The group, Business Leaders in Christ (BLinC) is now taking the University of Iowa (UI) in the US to court, claiming the ban it received amounts to religious discrimination.

In response, the university told Premier: “The University of Iowa recently found Business Leaders in Christ violated the UI’s Human Rights Policy and the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

“The University of Iowa does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, in accordance with federal and state law.”

A permit allowing BLinC to operate as a recognised students group was withdrawn when a student claimed he was stopped for taking on a leadership role because he is a homosexual.

A BLinC mission statement requires leaders to conduct themselves “without the greed, racism, sexual immorality, and selfishness that all too often arise in business, political, and cultural institutions.”

The group was quoted by the Washington Times as saying: “BLinC declined the student’s request because he expressly stated that he rejected BLinC’s religious beliefs and would not follow them.”

Lawyers acting for the BLinC are now calling upon a federal court to agree that the University of Iowa has violated the group’s constitutional rights.

Eric Baxter from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington DC, which is supporting the group, was quoted by the Washington Times as saying: “This is premeditated religious…

The truck they were travelling on was involved in a crash between Puebla and Mexico City on Tuesday, which killed eleven of the travellers.

The group was among an estimated seven million people who went to celebrate the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, one of the top pilgrimage sites in Catholicism dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

A further 12 people were taken to hospital.

The basilica stands at a site where accounts published in both the indigenous language, Nahuatl, and Spanish in the 1600s claimed the Virgin Mary appeared five times to an indigenous man, Juan Diego in 1531.

It is believed she spoke to him in Nahuatl and told him that a church should be built in her honour at the top of the hill where there had once been an Aztec Temple honouring a goddess.

The expansion to Audacious Church will see an auditorium seating 2,400, a TV studio and a seven story car park.

Despite eleven objections from local residents and businesses, the multi million pound project has been given the go ahead by local councillors.

The church’s building, which used to be a stationary shop, opened in 2011 in a prime location in the city. Rather than moving away from the site, leaders chose to build up.

The church has seen huge growth hosting three Sunday services along with a host of projects throughout the week for the local community.

In its submission the church said: “Audacious Church are passionate about making a positive impact on the local community and feel strongly that this can be best achieved from their current site, which is well known throughout the region.

“This is not a typical parish church, it is a cathedral church.”

#Repost @glynbarrett
・・・
Yesterday the city council voted in Favour of our new Cathedral.
The vote was UNANIMOUS!
Thank you to our Most High God and thank you to our wonderful city council.
We have planning approval! pic.twitter.com/9upY3Gmkhv

— !Audacious Church (@audaciouschurch) December 8, 2017

Audacious is led by Glyn and Sophia Barrett who started the church in 2007 having been commissioned out of Hope City Church Sheffield.

Theresa May has said at the One Planet Summit in Paris that the UK will host an international Zero Emission Vehicle Summit in Autumn 2018 which will gather industry leaders from across the world to promote the electric vehicle industry.

May’s also announced funding of £140 million to boost to poorer communities around the world which are disproportionately affected by climate change.

Christian Aid’s International Climate Lead, Mohamed Adow, said: “As the first country to industrialise, the UK has a moral duty to help the world’s poorest people cope with the impacts of climate change they did not cause.

“It is good to see Theresa May putting some of the UK’s money where her mouth is and committing to provide £140m of new funding to help poor communities on the front lines of climate change.”

The UK government wants almost all cars and vehicles to have zero emissions by 2050, something Christian Aid support: “The UK is already a key hub for the manufacture of electric vehicles and it has the potential to be a true world leader in a technology that could reduce carbon emissions and cut fossil fuel use across the globe.”

Adow added: “The UK is striking back at Donald Trump’s misguided promotion of coal by leading the Powering Past Coal Alliance along with Canada and others.”

Donald Trump didn’t attend the conference.

Theresa May said in Paris on Tuesday: “By redoubling our efforts to phase out coal, as well as build on our world leading electric car…