Saint John Henry Newman is to be declared a Doctor of the Church, the Pope has announced, in an acknowledgement of the significance of Newman’s teaching.

The announcement, on Thursday, was welcomed by the Archbishop of York, who wrote on social media that Newman was a “profound teacher both to Anglicans & Catholics, spiritual guide, and model of holiness”.

Roman Catholic churchmen in England also welcomed the announcement. The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said: “This recognition that the writings of St John Henry Newman are a true expression of the faith of the Church is of huge encouragement to all who appreciate not only his great learning but also his heroic sanctity in following the call of God in his journey of faith, which he described as ‘heart speaking unto heart’.”

The RC Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Revd Bernard Longley, said: “It is remarkable that his writings, first as an Anglican and then as a Roman Catholic, but considered as one entire corpus of written work, have led to him being declared a Doctor of the Church.”

Newman was canonised in 2019 (News, 25 October 2019).

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“It is remarkable that his writings, first as an Anglican and then as a Roman Catholic, but considered as one entire corpus of written work, have led to him being declared a Doctor of the Church.”https://t.co/hDFvmmuonV

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) August 4, 2025

The Anglican Church in North America’s ecclesiastical trial of the Rt. Rev. Stewart Ruch III is on hold until August 11, but a series of public resignations and allegations of procedural misconduct have demanded the attention of its members and governing bodies alike in the interim.

On August 1, the denomination announced the appointment of its newest provincial prosecutor to pursue the case against Bishop Ruch, who is accused of mishandling reports of abusive ministers in his Diocese of the Upper Midwest. Thomas Crapps, of the ACNA’s Gulf Atlantic Diocese, will step into the role—the third to fill it in as many weeks.

His immediate predecessor, the Ven. Job Serebrov, was appointed as prosecutor by Archbishop Steve Wood on July 22. Serebrov resigned nine days later, citing a desire to avoid the appearance of impropriety after anti-abuse advocates in the denomination raised concerns about his connection to an educational institution closely linked with Bishop Ruch’s diocese.

C. Alan Runyan preceded Serebrov as prosecutor, serving through the pretrial and five days of trial proceedings until his surprise resignation on July 19. Runyan alleged that on the final day of the prosecution’s argument, a member of the Court for the Trial of a Bishop questioned one of his witnesses for over an hour using information the court had previously ruled inadmissible, leaving the trial “irreparably tainted.”

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The Ven. Job Serebrov, the replacement prosecutor in the trial of ACNA Bp. Stewart Ruch, has resigned. Taking his place will be Mr. Thomas Crapps of Tallahassee, Florida, says the Province. He will be the third person in the role since the trial began. pic.twitter.com/yunbIMtUG1

— Arlie Coles (@ArlieColes) August 1, 2025

President Donald Trump wants lower interest rates. Achieving that objective will require overcoming bigger obstacles than Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

There are structural forces that drive the cost of borrowing, and right now they’re pointing up. Governments and businesses are piling on debt to pay for tax cuts, military spending, and AI investments — which means more demand for credit. As the Baby Boomers retire and China decouples from the US, the pool of saving to finance those loans is drying up.

Attacks on Fed independence risk shrinking the pool further. Investors don’t want to see the value of their hard-earned cash inflated away by a central bank under political control.

Add all of this together and it points to a world where 4.5% may be the new normal for ten-year Treasuries — the crucial rate for mortgages and corporate bonds, and the one Trump’s team says it wants to bring down. In fact, Bloomberg Economics analysis shows it’s more likely to trend above that figure than below it. For the world’s biggest economy, that means a wrenching transition.

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"Trump’s Interest Rate Obstacle Is Bigger Than Powell" https://t.co/CcNXpiVOuR pic.twitter.com/MLa29IeB2h

— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) August 4, 2025

President Trump’s extensive tariffs have already started to generate a significant amount of money for the federal government, a new source of revenue for a heavily indebted nation that American policymakers may start to rely on.

As part of his quest to reorder the global trading system, Mr. Trump has imposed steep tariffs on America’s trading partners, with the bulk of those set to go into effect on Aug. 7. Even before the latest tariffs kick in, revenue from taxes collected on imported goods has grown dramatically so far this year. Customs duties, along with some excise taxes, generated $152 billion through July, roughly double the $78 billion netted over the same time period last fiscal year, according to Treasury data.

