The workshops set up by the Church of Scotland began on Thursday for eleven ministers.

Rev Santino Odong told Premier things are getting better in the world’s youngest country but there’s still a lot of room for progress.

“The situation is still fragile. It is a little improved in some big towns like the capital Juba but in… rural areas, there is still violence and war going on. We still need more prayers, especially for peace to be realised in South Sudan.”

The ministers said the skills they learned at the workshops have restored their hopes for peace in the African nation.

The charity, Place for Hope is running the trainings, which are aimed at helping the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan and Sudan, (PCSS) chart a new course in the country.

Rev John Yor Nyiker Deng, General Secretary of the PCCS, said the ministers will take new skills back to South Sudan as well as fresh hopes for peace.

“The Church of Scotland has been with us since the beginning of this crisis and this week we are getting more knowledge and learning new techniques that will help us bring about peace in South Sudan.

“Peace talks are going on now and we do have hope that there will be peace in future. We know the war between North and South Sudan lasted 21 years and nobody knew it was going to end. But it did end and we know this war too can end.”

South Sudan became an independent state in…

Quereshi said her word of encouragement would be just what her husband would have said before dying of stomach cancer last September.

Quereshi, who vowed to carry on her husband’s apologetics ministry, appeared in a video that was played at a Christian conference in Bangalore, India.

The theme of the conference was no God but one, in honour of her husband’s book entitled No God but One: Allah or Jesus?: A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity.

She told the audience there were three things her husband would have wanted to tell Christian converts at the meeting.

She said the first piece of advice would be “soak in Jesus’ presence and soak in his word” as she added that Nabeel believed Christians of Muslim backgrounds (CMB’s) going into ministry should have “an average of two years of discipleship and growth before pursuing ministry”.

“He said he learned this lesson the hard way coming too quickly into ministry while lacked grace and wisdom,”Quereshi said.

“It was God’s protection that helped him steer clear of significant pitfalls.”

Her second point of encouragement pinpointed the importance of getting rid of Muslim tendencies.

She added: “One of the first questions Nabeel would ask of a CMB is, ‘Have you informed your family?’ This was one of the first questions Nabeel would ask because…

His comments come as Syria marked the seventh anniversary on Thursday of the popular uprising that sparked the country’s vicious war.

Half a million Syrians have been killed and 6.1 million have been internally displaced, according to the United Nations.

Of Syria’s estimated 10 million children, 8.6 million are in dire need of assistance, and nearly 6 million children are displaced or living as refugees.

Fr Nadim Nassar told Premier the international community’s intervention has played a role in Syria’s civil war.

“I’m not saying in anyway the international community should step back and leave Syria after such enormous involvement and engagement in the war of Syria. After the destruction, how can they step back?

“They shouldn’t have engaged in the war from the beginning.”

The US started arming and providing military assistance in 2014 for anti-President Bashar al-Assad rebel groups who were waging war against ISIS. They have also begun working with Syrian Kurds, who are also fighting against ISIS.

However, Syrian ally Russia has helped Mr Assad’s regime, and Iran has provided assistance with troops and money.

Since August 2011, Britain, along with the US, France and some Arab states, has insisted that the Syrian president must step down.

While Fr Nassar criticised the numerous international forces having a role to play in…

The corporation says audiences can look forward to a “variety” of “new and returning” content, including an Easter Sunday service broadcast from Sheffield Cathedral and a programme about a Christian pilgrimage route which links France and Spain.

Fatima Salaria, the Commissioner for Religion and Ethics, says: “This Easter we’re celebrating this most important date in the Christian calendar across the BBC, with an array of programmes that mark Easter as a special time to reflect and feel inspired.”

Following a review, bosses pledged in December last year to raise the standard of its religious output to reflect the diversity of beliefs across the UK.

Among the BBC’s offering of Easter shows includes a three-part series about seven celebrities who follow the Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, the alleged burial site of James the apostle.

A BBC One show shall explore of key sites in the Holy Land through the eyes of Scottish artist and broadcaster Lachlan Goudie.

BBC bosses were criticised by the Bishop of Norwich Rt Rev Graham James last spring after the broadcaster revealed the flagship religious programme Songs of Praise would no longer be made internally but by external production companies.

Bishop Graham told the Daily Mail: “It will have a knock-on effect on the broadcast of worship at…