US food company Mondelez and German carmaker Volkswagen have become the first to have their television adverts banned, under new legislation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

A commercial for Philadelphia that showed two dads leaving a baby on a conveyor belt after getting distracted by cream cheese received some 128 complaints from viewers who said the ad perpetuated stereotypes of men as incompetent care-givers.

Volkswagen’s eGolf car advert depicted men engaging in adventurous activities in contrast to a woman in a care-giving role.

The ASA deemed both commercials to be in breach of the new rules that came into effect on 14th June, stating that ads “must not include gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence”.

It did not uphold five complaints about a television ad for Nestle’s Buxton bottled water featuring a female ballet dancer, a male drummer and a male rower.

Natalie Collins, author of ‘Out of Control’ – a book on domestic abuse and the harm of gender stereotyping within the church – told Premier’s News Hour this is a positive move.

She said this decision doesn’t mean traditional roles should not be promoted, but that care needs to be taken when they are.

“It’s not about not showing those people in those roles. It’s about when it could cause offence. So, when it’s presumed that men are incompetent at…

A photo of 99-year-old Edna Emery with Rt Rev. Philip North, Bishop of Burnley has sparked a challenge to see if anyone has been a part of the same church family for longer than Edna.

Edna has attended St Peter’s in the market town of Darwen her whole life, having been there for nearly 100 years. She was baptised and married at the church and still attends worship and other events when she can.

She and her late husband Tommy, as well as their son Michael, have served and supported the church over many decades.

The church recently celebrated its 190th anniversary, meaning she has been there for over half of the church’s existence.

In the first 150 years St Peter’s was known as Holy Trinity Church, until four decades ago when two other local churches, St John’s and St George’s, were closed and the three parishes were united.

Mrs Edna Emery with Rt Rev Philip North, Bishop of Burnley

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With a tag line “It’s not about faith, it’s about power”, the streaming services’ release premiered on 9th August and suggests that The Family, also known as The Fellowship are a secretive Christian society, working to infiltrate the White House.

In his blog on Premier Christianity, Mr Lucas says: “From the start, the agenda of the film maker is obvious, because the suggestion is that the Trump administration has come about because of the furtive activities of this alleged band of plotting believers.”

The Fellowship is a religious and political organisation that has run for over 80 years and provides Christian ministry and support to world leaders, through weekly bible studies, prayers and forum discussions.

They hold an annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C which is attended by the sitting US president.

Mr Lucas visited the prayer event in 2017 and says the organisation helps support those walking “the slippery tightrope of being Christian and in politics, as well as reaching out with the love of Jesus to leaders around the world.”
 
He continued: “As for the Prayer Breakfast, no agenda was shared that might lead to world domination; we ate eggs and bacon, met some interesting people, and…prayed.”

Mr Lucas has criticised the show for using ‘cheap stunts’ to turn the good work of Christians into a dark conspiracy.

“How do you attack a group for showing…

High fences blocked Parisians and tourists from several streets and a bridge around the monument on Tuesday.

The culture ministry said workers plan to use two decontamination techniques.

One involves spreading a gel on public benches, street lights and other fixtures to absorb the lead, letting it dry for several days before removing it.

Another method will feature high pressure water jets with chemical agents.

The clean-up work inside Notre Dame, suspended last month for safety reasons, will resume next week.

Hundreds of tons of lead in Notre Dame’s spire and roof melted during the April fire.

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