Author: European Correspondent

By Linda Woodhead/European Correspondent. In the same week that a new archbishop of Canterbury was installed, YouGov admitted that a poll suggesting there was a “quiet revival” of Christianity was a dud. It had been inflated by fraudulent results and should be ignored. To those of us who study the bigger picture of religion in Britain, this comes as no surprise. There are good reasons to doubt that Britain is experiencing a Christian revival today – but that does not mean it is dying out. To understand what is happening in Britain, it is helpful to compare it with the US, which has…

By Al Perrotta/Daily Signal. Of the many activities planned in conjunction with America’s 250th birthday, none can be expected to be as powerful, as impactful, as rich as what is set to take place April 18-25 along the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Over 480 national leaders from politics, entertainment, ministry, and industry will be gathering at the Museum of the Bible for “America Reads the Bible,” a complete reading of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. We Really Need an Ezra Moment Creator and organizer Bunni Pounds, who worked as a political consultant for years before founding the nonpartisan political…

By Kelley Valencia/Europe Corrrespondent. A pastor has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter after a man died during a paddling pool baptism in Birmingham. Robert Smith, 61, from Brixton, was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency services were called to the ceremony in October 2023. The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed pastor Cheryl Bartley, of Life Changing Ministries, faces one count of manslaughter in connection with the incident. Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS’s special crime division, said they had worked closely with West Midlands Police as it carried out an investigation. “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that…

By Diana Resnick/Euronews. Men aged 17 to 45 may now need approval from the Bundeswehr for trips abroad lasting more than three months. What is behind the new military service law? Men aged between 17 and 45 now need approval from the Bundeswehr for longer stays abroad. Under the new Military Service Act, this applies to trips abroad lasting more than three months, the Defence Ministry has announced. The daily Frankfurter Rundschau was the first to report on the change. The rule is part of what is known as the Military Service Modernisation Act, which came into force on 1 January 2026.…

By Solomon Ekanem/ Business Insider Africa. A coalition led by the United Kingdom and France, alongside nearly 30 countries, is intensifying efforts to secure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in a move that could bring much-needed relief to African economies battling rising fuel costs. Editor’s note: The story was updated to clarify that the Strait of Hormuz is not physically closed but is currently affected by security and geopolitical tensions linked to the ongoing war involving Iran, the United States and Israel, which have severely disrupted navigation and maritime traffic The latest push builds on a March 19…

By Brad Reed It’s been less than a month, and President Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran has unleashed a cascade of consequences for countless human lives and the global economy that are far from resolved—but he is reportedly getting tired of the illegal war he started. MS NOW reported on Friday that White House sources believe that Trump is “getting a little bored” with the Iran war and “wants to move on” to other initiatives. MS NOW’s report on Trump’s feelings about the war was echoed by The Wall Street Journal, which on Thursday reported that the president has told associates that he wants to wrap up the war…

Dame Sarah Mullally has been formally installed today as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the role in the Church of England’s 1,400-year history. The installation ceremony took place at Canterbury Cathedral on the Feast of the Annunciation and marks the official beginning of her public ministry as the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, which includes around 85 million members worldwide. The congregation of around 2,000 guests included the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and Christian leaders from…

By Aleks Phillips/BBC Australia. Public transport in two Australian states will be made free to incentivise people not to drive as fuel prices soar due to the war in the Middle East. Victoria, home to Melbourne, has said it will have free travel throughout April, while Tasmania has said commuters will not need to pay from Monday until the end of June. However, other state governments have so far declined to follow suit, with New South Wales (in which Sydney is located) indicating it was reserving funds to meet increased demand for public transport. Australia is among a host of…

