Atheist News Sep 29 2018: Iraqi Model Killed in Baghdad, Nun’s #Metoo Moment in India

Armin discusses the latest news on religion and atheism in the past week 😃

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1. Tara Fares, a well-known model and social media fashion icon, was shot and killed on Thursday by unknown assailants. She suffered three bullet wounds. Investigations into the killing of the model who has over 2 million followers on Instagram had begun.

2. The first concentration camp for homosexuals since Hitler's camps in 1930s is in Chechnya where homosexuals are being tortured with electric shocks and beaten to death. Last week, 100 gay men were detained and three killed. According to Novaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper, several camps have been set up in Chechnya. Those arrested include well-known local television personalities and religious figures. A prisoner who escaped said that prisoners were beaten to force them to reveal other members of the gay community.

3. Republican Ted Cruz responded to a question about gun safety by saying mass shootings were the result of "removing God from the public square." On the other hand, Democratic Beto O’Rourke responded that thoughts and prayers are just not going to cut it anymore and the children of Texas deserve better. Cruz added that he wanted more officers with guns in every school to protect students from guns.

4. On its crackdown on religion, China burned crosses at Christian churches. The Chinese flag and photos of Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Communist Party leader Mao Zedong will replace the crosses. China has intensified its crackdown despite its deal with the Vatican over the appointment of bishops.

5. Michele Bachmann, a former congresswoman, said at the Values Voter Summit that Donald Trump has ushered the US into an "unparalleled golden time." She added that the president has put the United States on a pathway of blessing.

6. The Coralarium, created by artist and environmentalist Jason deCaires Taylor, was destroyed last week after it was deemed anti-Islamic. Islam is the official religion in Maldives and the government ordered its destruction. The artwork was intended to allow sea life to explore freely and acts as a new habitat for coral and other marine species. Thirty human figures were positioned on top, inside the frame at tidal level, with other submerged beneath. Half of the sculptures were based on life casts of the Maldivians, with some reimagined as hybrid forms including coral or root-like elements.

7. In Alabama, the Blount County school District is the latest to be chastised for allowing prayers over the loudspeakers before football games. Prayers are to be replaced with a moment of silence. During the first football game at Hayden High School, the players ran onto the field with signs reading "In God We Trust". Students and parents were making an initiative so a prayer is still said during the moment of silence. Hayden lost 38-12 to their opponents.

8. Frank Amedia, a televangelist who serves as Donald Trump's "liaison for Christian policy," told a gathering of "POTUS Shield" members that his prayers fixed a man's and a baby's heart. He added that it also helped another baby grow kidneys. For the man who had a 100% occlusion in his heart, Amedia just prayed for a new artery and the next morning, an artery grew around. The doctors said they have never seen anything like it.

9. In a small village in Attock district, Pakistan, an 18-year-old girl and a 21-year-old boy were beheaded by the girl's father and uncle. The police are calling yet another incident of honour killing. The man arrived at the girl's house and her father and uncle walked in, tied both victims with ropes, and beheaded them with a sharp object. Both suspects have been arrested.

10. Nuns march with placards warning that their lives are in danger in Kerala. The man charged with rape, Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who raped one of the nuns 13 times between 2014 and 2016, has only been interrogated once while the victim was questioned five times. No arrest has been made. The congregation to which the victim belongs to, the Missionaries of Jesus, handed out a certificate of innocence to the accused bishop and accused the victim of having a relationship beyond acceptable standards with a local taxi driver.