CP World Report: Egyptian Election Ends, Youcef Nadarkhani, Kuwait's Christian
Voting concludes today in the historic Egyptian Presidential election. Egyptians living abroad have already cast their ballots. Roughly a dozen candidates are running in the race. If a single candidate fails to garner more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held mid-June. The country's military rulers have pledged to hand over executive power to a civilian government by the end of next month. The vote comes nearly 16 months after the popular uprising that brought down Mubarak in February 2011. The Muslim Brotherhood has won most of the seats in Parliament and the situation for Christians in Egypt is being described by Open Doors USA as precarious.
Meanwhile, in what is deemed to be an unfair targeting of Christians in a case a local court sentenced 12 Coptic Christians to life and acquitted eight Muslims involved in clashes last year that left two people dead.
High-level talks are being held in Baghdad -- to help diffuse a worsening nuclear stand-off.
Officials from six leading world powers will be discussing ways to persuade Iran to scrap a portion of its uranium enrichment program, amid fears the country is trying to develop nuclear weapons. The group includes the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.
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Baptist denominations in Britain are moving toward a merger. A decision was been made to explore uniting the "Baptist Union of Wales English Council" with the various Welsh associations that are part of the "Baptist Union of Great Britain". Unity plans were being worked out for years and the final decision to move toward a merger was made at a recent meeting. The venture is being seen as an effort to integrate the Baptist family in Wales.
What you teach the kids at home can turn around and haunt you. In this bizarre story, a kindergartener brought pot to school in his backpack for Show and tell. Talk about telling! 89 grams of it. It belonged to the six year old's dad according to police and his family defended the father saying he is an innocent, good dad who made a simple mistake.
Speaking of problem parenting: how much is too much when it comes to government intervention? Well, the British Government has now launched parenting classes for children under five. They offer families advice on everything from getting children to sleep, to discipline. Prime Minister David Cameron defended the program saying it is reflective of a sensible state, not a nanny state.
An update on pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, imprisoned for three years in an Iranian jail: he remains alive and strong in his faith according to the American Center for law and justice which has been advocating for him and raising awareness. The Iranian courts have asked Nadarkhani to recant his Christian faith in exchange for freedom numerous times. Each time, he has refused in the face of execution.
The eviction of a Christian congregation from a private villa used for worship in the past seven years has some observers speculating whether Kuwait's Islamist politicians are beginning to actively target non-Muslim groups. Other congregations are reporting being unable to renew their lease ; while some are being forced to pay exorbitant fines. At first, local Christians were not worried about the surge of Islamist politicians, but now they fear the tradition might be changing.
