5,400 people, more than ten per cent of the residents in the city of Segovia have signed a petition calling for plans for the bronze sculpture to be scrapped.

It shows Satan with a smile on his face and taking a selfie with a smartphone to which local Christians have objected.

The petition says that because the devil is shown in a “jovial” way, with a phone in his hand, it “exalts evil” and is therefore “offensive to Catholics”.

It adds that Satan is supposed to be “repulsive and despicable – not kind and seductive, like that of the ‘good-natured devil’ without malice” that has been proposed.

A judge has now ordered the artwork to be put on hold while he looks into whether it is offensive to Christians.

The artist, José Antonio Abella has said he is surprised by the furore. He says he is making the sculpture as a gift to his adopted city after living there for the past three decades.

City Councillor Claudia de Santos has called the campaign “unfair and disheartening”.

She told El Pais newspaper that she would try to ensure that the sculpture goes ahead as planned.

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Last week, it was revealed that Onasanya, the MP for Peterborough, was removed from the Labour Party because she lied to police to avoid a speeding charge.

Onasanya was found guilty of driving behind the wheel of a Nissan Micra in July 2017 – doing 41mph in a 30mph in Thorney in Cambridgeshire. 

She faces a potential prison sentence and had already been asked to stand down before the party suspended her. But her appeal means any attempts to get rid of her will have to be paused until the legal process is complete.

If she is sentenced for a year or more, she will automatically lose her seat and if the sentence is less than a year then she could face a recall petition – where her constituency could recall her from parliament and trigger a by-election if 10 per cent electorate sign the petition.

A by-election could be a close and unwelcome match for Labour as she only won the seat in 2017 by 607 votes against the Conservatives with the area voting 60.9% Leave in the EU referendum. 

The recall petition rules state however: “In the case of a conviction, the recall petition will not be opened unless the appeal period expires without the conviction, sentence or order having been overturned or all appeals have been heard and dismissed.”

On Tuesday, she voted in the Brexit vote as an Independent MP (she voted against the deal) and she will continue as such, with her MP’s…

Men claiming to be part of a wedding party fired their automatic weapons into the air for 30 minutes outside St George’s Syrian Catholic Church in the town of Bartella.

Local authorities failed to respond to the illegal incident which happened on 1st December 2018.

Meanwhile, a similar shooting incident took place outside a Syriac Catholic church in nearby Qaraqosh one week later.

The perpetrators identified themselves as members of the Popular Mobilisation Units, an Iran-backed paramilitary group which played a major role in the liberation of the Nineveh Plains from Islamic State (IS) extremists.

They also belong to the Shabak, a Shi’a Muslim ethnic group in Iraq which has been accused of infringing onto Christian villages through unlawful land purchases.

#Iraq #Pray – Christians face threats and intimidation from armed groups. See: https://t.co/rmudk90vFB

— Middle East Concern (@MiddleEConcern) January 16, 2019

Middle East Concern (MEC), a Christian charity which promotes the freedoms of Christians throughout the region, said authorities had done nothing in response to the shootings.

A statement read: “To date, there have been no efforts to investigate these incidents, bring the perpetrators to justice or to protect the Christian community and church buildings in Bartella and Qaraqosh.

“Christians in Iraq strongly experience this as intimidation aimed at…

Dr John Shepherd, the interim director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, took steps to clarify his stance after a video emerged of him seeming to question whether the resurrection was a “physical event” eleven years ago.

During the Easter 2008 sermon, he said: “The resurrection of Jesus ought not to be seen in physical terms, but as a new spiritual reality.

“It is important for Christians to be set free from the idea that the resurrection was an extraordinary physical event which restored to life Jesus’ original earthly body.”

In a new statement, Shepherd said: “There has been speculation in the press and on social media about my views on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Part of this is based on a sermon I preached in 2008.

A statement on the resurrection from the Very Revd Dr John Shepherdhttps://t.co/Mhd443nOC5https://t.co/3Qwrv0sDnH

— Anglican Centre Rome (@AnglicanCentre) January 15, 2019

“It is my faith that Jesus rose from the dead and I have never denied the reality of the empty tomb.

“The risen Christ was not a ghost – he ate and could be touched – but at the same time he appeared in a locked room (John 20: 26) and vanished from sight (Luke 24: 31) and he was often not immediately recognised.

“As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states (para 646), ‘In his risen body he passes from the state of death to another life beyond time and space.’

Jeremy Hunt praised the “incredible courage” of Andrew van der Bijl during an event hosted on Wednesday at the Houses of Parliament by Open Doors – the organisation he founded in 1955.

He referred to ‘God’s Smuggler’, a book written by John and Elizabeth Sherrill about Brother Andrew’s work in Eastern Europe. It has sold millions of copies and been translated into numerous languages.

Mr Hunt said: “That book is the extraordinary story of derring-do of Brother Andrew a Dutchman who smuggled Bibles between the Iron Curtain and the incredible courage and extraordinary adventures he had.”

The government minister described forgetting about his copy of the book – which he was given as a child – until he recently rediscovered it while moving house.

A privilege to speak at launch of @OpenDoorsUK #WorldWatchList this afternoon. No one should face persecution for their faith, wherever they are in the world, and that INCLUDES Christians pic.twitter.com/KxkgwcYISN

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) January 16, 2019

He was attending the official launch of Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List – a ranking of countries around the world where persecution against Christians is worst.

Mr Hunt continued: “I only realised literally as I was walking over [to the event] today of the connection between Brother Andrew and Open Doors.

New to Open Doors? Our work started with one man risking everything to follow the call of God and serve our…