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Pakistani Who Tried To Set Up Country’s First g@y Glub Sent To Mental Hospital

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A Pakistani man who tried to set up the nation’s first gay club after returning from the UK has been thrown into a mental hospital.

The man, who was not identified, filed an application to set the club up in Abbottabad, a conservative city in the north of the nation that nearly 240million call home, the Telegraph reports.

The man said, in an application filed to city officials, that the proposed club, which would’ve balled Lorenzo, would be a ‘great convenience and resource for many homosexual, bisexual and even some heterosexual people residing in Abbottabad in particular, and in other parts of the country in general.’

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But gay sex is criminalised in Pakistan, and can be punished with prison sentences of up to two years. On top of this, a deeply conservative culture can make it difficult to be openly gay.

READ ALSO: Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of Private University Built By Former Civil Servant

So much so that the man was transferred to the Sarhad hospital for psychiatric disease in Peshawar on May 9.

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He received much abuse for his application from local citizens and politicians alike.

The leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) party, a conservative religious group in the region, claimed that the applicant tried to set up the club had recently returned from a visit to the UK.

One local MP from the far-Right Pakistan Awami Tehreek party said he would’ve doused the club with petrol and set it alight, while the leader of the party, Naseer Khan Nazir, said there would be ‘very severe consequences’ if the club was allowed to go up.

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READ ALSO: Kenyan Teacher Allegedly Commits Suicide After Losing Money In Online Casino Bet

His friends, who were not named, said they were terrified for his wellbeing and had been blocked from visiting him or accessing any information about him.

‘Everyone is afraid that talking about it will put them in danger,’ one said.

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‘I do not know about his well-being for many days’ they said, adding that they had ‘tried to find out about him a couple of times but without success’.

Before he was sent to the mental hospital, he told the paper: ‘I talk about human rights and I want everyone’s human rights to be defended.’

READ ALSO: Saudi Announces Date For Sallah Celebration

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‘I have started the struggle for the rights of the most neglected community in Pakistan and I will raise my voice in every forum,’ he said.

‘If the authorities refuse, then I will approach the court and I hope that like the Indian court, the Pakistani court will rule in favour of gay people.’

His application states that there would’ve been ‘no gay (or non-gay) sex (other than kissing)’ at the club.

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The application added: ‘A clearly visible notice on the wall would warn: no sex on premises. This would mean that no legal constraints (even obsolete ones like [anti-sodomy] PPC section 377) would be flouted on the premises.’

 

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Australian Govt Official Declares ‘Red Wednesday’ Over Attack On Kwara Church

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Chairman of the Australian Committee for NATO enlargement, Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn, has declared a ‘Red Wednesday’ as part of a global awareness campaign against alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Gunther made this known in a post on X while reacting to the recent attack on Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, in Kwara State.

Recall that terrorists on Tuesday invaded the church located in Eruku town, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, and opened fire on worshipers.

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READ ALSO:Court Jails Two Men 26 Months For N8.5b Fraud

According to reports, the resident pastor and some persons were killed while majority of the worshipers were taken away to unknown destinations.

Reacting, Gunther in his X post said the incessant attacks on Nigerian Christians “is unacceptable”.

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He wrote, “I got this video sent of an Islamist attack on a church in Nigeria. Today is #RedWednesday the global awareness day against prosecution of Christians.”

 

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Pope Decries Lack Of Political Will On Climate Change

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Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged “concrete actions” on climate change and complained that some leaders lacked the will to act, as he addressed religious dignitaries on the sidelines of the COP30 summit.

The Vatican released the American pope’s address to churches of the southern hemisphere assembled on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Belem, Brazil, in which he called the Amazon region “a living symbol of creation with an urgent need for care”.

“Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat,” the pope said.

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“One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes. To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to ignore these people is to deny our shared humanity,” he added.

“What is failing is the political will of some.”

READ ALSO:Young Catholics Converge On Rome For Pope Leo’s Vigil

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The UN climate negotiations enter their final stretch this week, with nations split on key issues as government ministers began arriving Monday to take over negotiations.

There is still time to keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5C, but the window is closing,” warned Leo, who called for “concrete actions” while championing the landmark Paris Agreement.