By Fortunato Pinto/Rome The Pontiff celebrated Palm Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s in the presence of tens of thousands of faithful. During the Angelus he returned to call for a stop to the war in the Middle East and addressed a thought to the migrants who died at sea off Crete Pope Leo XIV opened Holy Week celebrations on Sunday morning with a prayer in St Peter’s Square. Tens of thousands of worshippers packed the Vatican colonnades to attend the Holy Father’s Mass. Many brought olive branches and palm fronds to be blessed during the celebration. ‘Let us look to Jesus, who…

By Bill Russell/ UK Correspondent As Western forces launched strikes against Iran, most expected tensions to rise in the Middle East. Few expected a different kind of shockwave–one rippling through the streets, communities, and polling data of Britain itself. Yet that is exactly what has emerged: not just disagreement, but a deep and widening divide over who the enemy is–and who deserves support. New polling conducted between March 2nd and 13th–during the opening phase of the American-Israeli military operation against Iran–reveals something far more serious than policy disagreement. It suggests that a significant portion of Britain’s Muslim population did not…

By Ian Boyd. Iran fired two ballistic missiles on March 20, 2026, at the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, which hosts a strategically important joint U.S.-U.K. military base, according to U.S., U.K. and Israeli officials. One missile broke apart during flight, and the other appears to have been destroyed by U.S. missile defenses. Iran has denied responsibility for the launches. Diego Garcia is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Iran, which is about twice as far as the top range Iran has declared that its ballistic missiles have. Parts of Western Europe, Asia and Africa lie within a 2,500-mile (4,000-km) radius of Iran, raising…

By Elizabeth Dias/NY Times People are joining the Roman Catholic church in surprising numbers. This Easter the Archdiocese of Detroit will receive 1,428 new Catholics into the church, its highest number in 21 years. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will have its most in 15 years. In the Diocese of Des Moines, the count is jumping 51 percent from last year, from 265 people to 400. The first year after the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the United States, many Catholic churches across America are welcoming their highest numbers of new Catholics in recent years. The newcomers are…

Story by James Lewis/Europe A public service broadcaster in Belgium has been forced to apologise, after radio presenters smashed statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary on air. Presenters on VRT’s Studio Brussel took hammers to the icons in a “rage room” during a ‘Blue Monday’ segment, for what is often claimed as the saddest day of the year in January. Questioned about the sketch this week, the hosts and producer said they would not do the same for a symbol of Islam or Judaism. Get the latest Christian World News stories via email Sign Me UpSee our privacy notice But during the course of…

By Jonathon Van Maren/LifeSite News The abortion industry’s ugliest secret is that babies are regularly born alive after attempted abortions and left to die by the medical professionals who had just tried to kill them. There are frequent and documented examples of this in just the past several years in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and in Ireland, where abortion has only been legal since 2019. Now government data has confirmed that in New Zealand, babies are being born alive after attempted abortions at least once a month and, as is standard practice, are dying without being provided medical care. Abortion is…

by Libby Brooks, Severin Carrell and Peter Walker Reform party leader criticised for making comments after event held in London’s Trafalgar Square this week. Muslim leaders have condemned Nigel Farage’s call to ban public prayer by Muslims in the UK as bigoted and warned of a “growing tide of hate” after the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, questioned whether the events fitted “within the norms of British culture”. Farage was speaking at the launch of Reform UK’s manifesto for the forthcoming Scottish parliament elections when he made the remarks. He described as “a wake up call and a warning to everybody” an event in…

President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced that France’s next nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will be called “France Libre” (Free France), as the country looks to reinforce its status as a major maritime power. Once completed, the warship, which is set to replace the country’s sole aircraft carrier — the Charles de Gaulle — and due to enter service in 2038, will be the largest warship ever built in Europe. Macron said the vessel was being named after the French Resistance movement that General de Gaulle led against the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. “I wanted our future aircraft…