Indeed, Mr. Trump has routinely cited the tariff revenue as evidence that his trade approach, which has sowed uncertainty and begun to increase prices for consumers, is a win for the United States. Members of his administration have argued that the money from the tariffs would help plug the hole created by the broad tax cuts Congress passed last month, which are expected to cost the government at least $3.4 trillion.

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Trump’s Tariffs Are Making Money. That May Make Them Hard to Quit. https://t.co/0IaBKVoYff

— tony romm (@TonyRomm) August 3, 2025

Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your grace that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Morning everyone I hope you are well. As usual a bit of brightness to start the week with a recent revisit to Derwentwater to catch the early morning light. Have a great day.#lakedistrict pic.twitter.com/QaRygUTnpo

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) August 4, 2025

After this he left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aq′uila, a native of Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them; and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked, for by trade they were tentmakers. And he argued in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedo′nia, Paul was occupied with preaching, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man shall attack you to harm you; for I have many people in this city.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

–Acts 18:1-11

The sunrise in Bushy Park this morning was really rather lovely. 4.08.25 @theroyalparks @TLTeddington @TeddingtonNub @Teddington_Town @TWmagazines @Visit_Richmond1 @SallyWeather @itvweather #MondayMotivation @StormHour pic.twitter.com/VLOYotNw6F

— Sue Lindenberg (@patlinberg) August 4, 2025

Generous God,
through your Spirit you give us gifts and make them grow:
though our faith is small as mustard seed,
make it grow to your glory
and the flourishing of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen (slightly edited-KSH).

Sunday dawned with a beautiful predawn glow in the sky. #BushyPark 3.08.25 @theroyalparks @TLTeddington @Teddington_Town @TeddingtonNub @TWmagazines @Visit_Richmond1 @fbhp @ChrisPage90 @itvweather pic.twitter.com/5ncM0w2qQc

— Sue Lindenberg (@patlinberg) August 3, 2025

None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

So each of us shall give account of himself to God.

–Romans 14:7-12

Afternoon Sunshine. 22°C and a Westerly breeze. Phacelia. pic.twitter.com/F5WcZqkBnb

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) August 3, 2025

Almighty God, who didst raise up thy servant Samuel Ferguson and inspire in him a missionary vision of thy Church in education and ministry: Stir up in us through his example a zeal for a Church, alive with thy Holy Word, reaching forth in love and service to all; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Samuel David Ferguson (1842-1916), Missionary Bishop for West Africa (Liberia) and the first African-American member of the Episcopal House of Bishops pic.twitter.com/pF8qSCQkfF

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) August 2, 2024

Stir us up to offer to you, O Lord, our bodies, our souls, our spirits, in all we love, and all we learn, in all we plan, and all we do, to offer our labours, our pleasures, our sorrows to you; to work through them for your Kingdom, to live as those who are not their own, but bought with your blood.

—Give us Grace: An Anthology of Anglican Prayers, ed. Christopher L. Webber (Harrisburg: Morehouse, 2004), p. 282

Cloudy Saturday mornings beach walk 😎 pic.twitter.com/IpnlswbETt

— graham ross (@grahamr27165817) August 2, 2025

So Paul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, for

‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your poets have said,

‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from among them. But some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

–Acts 17:16-34

Before the world awakens!🌅 Good morning lovelies!😎#Cornwall #StormHour #ThePhotoHour #saturdaymorning pic.twitter.com/L7RVG5Snyl

— Kate 🏄‍♀️🌊🤙〓〓 (@CornwallK8) August 2, 2025

Amid debate among bishops about the pros and cons of the “strings” attached to financial grants from the Archbishops’ Council, national funding of £6.2 million has been awarded to Liverpool diocese, the poorest in the Church of England.

The award is part of a larger sum agreed in principle — about £30 million over the next seven years — with a goal of ensuring that every parish is “missionally and financially sustainable”, the diocese says.

