas Maduro and Venezuela’s opposition, which has the backing of many Venezuelan bishops.

Speaking off the cuff at his Sunday blessing, Pope Francis said he felt particularly close to Venezuelans while he was in Panama.

He “asked the Lord to seek and find a just and peaceful solution to overcome the crisis that respects human rights and exclusively seeks the good of all people”.

The Venezuela crisis has dominated his visit to Panama, both behind the scenes and in public, with the Pope at one point asking out loud if any Venezuelan bishops were on hand at the end of an event.

The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was former ambassador to Venezuela so he knows the situation well.

Francis made the Venezuela comments after he closed out World Youth Day with a Mass in a Panama City field before an estimated 700,000 people and presidents from Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Portugal.

“You dear people are not the future but the now of God,” Francis told the pilgrims draped in flags from across the Americas.

At the end of the service, the…

Rodrigo Duterte will also hold talks with military and police officials following blasts at the Roman Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the island of Jolo.

The Filipino bishop, Efraim Tendero condemned the “evil act” as he called upon authorities to ensure “all the perpetrators are brought to justice”.

Bishop Efraim, who is general secretary of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), said: “The WEA strongly condemns this evil act that runs against the peaceful teachings of both Islam and Christianity who both respect each other’s places of worship and prayer.

“We prayerfully affirm the work of the Christian and Muslim peacebuilding advocates and field workers who have been doing advancing the cause of justice and peace for decades.

“We call on the authorities to immediately initiate an impartial investigation until all the perpetrators are brought to justice and until all the victims are fully served with just compensation and reparation.

Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack, which has left more than 100 people hurt.

Militants from the IS-aligned group Abu Sayyaf have been carrying out bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in the region during recent years.

A bloody separatist movement has left nearly 150,000 died during the last almost-five…