Story by David Bowen/Harbing’s Daily Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming the modern world. From business and education to finance and communication, AI systems are becoming deeply embedded in everyday life. What once seemed like science fiction is now reality. Governments, corporations, and technology leaders are investing billions of dollars into AI development, believing it will shape the future of civilization. 001 But this rapid transformation raises an important spiritual question for believers: Is the world beginning to follow artificial intelligence more than the Word of God? For Christians who take biblical prophecy seriously, the rise of technologies capable of influencing…

Simon Atkinson,Australia /Gabriela Pomeroy BBC News Two members of Iran’s national women’s football team who sought asylum in Australia have been pictured training at the grounds of the A-league football team Brisbane Roar. “Everything will be fine,” one of them, Fatemeh Pasandideh, posted on Instagram. She and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh were among seven Iranian footballers who originally said they were seeking asylum on their trip to the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia but the other five changed their minds. The footballers were given humanitarian visas to stay in Australia after concerns the team would face repercussions for declining to sing the…

Story by SA McCarthy/The Washington Stand Family-friendly films may be making a comeback in Hollywood as younger parents get involved in the filmmaking process and as woke films fail at the box office. One example is the latest film from Pixar, “Hoppers,” which grossed $87 million at the worldwide box office as of March 8, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year so far. Last year’s Pixar offering, “Elio,” was a box office failure, suffering the lowest opening weekend earnings of any Pixar in the famed animation studio’s 40-year history. Originally, “Elio” was slated to include a prominent LGBT storyline,…

OPINION: Wanda Alger As charismatic churches face an ongoing reckoning over the abuse of prophetic ministry, there is an enormous need to restore Scriptural integrity to the prophetic voice of the Church. What does that look like? We’d do well to heed the Apostle Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians: “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said” (1 Cor 14:29 ESV). First, there is a necessary distinction between testing one’s character and testing one’s prophetic revelation because even a person of good character can “miss” a prophetic word (Matthew 16:21-23), just as a compromised…

OPINION by Omar Suleiman In a small town in southern Iran on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli attacks (Feb. 28), more children were killed in a single strike on a girls school than all the American kids who died in the past two years in school shootings.  If we cannot feel the death of an Iranian child with the same moral clarity as the death of a child in the United States, then something in us has been deformed. In the United States, we don’t just remember school shootings, we ritualize them. We remember the ages, the classrooms, the faces, names. We build…

CNN Four days after his appointment as Iran’s new supreme leader, the world finally got a glimpse of Mojtaba Khamenei’s worldview. But Khamenei – now elevated to the rank of Ayatollah and dubbed the “exalted leader” of the Islamic Revolution by his acolytes – didn’t appear on video or release an audio statement. Instead, he purportedly issued a lengthy written message which was then read out on state television, outlining his views on the trajectory of the war, praising Iran’s armed forces and demanding reparations from those who have attacked his country. The message was quickly disseminated through a new Telegram channel created by…

 By Lydia Davies The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an atheist advocacy group, has formally requested that University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders cease leading team prayers and religious activities with players. According to a news outlet, the group contends that Coach Sanders has blended his role as coach with religious practices, which they argue infringe on players’ rights under the First Amendment. Their letter sent to university officials referenced a post-game prayer led by Pastor E Dewey Smith following the team’s win against Baylor University last month. Before the prayer, Sanders reportedly encouraged the players, saying, “If you don’t believe in the…

Story by Gary Lane/US correspondent Late last month, U.S. authorities discovered a Chinese-linked biolab in a quiet American neighborhood. They seized over 1,000 suspicious biological agents from a home in Las Vegas. Experts are warning: covert labs like this could lead to biological warfare, right in our own backyards.    On January 31, SWAT teams and hazmat crews swarmed a Las Vegas home. What they found was shocking: a secret biological lab hidden in a garage, right in the middle of a neighborhood. The lab was tied to the same Chinese national who was arrested back in 2023 for operating an…