The grant will enable it to maintain a reduced level of parish share, avoid a reduction in clergy numbers for financial reasons, and invest in a youth and children’s hub in most deaneries. Other aims include the creation of deanery resource hubs, with employed administrative posts, “lightening the load for parish offices and volunteers”.

Last year’s national Diocesan Finances Review warned of dioceses’ “increased dependency on the NCIs”. In the General Synod last month, some bishops criticised this balance of power, referring to the “exhausting” demands of the grant system (News, 18 July). Last year, only Archbishops’ Council fundings prevented the exhaustion of Liverpool’s usable reserves.

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I had a look at the £6.2m granted to Liverpool, the poorest diocese, by Archbishops’ Council (£30m over 7 years in principle). The diocese will now be able to maintain a lower level of parish share & invest in the frontline. https://t.co/jveEjll9DU

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) August 1, 2025

Worldwide, people in more countries are living better lives and expressing more hope for the future than they have in years.

In 2024, a median of 33% of adults across 142 countries rated their lives well enough to be classified as “thriving,” continuing a trend of steady improvements in life evaluation going back more than a decade.

Gallup’s Life Evaluation Index, based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale, asks people to rate their current and future lives on a ladder from 0 (worst) to 10 (best). Those scoring 7+ for the present and 8+ for five years ahead are “thriving,” while those rating both 4 or below are “suffering.” Everyone else is “struggling.”

Understanding how people evaluate their own lives is an important measure of human progress, unlike traditional economic metrics like GDP, which, while related to living standards, fail to capture whether people are living well.

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The world is becoming happier. More people across more countries say they are living better lives today and are hopeful for tomorrow, and fewer are suffering. 33% of adults across 142 countries rate their lives as "thriving", and the trend suggests even better times to come 🌍😊 pic.twitter.com/hqUk9N3nLu

— Mark Henry (@Mark_J_Henry) July 30, 2025

The U.S. economy is growing again, helped by trade swings and American consumers who keep spending. There are also signs of caution.

The Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product—the value of all goods and services produced across the economy—rose at a seasonally and inflation adjusted 3% annual rate in the second quarter. That is up from a 0.5% contraction in the first quarter.

Taken together, the two quarters show an economy that is growing, but more slowly. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 1.2% in the first six months this year, a step down from the 2.5% average pace in 2024.

Both quarters this year were heavily influenced by swings in trade as businesses tried to navigate tariff threats and trade deals from the White House.

“Businesses are very cautious—they don’t know the road map and so they’re driving in the right lane very slowly,” said U.S. Bank chief economist Beth Ann Bovino.

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US economy rebounds a surprisingly strong 3% in the second quarter https://t.co/vJqYzkFiUY

— O.C. Register (@ocregister) July 30, 2025

Some obese Americans on Medicare and Medicaid could get access to expensive weight loss drugs under a five-year experiment being planned by the Trump administration.

Under the proposed plan, state Medicaid programs and Medicare Part D insurance plans will be able to voluntarily choose to cover Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound for patients for “weight management” purposes, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services documents obtained by The Washington Post.

It’s a strong signal that the administration is open to more broadly covering GLP-1 drugs — lauded by many as a miracle solution to Americans’ long-standing struggle with weight — through government insurance programs. Medicare covers the drugs mainly for patients with Type 2 diabetes, even as some private insurance plans cover them for patients with obesity.

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Medicare, Medicaid Plans To Experiment With Covering Weight Loss Drugs – @washingtonpost https://t.co/ctAu2B9pX5

— LiveSquawk (@LiveSquawk) August 1, 2025

Merciful God, whose servant Joseph of Arimathaea with reverence and godly fear did prepare the body of our Lord and Savior for burial, and did lay it in his own tomb: Grant, we beseech thee, to us thy faithful people grace and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days of our life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

A deeply moving Deposition from the Cross – Joseph of Arimathea lifts the lifeless body of Jesus down.

Made c. 1200 in England from walrus ivory.

