Minister Kenney welcomes Coptic Pope Tawadros II to Canada
Pope Tawadros II begins month-long visit
September 3, 2014—Toronto, ON—Jason Kenney, Minister for Multiculturalism, today greeted the leader of the ancient Coptic Orthodox Church upon his arrival in Toronto, on behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Government of Canada.
Pope Tawadros II, who became the 118th leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church on November 19, 2012, arrived in Toronto this evening to officially begin his month-long Canadian visit. His first trip to Canada will include the consecration of the first Coptic cathedral in North America, Markham’s St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, visits to other parishes across Canada, meetings with religious leaders, and the delivery of a lecture at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom, joined Minister Kenney in Toronto to greet Pope Tawadros.
Egypt Tempts Back Foreign Cash After MSCI Nod: Chart of the Day
By Ahmed A. Namatalla
Foreign investors are returning to Egyptafter MSCI Inc. preserved the North African country’s emerging-market status and the former army chief won the presidency in a landslide.
The CHART OF THE DAY shows non-Arabs purchased 2.9 billion Egyptian pounds ($406 million) of stocks from June 11, the day after the index provider said it’s no longer considering cutting the country’s status to a frontier market, through Aug. 27. That’s almost eight times the amount they purchased in 2014 before the announcement, according to Egyptian Exchange data. The EGX 30 Index has rallied more than 35 percent this year in dollar terms, making it the world’s third-best performer.
Pope’s personal envoy calls for international action to liberate Iraq
Pope Francis’s personal envoy to the suffering people of Iraq joined the Chaldean Catholic patriarch in launching an appeal to the international community today, pleading for help to liberate villages controlled by the Islamic State terrorists and to provide the displaced with international protection.
Cardinal Fernando Filoni, who has been in Iraq since August 13 at the Pope’s request, and Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad said international action was necessary to provide the displaced with basic necessities like food and water, but also to guarantee the possibility of their survival in Iraq.
'Isis Jihadist' Flag in East London Ripped Down by Nun
By Ewan Palmer | IB Times
A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) holds an Isis flag and …
A black flag with Arabic writing, similar to the ones used by Jihadist fighters in Syria and Iraq, has been taken down from an east London housing estate by a local nun.
This morning we got the amazing news that Meriam Ibrahim and her family have arrived in Italy from Sudan, safe at last after her year-long ordeal!
Thank you so much for standing with Meriam. There’s no question that the huge wave of international support helped to keep her case in the spotlight, so the Sudanese government couldn’t get away with executing her for the alleged crime of apostasy.
Meriam’s lawyers informed us that all the charges against her have been dropped – including the charges of forgery and provision of false information that had been brought against her last month, after the apostasy and adultery charges were dismissed on appeal.
We’ve been informed that Meriam and her family will eventually travel to the US. Her husband Daniel is a US citizen.
A women, wearing a niqab despite a nationwide ban on the Islamic face veil, gives a phone call outside the courts in Meaux, east of Paris, September 22, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Charles Platiau
STRASBOURG/PARIS (Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights upheld France's 2010 ban on full-face veils in public on Tuesday but acknowledged the law could appear excessive and feed stereotypes.
Judges at the Strasbourg-based court, by 15 to 2, said the ban did not violate religious freedom and aimed to ensure "respect for the minimum set of values of an open democratic society" which included openness to social interaction.
Judges at the Strasbourg-based court, by 15 to 2, said the ban did not violate religious freedom and aimed to ensure "respect for the minimum set of values of an open democratic society" which included openness to social interaction.
Thousands of young British Muslim men have rallied against radical Islam amid concerns that British jihadists are fighting in Syria.
Three Britons apparently appear in a video calling on Muslims to join the fight in Iraq and Syria
An estimated 5,000 Muslims gathered in Surrey today to pledge loyalty to Britain in light of concerns over the popularity of the extremist militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), and the alleged involvement of Britons.
New rules 'could bar conservative Muslims from being school trustees'
New rules brought in by Michael Gove in wake of 'Trojan horse' controversy tell governors of new academies and free schools to abide by 'British values'
Some Muslims could be effectively excluded from becoming trustees or governors of new academies and free schools under rules introduced by the Education Secretary Michael Gove in response to the "Trojan horse" controversy, community leaders have warned.
The Department for Education has inserted new clauses into the model funding agreement for academies stipulating that its governors should demonstrate "fundamental British values", and giving the Education Secretary powers to close schools if they do not comply.
(Vatican Radio) Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Chaldean Archbishop Amel Nona, said he thought Mosul's last remaining Christians had left now a city which until 2003 was home to 35,000 faithful.
The Christians are among 500,000 thought to have fled Mosul whose overthrow yesterday is now followed by news today (Wed, 11 June) of militant attacks on the Iraqi city of Tikrit 95 miles north of the capital, Baghdad.
Describing reports of attacks to four churches and a monastery in Mosul, the archbishop, 46, said: "We received threats... [and] now all the faithful have fled the city. I wonder if they will ever return there."
Three Britons apparently appear in a video calling on Muslims to join the fight in Iraq and Syria 
