Gospel singer Michelle Williams has declared that she was not suicidal while a member of the group.

In an exclusive interview with online blog, the Jasmine Brand quotes her as stating: “I never said that I was suicidal while in the group!!

“I was depressed….that’s factual. Had been depressed BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the group. The suicidal thoughts came years after the group disbanded.”

Earlier, Michelle had been interviewed on US talk show, The Talk, and was quoted as saying: “I didn’t know until I was in my 30s what was going on.

“I just thought it was growing pains. I just thought, ‘I’m turning into a woman.’ I’ve been suffering since the ages of between 13 and 15. At that age, I didn’t know what to call it.”

While being managed in the group by Beyonce’s father, Matthew Knowles, she had said that he did not understand what she was going through, saying: “I’m in one of the top-selling female groups of all time, suffering with depression.

“When I disclosed it to our manager at the time, bless his heart, he was like, ‘Y’all just signed a multi-million dollar deal and you’re about to go on tour. What do you have to be depressed about?’ So I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m just tired.’”

Williams was a member of the group between 2000 and 2005, alongside Beyonce and Kelly Rowland.

His comments come after Rory Stewart, the International Development Secretary, has said British people who convert to IS should be killed in Syria. 

He was interviewed on Radio 5-Live where he suggested that British people who join IS are putting themselves at risk from UK and US missiles because they have joined the opposition – therefore they should be killed in Syria.

Lord Richard Dannatt si the formed head of the army and former Vice President of the Armed Forces Christian Union. He gave his perspective: “What Rory Stewart is saying is that those who have chosen to turn their back on our society here and have gone to Syria or Iraq have made a conscious choice to join to the opposition to our society.”

But he said that where he differs if over the fact that not all British IS fighters will die abroad: “Given that so-called Islamic State is now very much on the back foot in Iraq and Syria – the strong hold in Raqqa has pretty much fallen and there are very few safe havens for them – a lot of these people are returning to the United Kingdom. And that’s where we have to have a sensible and reasonable and just response to them.”

Elaborating on this he said: “My own feeling is that…they should be stopped, they should be questioned and interrogated but unless we’ve got clear evidence that they’ve done wrong-doing,  involving  killings,…I think it’s more generous of our society to welcome them back and to re-integrate them into…

A representative of The Bible Society in Sudan told the news website that two containers of Bibles were initially seized but one was released after an appeal to the authorities.

The shipments were destined for Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.

The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Bible Society in Sudan does not have a single copy of an Arabic Bible available there.

Other shipments of Bibles at Port Sudan, which is located on the Red Sea, have also been detained over the past two years, he added.

The Bible Society in Sudan representative said a port official in the past week has been more willing to consider releasing the shipment.

Sudan are suspicious of Christianity and associate it with the West.

But Christian leaders have speculated that Sudan may be open to releasing the shipment after the US administration lifted sanctions on 12th October.

The sanctions had been in place since 1997, in response to Sudan’s terrorist ties and human rights violations.

The President Omar al-Bashir, who came to power in 2011, has expressed a wish to adopt a stricter version of Sharia law, and recognise only Islamic culture and the Arabic language.

Church leaders said Sudanese authorities have demolished or confiscated churches and limited Christian literature.

They claim that most Christians have left the country, following South Sudan’s secession in 2011.

From April 2013, the Sudanese Minister of Guidance and Endowments announced that no new licenses would be…