(V&A, London) pic.twitter.com/h03NyHu44E

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) April 1, 2025

Help us this day, O God, to serve thee devoutly, and the world busily.  May we do our work wisely, give succour secretly, go to our meat appetitely, sit thereat discreetly, arise temperately, please our friend duly, go to our bed merrily, and sleep surely; for the joy of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

–Robert W. Rodenmayer, ed., The Pastor’s Prayerbook: Selected and arranged for various occasions (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960)

King Edward’s Bay. pic.twitter.com/oEnqzTYMX3

— Jim Scott (@jimscottphoto) August 1, 2025

Now when they had passed through Amphip’olis and Apollo’nia, they came to Thessaloni’ca, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and for three weeks he argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded, and joined Paul and Silas; as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

–Acts 17:1-4

God's own county 💙

Happy Yorkshire Day! pic.twitter.com/jBoiXOukyN

— York Minster (@York_Minster) August 1, 2025

The next Bishop of Worcester is to be the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, Downing Street announced on Tuesday. He succeeds Dr John Inge, who retired last year (News, 3 May 2024).

Bishop Nelson has been Bishop of St Germans, in Truro diocese, since 2020 and was Acting Bishop of Truro during the vacancy-in-see after the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen’s translation to Winchester (News, 6 July 2023). Bishop Nelson also serves as Diocesan Warden of Reader. He will remain Bishop to the Armed Forces when he is translated to Worcester.

Speaking to the Church Times on Tuesday, Bishop Nelson described the calling as “an enormous privilege”. He said that he was most looking forward to “getting to know the people and places of Worcestershire and Dudley” and “finding out what God is up to amongst them and calling them on to next”.

He continued: “My priority will be getting out and about, getting to as many churches, as many of the local communities as I can, and hearing what’s going on. I hope, in doing that, to communicate to people as I listen, that the Church is called to be communities of hope. I’m sure I’m going to find lots of places that are already serving their neighbours practically, and pointing people towards God and changing lives in big and small ways.”

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The new Bishop of Worcester: the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson. He served his curacy in 6 rural parishes before serving for 8 as parish priest for two village churches. Before ordination, he spent 13 years living and leading the community of L’Arche London.https://t.co/lK1K9mxVuG

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) July 29, 2025

A Nobel Prize-winning Scottish chemist has told the BBC he thinks drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease will be available within five years.

Princeton University’s Prof David MacMillan, who is originally from North Lanarkshire, said “phenomenal things” are happening within medical research into neurological diseases.

“I would bet my house that within five years that we have marketed drugs for Alzheimer’s,” Prof MacMillan told the BBC’s Scotcast podcast.

“My father died of vascular dementia and my aunt had dementia. I think that’s such a horrible way to go.”

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'I'd bet my house' on treatment for Alzheimer's, says Nobel prize winner https://t.co/jS2dZGZKr0

— BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) July 31, 2025

Thousands of feet above the Great Rift Valley that runs through East Africa, the small city of Iten, Kenya, calls itself the Home of Champions. It has long produced and attracted world-class running talent, its high altitude and red dirt roads a training ground for thousands.

The town also has a far less laudatory reputation. It is a well-documented center of a doping crisis that shows little sign of being tamed.

Runners come here for access to competition, coaching talent and the benefit of training in thin air, all to try to earn riches from running. Many Kenyans who try to join the elite endure cramped and dirty living conditions, little food and separation from their families in service of their ambitions.

In a region where the average annual income is the equivalent of little more than $2,000 and the competition so intense, the potentially life-changing lure of banned substances, referred to locally as “the medicine,” is obvious. A few thousand dollars in prize money or participation in a single overseas race can be the difference between runners and their families eating three meals a day and scratching around for the next bite.

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Officials acknowledge that Kenya has a doping problem, but many athletes who are seeking an edge also want a way out of poverty. https://t.co/oOC3T6Ir7y

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) July 29, 2025

The first point is to call to mind the benefits that I have received from creation, redemption, and the particular gifts I have received. I will ponder with great affection how much God our Lord has done for me, and how many of His graces He has given me. I will likewise consider how much the same Lord wishes to give Himself to me in so far as He can, according to His divine decrees. 

I will then reflect within myself, and consider that I, for my part, with great reason and justice, should offer and give to His Divine Majesty, all that I possess and myself with it, as one who makes an offering with deep affection, saying: 

Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me, to Thee O Lord, I return it. All is Thine; dispose of it according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and Thy grace, for this is enough for me.

