The law, in Himachal Pradesh state, is designed to prevent ‘forced conversion’ but Christians fear it will be used to put limits on their ability to pray for people and offer help.

Similar laws are already in force in six other states (Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Uttarakhand) and are gaining in popularity because it is believed that forced conversions happen and need to be prevented. Hindu radicals are calling to impose them at the national level.

A priest performing a conversion ceremony will also have to give a month’s notice and people who reconvert to their original religion are exempted from this requirement.

The bill prohibits the ‘offer of any temptation in the form of any gift or gratification or material benefit, either in cash or employment, free education in a reputed school run by any religious body, easy money, better lifestyle, divine pleasure or otherwise’.

The Christian freedom charity Open Doors suspect this could now mean anyone praying for someone else’s healing will be accused of enticing people into forced conversion.

The bill suggests seven years of jail for forced conversions, while the existing 2006 Freedom of Religion Act, which the new bill seeks to revoke, was proposing three years.

Any person or organisation violating the provisions will also not be allowed to accept donations.

The Ministry of Home Affairs…

After Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, peers were summoned back to the chamber at 3pm on Wednesday – with MPs returning to the House of Commons at 11:30am. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, sitting with Bishop Sarah Mullally and the other Lords Spiritual, asked the minister of state for departing the EU, Lord Callanan, whether there would be more openness if the government sought another Brexit extension. 

He asked: “Would the noble Lord agree with me that parliament has, justifiably or not, seen its reputation sink very, very low over the last few months and one of the ways of dealing with that is transparency.

“Will he therefore – regardless of how many letters there may or may not be – will he undertake that the government will be completely transparent and honest in the spirit, and not merely the letter of the law, about the actions they take over the next few weeks in connection with an extension?”

Lord Callanan replied: “We always endeavour to be as transparent as possible with regard to these matters whilst of course, still preserving the confidentiality of the negotiations.”

Later on, the head of the Church of England joked that he knew all about big divisions, saying the debate going on “‘demonstrates the total division across parliament, which is only a shadow of the immense divisions across the…

There have been calls to extradite Patrick Ryan who has admitted to obtaining money and bomb components for the IRA.

He told BBC Spotlight he travelled around the world raising money for the organisation and admitted discovering timers which made it easier for the IRA to arm bombs without being killed themselves.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Simon Byrne was asked whether he is seeking extradition proceedings against Mr Ryan in the Republic.

Speaking at the Cross Border Organised Crime Conference in Co Cavan, Mr Bryne said: “I think it’s too early to say.

“As you would expect we have a specific line of inquiry we’ve now got to examine.

“I’ve got one of our assistant chiefs looking at that today to see if there are fresh lines of inquiry that we would then need to review about decisions made in the past.

“Clearly when new information comes in we need to see does it corroborate what we already know, and if we have to go to the point of seeking extradition that’s a conversation for (Garda chief Drew Harris) and his colleagues.”

Unionists have called for the Irish Government to apologise for refusing to extradite Mr Ryan in 1988.

Ulster Unionist councillor Danny Kinahan said that if Mr Ryan lives in the Republic, it will be an opportunity for Dublin to “right a wrong”.

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Agnes Callamard from the UN investigated misdemeanors particularly in the North East, Middle Belt and South of the country, noting “the ethno-religious dimensions of the conflict and the many toxic rhetoric that seek to explains and justify the killings.”

Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi (pictured), the head of the Diocese of Jos, has also written in his book: “Nigeria is being described as the largest killing ground for Christians in the world today. First Boko Haram and now Fulani militants. The plan we see being executed is to wipe Christianity from the face of northern Nigeria.”
 
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says that in Kaduna state more than 500 Christians have been abducted in the past four years.

“Pastors and church members are being kidnapped, huge sums of money are being demanded, and nothing has been done by the Nigerian government to halt the situation,” Kaduna state CAN Chairman Joseph Hayap told the Christian Post.
 
In late August, Fulani herdsmen killed a Pentecostal pastor and abducted a Baptist pastor in Kaduna.

Fulani herdsmen also killed five Christians and destroyed homes in the district of Kiri.
 
Since 2011, an estimated 11,000 people have been killed in conflict featuring Fulani militia. The death toll is said to be six times higher than that caused by Boko Haram terrorists.
 
This growing conflict is often characterised in the West…