– Pope defends Paris Agreement –

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The historic 2015 accord, from which US President Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the United States for the second time, aims to keep temperature rises “well below” 2C compared to pre-industrial levels and, if possible, to 1.5C.

The Paris Agreement was the “strongest tool for protecting people and the planet”, Leo said, decrying a lack of effort by some leaders, whom he did not name.

READ ALSO:Pope Leo XIV Declares Friday Global Prayer, Fasting Day For Peace

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True leadership means service and support on a scale that will truly make a difference,” he said, urging firmer climate action to bring about “stronger and fairer economic systems”.

“Let us send a clear global signal together: nations standing in unwavering solidarity behind the Paris Agreement and climate cooperation,” he said.

Since being made pope in May, the Chicago-born pontiff — who spent about 20 years as a missionary in Peru — has urged more pressure on governments to stop climate change.

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Last month, during a climate conference near Rome, he called for an “ecological conversion” to help vulnerable communities.

READ ALSO:VIDEO: Tinubu Meets Pope Leo XIV After Inauguration Mass In Rome

October marked the 10-year anniversary of the late Pope Francis’s landmark climate manifesto “Laudato Si”, which appealed for action on human-caused global warming.

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COP30, without the presence of the US government, is scheduled to end in five days, but groups of countries still disagree on many issues, including climate ambition, unilateral trade measures, and finance.

Some countries also want a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell welcomed what he called Pope Leo’s “strong message”.

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His words urge us to continue to choose hope and action,” he said.

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Genocide: U.S. Lawmaker Alleges Tinubu Lying, Protecting Own Interest

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Riley Moore

Congress to debate ‘Christian Persecution’ in Nigeria on Thursday

United States (U.S.) lawmaker, Riley Moore, has dismissed President Bola Tinubu’s denial of the targeted killing of Christians as “completely false”.

Moore said Tinubu’s denial was to “protect his interests,” adding that Nigeria’s political leaders were “complicit” in the killing of Christians.

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In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Moore noted Tinubu’s statement, claiming that the “characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality” as incorrect.

Meanwhile, the Congress will, on Thursday, debate the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

READ ALSO:Trump To Receive Full Menu Of Options To Stop Nigeria Genocide – US Rep, Moore

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This was as International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule (Intersociety) raised fresh claims 99 Christians were, again, killed in Nigeria in 14 days.

Unfortunately, that is completely false. There are states in Nigeria that have blasphemy laws. People are facing the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam,” the U.S. lawmaker said. “I know President Tinubu is in a difficult position, and trying to protect his interests there in the country. But they are complicit in this to some degree or another for a statement like this.”

Moore cited the case of an Adamawa Christian farmer, Sunday Jackson, who was sentenced to death for defending himself against a killer herdsman.

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“There is serious persecution in Nigeria,” Moore said.
CONGRESS is set to convene a hearing on Thursday to examine allegations of widespread persecution of Christians in Nigeria, following President Donald Trump’s recent decision to redesignate the country as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

READ ALSO:Ex-US Mayor, Sultan Clash Over Alleged Christian Genocide

The session will be led by Congressman Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, and a vocal advocate for stronger U.S. action on reported religious violence in Nigeria.

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Smith previously introduced a congressional resolution naming the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as responsible actors in several attacks. The resolution recommends visa bans and asset freezes against members of the groups.

It also called on White House to classify “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in states such as Benue and Plateau under the Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) framework established by the International Religious Freedom Act.

Witnesses scheduled to testify include Jonathan Pratt, senior bureau official at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.

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READ ALSO:Trump Breaks Silence On ‘Christian Genocide’ In Nigeria

A second panel is expected to feature Nina Shea, senior fellow and director at the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow for the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
INTERSOCIETY alleged in a statement yesterday that 99 Christians were killed within the last 14 days.

It stated that the killing occurred between October 28 and November 11, adding that 114 others were kidnapped by the group that carried out the action, called Jihadist militants.

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The report was signed by the Head, Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and two human rights lawyers, Joy Igboeli and Ogochukwu Obi.

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