The second point is to consider how God dwells in His creatures: in the elements, giving them being; in the plants, giving them life; in the animals, giving them sensation; in men, giving them understanding. So He dwells in me, giving me being, life, sensation, and intelligence, and making a temple of me, since He created me to the likeness and image of His Divine Majesty.

—Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius (1541), trans. Anthony Mottola, as cited there.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. Happy Ignatius Day to all #Jesuits, colleagues and friends!

We invite you to take our Feast Day Quiz and see how well you know our founder.

➡️ https://t.co/KfTK1JRRdn pic.twitter.com/RBTwV2KiNC

— Jesuit News (@jesuitnews) July 31, 2025

O God, by whose grace thy servant Ignatius, enkindled with the fire of thy love, became a burning and a shining light in thy Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and may ever walk before thee as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever.

Today we honor St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, AKA the Jesuits. He is known for creating the “Spiritual Exercises” used today for retreats and individual discernment.

Read more: https://t.co/Lg9VCT2Z0k pic.twitter.com/Le2HuQB5ih

— EWTN Global Catholic Network (@EWTN) July 31, 2025

O Lord Jesus Christ, into whose death we have been baptized: Grant, we beseech thee, that like as thou wast raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we may walk in newness of life; that having been planted in the likeness of thy death, we may be also in the likeness of thy resurrection; for the glory of thy holy name.

#Butterflies are like angels kisses
sent from heaven.

~ Malia Kirk #InsectThursday 🌸🦋🌸 pic.twitter.com/mIsOAXH4LA

— Margaret O'Connell🌻 (@MargaretOC6) July 31, 2025

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and every one’s fetters were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out and said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, with all his family. Then he brought them up into his house, and set food before them; and he rejoiced with all his household that he had believed in God.

But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported the words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now cast us out secretly? No! let them come themselves and take us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison, and visited Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they exhorted them and departed.

–Acts 16:25-40

Guten Morgen. Kommt gut durch den Tag 🍀 pic.twitter.com/qEZyJB6ouW

— Renate Umundum (@RUmundum) July 31, 2025

The

Sunday before last, church felt pointless. I woke up and checked for news from the Synod: first, a motion concerning justice for Palestinians wasn’t even selected for debate. Then the General Synod voted against redistributing one per cent of the Church Commissioners’ wealth to diocesan stipend funds, instead amending the motion to debate funding later (News, 18 July).

It is hard not to see this as the sensible adults, who also happen to control all the money, telling poorer churches to die quietly. Justice delayed is justice denied, and poorer parishes have long worked miracles with just a few loaves and fishes. Yet, denial of justice did seem to be a theme. The Revd Dr Ian Paul, of the Archbishops’ Council, insisted that “finance reflects spiritual reality” — a plainly offensive echo of the so-called “indolent poor”. But it was another who really took the biscuit.

The Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North, is known for his resolute defence of the working class (News, 27 February 2024). Yet, if he and I ever discussed such matters, we might initially talk at cross-purposes, until realising that we needed to define our terms.

Read it all.

"The disparity between richer and poorer churches is stark," writes Adam Spiershttps://t.co/F0xGJam9wp

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 25, 2025

Fentanyl fueled the worst drug crisis the West has ever seen. Now, an even more dangerous drug is wreaking havoc faster than authorities can keep up.

The looming danger is an emerging wave of highly potent synthetic opioids called nitazenes, which often pack a far stronger punch than fentanyl. Nitazenes have already killed hundreds of people in Europe and left law enforcement and scientists scrambling to detect them in the drug supply and curb their spread.

The opioids, most of which originate in China, are so strong that even trace amounts can trigger a fatal overdose. They have been found mixed into heroin and recreational drugs, counterfeit painkillers and antianxiety medication. Their enormous risk is only dawning on authorities.

Read it all.

"Stronger Than Fentanyl: A Drug You’ve Never Heard of Is Killing Hundreds Every Year: Ultrapotent nitazenes." @WSJ

"The opioids, most of which originate in #China, are so strong that even trace amounts can trigger a fatal overdose." https://t.co/Kfqkr8ohwq pic.twitter.com/SoEsoQZc4E

— Ryan Berg, PhD (@RyanBergPhD) July 30, 2025

Initially, the war appeared to stabilise Iran’s politics. A wave of patriotism pulled rulers and ruled together after years of polarisation. Calls by Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, for Iranians to rise up fell on deaf ears. But since the ceasefire on June 24th the multiplicity of opinions on how to preserve unity has made the country look more fragmented.