Story by Rachel Hall/The Guardian Princess Eugenie has stepped down as patron of the UK charity Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organisation. The decision follows the release by the US Department of Justice of millions of documents and emails relating to Jeffrey Epstein’s role in sexual abuse and trafficking women around the world, which have disgraced her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Eugenie’s profile has been removed from Anti-Slavery International’s website, which previously hailed her work “across the board with leaders in the fight against modern slavery”. The charity said in a statement shared with the Observer: “After seven years,…

Story by Onize Oduah/World News Ahead of U.S.-Israeli military strikes, Iranian Christians hoped for a regime change to end a deadly crackdown on demonstrators At a recent funeral for an Iranian protester killed in anti-government protests, his mother made an unusual request: She asked attendees to applaud. The woman’s pastor calls her “courageous.” He explained the request was a sign of defiance of the regime and in honor of demonstrators killed by government forces. “She [also] used the funeral ceremony as an opportunity to share the gospel of Christ with everyone present,” the pastor, using the pseudonym Arash Ariya, told…

Story by Reverend Josh Reavis The Bible is not shy about showing us the worst of humanity. There are stories of murders that shock us, sexual assaults that nauseate us, and betrayals that leave us unsettled long after the page is turned. Scripture does not sanitize the darkness of the human heart, but it also does not invite us to linger there. These stories are not written to intrigue us but to repulse us. They are meant to sober us, warn us, and remind us why redemption is necessary. That distinction matters, because we live in a cultural moment when…

Story by Chris Osuh/The Guardian “Sometimes you’re seeing God as a genie, where if I give him all this money, He will bring me what I want,” Sarah says. The 27-year-old spent years in the grip of “prosperity gospel”, whose followers believe cash donations to evangelical churches unlock divine blessings of health and wealth. So did Jennifer*, 29, who says she handed over her life savings. Both women are professionals from London and former members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), an international evangelical movement and UK-registered charity whose cases have recently been investigated by the…

Story by Helen Livingstone /BBC News- Samantha Dick/ABC News Australia’s defence minister has confirmed that an air base used by Australian forces near Dubai was hit by a drone at the weekend, adding that no Australians were injured in the attack. “On the first night there was a strike at the Al Minhad Air Base, but all the Australians who are there are safe and accounted for,” Richard Marles has told reporters. The UAE air base is used by multiple western militaries, and is the Australian Defence Force’s Middle East headquarters. Marles says Australia has 100 personnel in the Middle…

Opinion: Susanne Maynes. I’ve never attended Bethel Church or their school of ministry, and I’ve only listened to a handful of sermons by Bill Johnson. However, as a lifelong Pentecostal/charismatic, I’m aware that Bethel’s influence has saturated charismatic culture for decades. One concept Bethel promotes is creating and maintaining a “culture of honor.” This sounds like a beautiful and biblical idea, since human beings should honor one another as image bearers of God — but what does it really mean? In Bethel’s view, current forms of church leadership should be discarded, and five-fold ministers (based on Ephesians 4:11) should be…

The drug cartel leader killed in Jalisco state on Sunday was responsible for the forced closure of more than 100 churches due to threats and extortion demands. The Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, wounded Rubén Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), who later died while being transported for medical care. The military operation resulted in the deaths of 30 members of the cartel and 70 arrests in seven states and took the lives of at least 25 members of Mexico’s military forces. The CJNG, active in 40 countries, including in the United States,…

OPINION:  Binoy Kampmark In a feat of enterprising delusion and sinister suppression, Australia’s second largest state has decided to deal with what it regards as an antisemitic problem. After last December’s attacks on Sydney’s Bondi Beach by two gunmen on attendees of a Hanukkah event that left 15 people dead, it has become modish to insist that a blight has gripped the continent. On February 8, the State government of Premier David Crisafulli announced it was “delivering strong, decisive action to combat antisemitism [and] address terrorist-motivated offending to make Queensland safer.” As with other parts of the country, antisemitism has been singled…

