Religious Disputes
DAVID CAMERON WAS ACCUSED OF FOSTERING DIVISION IN THE UK
He called Britain a Christian country, which didn’t go down too well
Cameron with Allama Azmi, the chief imam of North Manchester Jamia Mosque (Photo via)
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Over 50 public figures have accused David Cameron of fostering division in the UK by repeatedly calling Britain a Christian country.
Signatories of a letter sent to the Telegraph – including Philip Pullman and Sir Terry Pratchett – say they respect the prime minister’s personal beliefs, but “object to his repeated mischaracterising of our country as a ‘Christian country’ and the negative consequences for our politics and society that this view engenders”.
And they have a point; the amount of Christians in the UK has fallen by four million over the past decade, an increasing number of British people no longer identify with any religion at all and, of course, there are those five other big religions that would probably argue the UK is made up of many other faiths than Christianity alone.
“We are a plural society with citizens with a range of perspectives and a largely non-religious society,” reads the letter. “To constantly claim otherwise fosters alienation and division in our society.”
Former Labour foreign secretary Jack Straw has spoken in support of Cameron, but the prime minister hasn’t yet responded himself.
Maritime Disasters
SOUTH KOREA’S PRESIDENT CALLED THE SUNKEN FERRY’S CAPTAIN A MURDERER
Lee Joon-seok was arrested at the weekend along with two other officers
South Korean President Park Geun-hye (Photo via)
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South Korea’s president has accused the captain of the ferry that sank last week of “murdering” more than 300 passengers.
Park Geun-hye said that the captain, Lee Joon-seok, had committed “unforgiveable murderous acts” by delaying evacuation until the ship had tipped so far that a number of passengers were trapped.
Joon-seok has been arrested, along with two other officers, and faces five charges, including negligence and violations of maritime law after abandoning ship while hundreds of passengers were still on board.
The confirmed number of deaths has risen to 64, with 238 still missing – most of them students who were on a school trip to Jeju, where the vessel was supposed to end up.
Anti-Immigration
NIGEL FARAGE DEFENDED THE NEW ‘RACIST’ UKIP POSTERS
He called the campaign “a hard-hitting reflection of reality”
One of the new UKIP posters.
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Nigel Farage has defended new UKIP promotional material after political opponents labelled it as racist.
The party leader described the ads – which essentially warn of immigrants coming over here and taking our jobs – as “a hard-hitting reflection of reality”.
Others haven’t seen the posters in the same light; Labour MP Mike Gapes, for example, called the posters racist and appealed to “all decent British Commonwealth and EU citizens” to register to vote in May’s polls.
The party is using £1.5 million of funding from Paul Sykes – a multimillionaire former Tory donor and noted EU opponent – to launch its biggest ever publicity drive before European parliamentary elections on the 22nd of May.
Dangerous Journeys
A TEENAGER SURVIVED A FIVE-HOUR FLIGHT IN A WHEEL WELL
Most people don’t survive any kind of flight in a wheel well
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A 16-year-old boy survived a five-hour journey in the wheel well of a flight from California to Hawaii.
The boy, who reportedly ran away from home and jumped the gate at San Jose airport, endured a lack of oxygen and freezing temperatures as the plane climbed to 39,000ft.
“Kid’s lucky to be alive,” said FBI spokesman Tom Simon, adding that the boy had been unconscious for most of the journey.
Since records began in 1947, it’s thought that around 100 people have tried to stowaway in wheel wells, and around three-quarters of them have died.
Animal Murder
SOMEONE DECAPITATED THREE SWANS IN MILTON KEYNES
A local guessed that the killer has “a vendetta against these swans”
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Someone has been going around Milton Keynes decapitating swans and leaving their heads next to a lake.
The severed heads of three birds were found by anglers close to Mount Farm Lake near Milton Keynes; the first head was discovered by Steven Cooper, the club’s fisheries officer and secretary.
“It doesn’t look like it was done by an animal – it was a sharp blade that took the heads off,” said Cooper. “Some sick person is out there with a vendetta against these swans and they’ve got to be stopped.”
Police are still searching for the beheader, and whoever’s eventually found guilty is in for some trouble – killing a swan can result in a six-month jail sentence and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