Mr Khamenei’s preferred option is cosmetic. To appeal to a population disenchanted with clerical rule, he is dressing his theocracy in nationalist clothes. During celebrations on July 5th for Ashura, the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, and the republic’s holiest day, Mr Khamenei ordered a muezzin to drop his incantations and instead sing Ey Iran Iran, a rendition of a patriotic anthem that was popular before the Islamic revolution in 1979 and had since been suppressed. He has played Shia saints down and puffed up Iran’s pre-Islamic past. New billboards in city squares give ancient Persian myths modern themes. Mr Khamenei has also turned a blind eye to a new crop of television shows, including a wildly popular Persian version of “Love Island”, where unmarried couples flirt and make out. In parts of Tehran, the capital, headscarves and long coats for women feel like a relic of the past.

But such concessions are designed to reduce the demand for political change, not herald its coming. Earlier this month Mr Khamenei reappointed his crusty Friday-prayer preacher and his 99-year-old head of the Guardian Council, the latter for the 33rd time. After a few brief post-war appearances, the state broadcaster has removed reformists from its airwaves. Executions are up; a widely expected amnesty for political prisoners looks far off.

Read it all.

His diminishing power makes the country’s future increasingly uncertain https://t.co/E1nUPGW6G5

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) July 30, 2025

It was in 1787 that he first decided to put down a motion in the House of Commons about the slave trade. This nefarious traffic had been going on for three centuries, and the West Indian slave-owners were determined to oppose abolition to the end. Besides, Wilberforce was not a very prepossessing man. He was little and somewhat ugly, with poor eyesight and an upturned nose. When Boswell heard him speak, he pronounced him ‘a perfect shrimp’, but then had to concede that ‘presently the shrimp swelled into a whale.’ In 1789 Wilberforce said of the slave trade: “So enormous so dreadful, so irremediable did its wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for the abolition…. let the consequences be what they would, I from this time determined that I would never rest till I had effected its abolition.

So abolition bills (which related to the trade) and Foreign Trade Bills (which would prohibit the involvement of British ships in it) were debated in the commons in 1789, 1791, 1792,194, 1796 (by which time Abolition had become ‘the grand object of my parliamentary existence’), 1798 and 1799. Yet they all failed. The Foreign Slave Bill was not passed until 1806 and the Abolition of the Slave Trade Bill until 1807. This part of the campaign had taken eighteen years.

Next, soon after the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars, Wilberforce began to direct his energies to the abolition of slavery itself and the emancipation of the slaves. In 1823 the Anti-Slavery Society was formed. Twice that year and twice the following year, Wilberforce pleaded the slaves’ cause in the House of Commons. But in 1825 ill-health compelled him to resign as a member of parliament and to continue his campaign from outside. In 1831 he sent a message to the Anti-Slavery Society, in which he said, “Our motto must continue to be PERSEVERANCE. And ultimately I trust the Almighty will crown our efforts with success.” He did. In July 1833 the Abolition of Slavery Bill was passed in both Houses of Parliament, even though it included the undertaking to pay 20 million pounds in compensation to the slave-owners. ‘Thank God,’ wrote Wilberforce, that I have lived to witness a day in which England is willing to give 20 million pounds for the abolition of slavery.’ Three days later he died. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, in national recognition of his FORTY-FIVE YEARS of persevering struggle on behalf of African slaves.

— John R W Stott, Issues facing Christians Today (Basingstoke: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1984), p. 334

29 July 1833, William Wilberforce, died. Born Hull, evangelical Christian, Clapham Sect member, served as MP for 45 years, a founder of @cmsmission & @biblesociety, leading abolitionist (persuading in 1807 House of Commons to abolish slave trade), moral reformer & philanthropist. pic.twitter.com/DzJchsizTX

— Revd Nicholas Pye (@RevdPye) July 29, 2025