Story by Courtney Mares/National Catholic Reporter. Pope Leo XIV has urged priests to not to use artificial intelligence to write their homilies or to seek “likes” on social media platforms like TikTok. In a question-and-answer session with clergy from the Diocese of Rome, the pope said priests should resist “the temptation to prepare homilies with artificial intelligence.” “Like all the muscles in the body, if we do not use them, if we do not move them, they die. The brain needs to be used, so our intelligence must also be exercised a little so as not to lose this capacity,”…

Story by George Wright/BBC News An armed man has been shot dead after entering the secure perimeter of US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the Secret Service has said. The man was carrying a shotgun and fuel can when he was stopped and shot by Secret Service agents and a Sheriff’s deputy, authorities said. The incident happened around 01:30 ET (06:30 GMT) on Sunday morning, when the president was in Washington DC. The suspect has been named as Austin T Martin of Cameron, North Carolina, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS. His family in North Carolina had…

Story by Jon Brown. The former chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II lamented what he described as the apostasy within the Church of England and noted that Anglicanism in the United Kingdom is swiftly dying. “It will become hollowed out with nothing at the center, and because they have 6 billion pounds investments and our buildings, they will keep a show going in the more dramatic places,” Gavin Ashenden, who left Anglicanism in 2019 to join the Roman Catholic Church after serving as the queen’s chaplain from 2008 to 2017, told EWTN. During the interview that marked the celebration…

Story By Thomas Christianson. In the midst of his work to combat institutional racism within the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. relied heavily on principles taught in Scripture. The wisdom and insights King gained as he helped lead the civil rights movement apply to us today, for injustice still exists among us in many forms and in many places. Jesus once said, “God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). King clearly hungered and thirsted for justice in the course of his efforts. His words can help us to embrace the…

Story by Emily Mangiaracina/ Life Site News A “missionary” bishop made “Venerable” and green-lighted for the beatification process by Pope Leo XIV allowed indigenous youth to touch his genitals and shared a bed naked with a youth who had previously made “provocative homosexual attempts,” recently published reports show. In May 2025, Leo declared Msgr. Alejandro Labaka “Venerable” along with Sr. Inés Arango Velásquez, with whom he worked. InfoCatolica recently highlighted concerning passages in Labaka’s autobiographical writings in which the bishop recounted his observations of disordered sexual practices of the Huaorani people in the Amazon. Of particular concern is one time when he admittedly allowed the indigenous youth to arouse…

Story by Emily Brown Rev. Jesse Jackson, the fiery civil rights leader, presidential candidate and longtime Baptist minister who helped shape modern American political activism, has died at 84. His family confirmed the news in a brief statement. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family,” the statement said. “His unwavering belief in justice, equality and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.” For more than five decades, Jackson stood at the crossroads of faith and public life,…

Story by Erik Tryggestad Standing on the observation deck at Aegibong Peace Ecopark, holding cups of coffee from the brand new Starbucks behind them, visitors gaze across the Han River to the rolling hills of the world’s most isolated, enigmatic and repressive state. Photo by Erik Tryggestad North Korea’s “Peace Village” stands across the Han River from Aegibong Peace Ecopark near Gimpo, South Korea. Through digital binoculars they peer into North Korea’s “Peace Village,” a set of nondescript, multilevel buildings. There, a woman beats sheaves of rice on a stone threshing floor. A man in gray work clothes rides a bike…

Story: Emma De Ruiter & Aleksandar Brezar/Euronews Epibatidine, found in the Ecuadoran dart frog, causes muscle paralysis and eventual asphyxiation. Experts have said the toxin can also be produced synthetically, instead of extracting it directly from the frog itself. Analysis in European labs “conclusively confirmed” that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned by the Kremlin with a lethal dart frog toxin, the foreign ministries of five European countries stated over the weekend, bringing his 2024 death in an Arctic penal colony back into focus. Navalny died in the Polar Wolf maximum-security corrections facility near the western Siberian town of Kharp in February…