Heatwave brings new threat to fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral

Dozens of sensors dotted around the 12th-century monument have shown no indication that it is deteriorating, but architect Philippe Villeneuve is worried.

Mr Villeneuve said Wednesday that the stone walls are still saturated with water sprayed by firefighters during the 15th April blaze.

 

He said they could dry too fast amid the record temperatures expected in Paris this week.

He said so far the masonry is stable but the structure remains fragile.

Gigarama.ru via AP

 

“What I fear is that the joints or the masonry, as they dry, lose their cohesion…and all of sudden, the vault gives way.”

Specialists are working to stabilise the cathedral’s structure before reconstruction work begins.

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Islamic Extremists Take to Using Social Media to Persecute Christians

Islamic Extremists Take to Using Social Media to Persecute Christians



Extremists in Middle Eastern countries have found a new way to target those who believe in Jesus through social media.


According to Open Doors USA, a nonprofit persecution watch group, terrorists hack into Christian’s Facebook accounts and post blasphemous messages against Islam to their feeds. Because criticism of Islam is against the law, these believers are arrested or experience heavy persecution.


An example is a 26-year-old Christian man named Fady Youssef Todary, who lives in Egypt. When he logged into his account, he discovered a message that he didn’t write on his Facebook account. He quickly posted a video explaining that his account had been hacked.


But the damage had been done and almost 100 people attacked his family’s home in Minya, south of Cairo. His parents successfully evaded the mob, but the home and all inside of it was destroyed. Police quickly calmed down the group, arresting some of the attackers. However, a few days later, the police returned to arrest Todary, his 19-year-old brother, and two of his uncles.


Todary’s family members have since been released, but Todary still waits for his trial.


Father Soliman, a local priest who knows Todary well, told Open Doors, “I know Fady very well. He is a peaceful person, and he would never post something negative about Islam. But there are people whose aim it is to fire up conflict between…

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Court rules in favour of Christian printer who refused to make LGBT goods

On 20th June 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the printer was guilty of illegally refusing to provide services without a “justified cause”. 

“No one should have to choose between their profession and their faith,” said Alice Neffe, Legal Counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF) in Brussels, who later filed the intervention.

 

“The Supreme Court should have protected the printer’s constitutional conscience rights. “The right to freedom of conscience, which is protected by every major human rights treaty, must include the right to act accordingly. 

“The Court failed to recognise the printer’s religious convictions as a ‘justified cause’.

“The Constitutional Tribunal should now address the shortcomings of the current law and determine whether religious beliefs would justify a conscience-based refusal to print a particular message.” 

On Wednesday, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the law which the printer was convicted under was unconstitutional because the punishment for refusing to provide services on the grounds of belief interfered with the printer’s right to act according to his conscience.

ADF said in a statement: “It is our hope that this decision will reaffirm the standard expected from other European countries on the protection of conscience rights for service providers.”

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House Rejects Boycott of Israel in 398-17 Vote; AOC and Omar Vote in Minority

House Rejects Boycott of Israel in 398-17 Vote; AOC and Omar Vote in Minority



The U.S. House of Representatives pushed back against U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s views Tuesday by passing a resolution calling Israel a “key ally” and criticizing a prominent movement to boycott the Jewish state.


The pro-Israel resolution passed, 398-17, with 16 of the “no” votes coming from Democrats. Among the Democrats who voted against the resolution were Omar (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). 


The resolution passed the same week Omar introduced her own resolution “affirming that all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights.” 


Omar’s resolution doesn’t mention Israel, but she told reporters it was the intended target. The resolution does, however, mention boycotts of Nazi Germany and South African apartheid as positive examples from U.S. history.


At issue is the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for a worldwide boycott of Israel. 


“It is an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement,” Omar said of her resolution.


But the pro-Israel resolution that passed the House explicitly criticizes the BDS movement. That resolution calls Israel a “democratic, Jewish State” that is a “key ally and strategic partner of the United States.” 


“The…

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one person might not provide unity but the church can display it

Speaking about the context into which Prime Minister Johnson steps, Andy Flannagan, the Executive Director of Christians in Politics, told Premier Christian Radio’s News Hour: “I’ve never known the public square to be quite as toxic as this and I think the new Prime Minister has a huge job to do.

“We are in real danger in this country of sliding towards an American style situation where it’s almost like two separate cultures operating into one country, two separate tribes who are watching different TV programmes, who are reading different newspapers, who are going to different events, who are starting to not even have the same vocabulary, or the same agreed set of facts to be able to even begin a conversation and that’s a perilous direction for a country to go in.”

He added that the new leadership team therefore have a huge responsibility in the language they use and the atmosphere they pursue.

 

 

When asked if he thinks Boris Johnson will unite the country he replied: “We will see. There are many folks involved in Christian politics who would believe that that is the case and there’s plenty involved who would believe that that is not the case, but as believers our primary call is not just to sit here being consumers, we should not just be involved in the same commentary as everyone else.”

 

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Canadian Woman Forced to Close Business after Refusing to Wax a Trans Woman’s Genitals

Canadian Woman Forced to Close Business after Refusing to Wax a Trans Woman’s Genitals



An immigrant living in Canada closed her home-based waxing business after a trans woman filed charges against her before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal.


Jessica Yaniv, a biological male who identifies as a female lesbian, asked the woman for a wax, which involves removing hair from the genital area. The woman initially agreed to the service, but later canceled it. Yaniv said it was because the woman learned of Yaniv’s sexual identity, but the woman claims it was because of safety concerns and Yaniv harassing her, the Toronto Sun reports.


According to CBN News, Many have rushed to Marcia Da Silva’s defense. Da Silva, who immigrated to Canada from Brazil, offers waxing services for women. They argue that since Yavin still has male genitalia, Yavin would need to get a different service that is aimed at men; one which Da Silva does not provide.


Yaniv, who claims to be an LGBTQ2SIA and Human Rights Activist, is no stranger to the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. Yaniv has filed complaints against 15 others for refusing to provide the genital waxing service, claiming discrimination based on gender identity. 


Jay Cameron, an attorney with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom who represents Da Silva and other clients, told The Post Millennial that, “Some of my clients have been significantly affected on a personal…

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Churches encouraged to display extra cross for persecuted Christians

A member of City Life International Church, Sheffield decided to fashion a cross with the name ‘Living Stone Church’ written on it in Chinese script.

Living Stone Church in the Guizhou Province of China has been increasingly targeted by authorities, with many of its 700 members being pressurised not to attend services and several of its pastors facing prison sentences.

City Life International Church member Elton Clough is encouraging other congregations to follow his lead and make crosses with the name of a persecuted church in an act of solidarity and prayer.

 

Speaking to Premier he said his cross represented the crosses that had been taken down from other churches: “You read all the time about the difficultly Christians are having all over the world. What struck me was that some churches in China were having their crosses forcibly removed and also buildings knocked down, and other house churches restricted and pastors being put in prison.”

Mr Clough said it was one small thing that UK churches can do to stand with those in suffering and engage local communities with the plight of the persecuted.

He continued by quoting Hebrew 13:3: “Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”

Following a review of persecuted Christians by the Foreign Office earlier this month, parliament…

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