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Church of England paves way for women bishops
YMCA gets a new name: ‘the Y’
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UK milkman masters Gujarati, Bengali for biz sake
Nepal to get new PM on July 21
Unexploded suicide vests found at Uganda site
France approves ban on veils
107 killed, 57 missing in China floods
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Church of England paves way for women bishops
London, July 13 Traditionalist Anglicans, who have been opposing the move saying it will lead to many people leaving the Church, sought to impose restrictions on the authority of female bishops but were defeated at the meeting at York University. Now that the Church’s assembly has passed the draft legislation, dioceses will now consider the draft that would let individual bishops allow alternative oversight for traditionalists within each diocese. The dioceses must report back by 2012 and a final vote by the ruling General Synod will still be needed, but supporters say a milestone has been passed. Church of England spokesman Lou Henderson said: “The decision to consecrate women as bishops has been taken. Everybody recognised the importance of offering safeguards and assurances to those who find it very difficult (to accept women bishops), but in the end Synod as a whole was not prepared to go as far as the traditionalists would have liked.” Traditionalists, led by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, had proposed a structure that guaranteed that more conservative parishes be supervised by male bishops and led by male priests but the ruling assembly rejected the proposal. Bishop Broadhurst, who is the chairman of the Forward in Faith organisation, declined to say whether he would leave the Church of England. But reports say many leading lights of the Church were unhappy with the decision. Broadhurst told the BBC: “My organisation has 1,000 priests and about 8,000 laypeople in it. None of those priests are happy. Now people have to decide whether they will knuckle under -- if they do, that is not a very happy situation for them or the Church -- or whether they’ll go, or whether they’ll just defy it, and I can see that happening with many people.” The Reverend Fiona Weaver, an Anglican chaplain, urged traditionalists not to leave the Church of England, and said: “For me, it’s about us learning to live together. And there are plenty of us. I have many friends who are clergy and are opposed to the ordination of women. But, on both camps, there are people at the extreme end who are quite vicious and for me it’s very sad because they are behaving in a very unchristian way.” Rachel Weir of the pro-women bishops group Women and the Church said it was a “momentous” decision. She said many supporters of having women bishops did not understand why it had taken so long for the Church of England to move ahead with ordaining them, but she said the reason for the delay was “to keep as many people on board as we can”. — PTI
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Boston, July 13 The 166-year-old organisation is implementing a major rebranding strategy ‘to increase understanding of the impact the nonprofit makes in communities’. The non-profit said it has changed its name to ‘the Y’ to align with how people most commonly refer to the organisation. Besides changing its name, the organisation has also unveiled a ‘new, more forward-looking logo that reflects its vibrancy and diversity’. ‘The Y’ will focus resources on three core areas of youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. “This is a very important, exciting time for the Y. For 160 years, we have focused on changing lives for the better. Our commitment to building greater awareness for the important work we do will enable us to expand our efforts and further strengthen communities across the country,” president and CEO of YMCA of the US, Neil Nicoll said. Through the new brand strategy, undertaken for the first time in 43 years, the nonprofit would extend its reach into communities to nurture the potential of youth and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being and provide opportunities to support neighbours, Nicoll added. The national resource office, YMCA of the US, has already begun the transition to the new brand. Ys across the country will transition fully within five years. The Y’s former logo had been in place since 1967 and was the organisation’s sixth since its inception. — PTI
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UK milkman masters Gujarati, Bengali for biz sake
London, July 13 John "Jimmy" Mather first delivered milk in 1960 and soon made friends with the few immigrants on his round from India and Bangladesh. And, as more Asian families settled in with very little or no English, this British milkman started learning their language and mastered spoken Gujarati and Bengali, the Daily Express reported. "When I began in 1960 there used to be a handful of Asian families in the region. I can still remember the first few people I served. They were good, decent folk but obviously their English wasn't good. So I picked it up myself and it made things a whole lot easier," he was quoted as saying. Prof Rachel Dwyer, an expert in Indian cultures, said: "Very few non-Indians learn Gujarati. I have heard a few Arab traders in Oman and there's few scholars who know it." Even locals have confirmed that Jimmy's command of Gujarati and Bengali has built lasting bonds in the community. Mohammed Sufi, who has known him since 1974, said: "I remember he went into somebody's house and asked her what she wanted. I was shocked that he was speaking such fluent Gujarati." — PTI
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Nepal to get new PM on July 21
Just a day after the President Dr Ram Baran Yadav asked the political parties to form majority government, Parliament on Tuesday unveiled the election schedule to elect the 34th prime minister of the country on July 21. Speaker Subas Nembang informed the parliamentarians at a meeting in this regard.
Earlier, after the Business Advisory Committee meeting of Parliament Unified CPN-Maoists spokesperson and committee member Dinanath Sharma said nomination for the PM's post would be registered on July 20 and the election would be held next day. After the major political parties failed to forge an agreement to form a national consensus government even within the extended deadline that expired on Monday, President Dr Yadav on Monday had called the parties to form a majority government.
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Unexploded suicide vests found at Uganda site
Kampala, July 13 The find in a suburb of Kampala on Monday was consistent with what was seen at the two blast sites in Kampala, said the inspector general of police, Kale Kaihura. Officials believe suicide bombers took part in the twin blasts Sunday night during the World Cup final. The death toll from Sunday night’s bombing rose to 76, Kaihura said. Al-Shabab, Somalia’s most dangerous militant group, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Islamists are calling for Uganda to withdraw their African Union peacekeeping forces from Somalia.
— AP
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France approves ban on veils
Paris, July 13 There were 336 votes for the Bill and just one against at the National Assembly. Most members of the main opposition group, the Socialist Party, refused to participate in the vote. Following today's vote, the ban on face-covering veils will go in September to the Senate, where also it is likely to pass. Its biggest hurdle will likely come after that, when France's constitutional watchdog scrutinises it.
The main body representing French Muslims says face-covering veils are not required by Islam, and it worries that the law will stigmatise all Muslims. — AP
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107 killed, 57 missing in China floods
Beijing, July 13 Landslides have left 37 persons dead and 37 missing in China's Yunnan, Sichuan and Hunan provinces today, local authorities said. Military personnel gave plans to blast a dike to save a town from flooding after flood waters tore through the explosives set up for the purpose. In Yunnan, 13 persons were killed and 31 others went missing after landslides and floods hit Xiaohe Township, Qiaojia County, Zhaotong City, Xinhua reported. By Tuesday night, 43 had been injured in the disaster. In neighbouring Sichuan Province, a landslide left eight persons dead in Yandai Village, Jiulong County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze. — PTI
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Final vote still needed, a milestone nonetheless
