Boko Haram Pledges Allegiance to ISIS, Putin Gone Missing, and More…

Asquith's News Tips: A weekly roundup of news stories you don't want to miss

VATICAN CITY

“There is no middle way: Either we love or we are hypocrites and corrupt”
— Pope Francis
VATICAN INSIDER

"I have said to the Lord: take care of me. But if your will is that I should die or that they do something to me, I ask you one favor: that they don’t hurt me" — Pope Francis
INDEPENDENT

Francis says he believes he will only remain as Pontiff for another "two or three years" saying he misses being able to pop out for pizza!
DAILY MAIL

Vatican receives ransom demand for two letters by Michelangelo that were stolen from its archives nearly 20 years ago
DAILY MAIL

Cardinal Pietro Parolin has announced that the Vatican Secretariat of State may create office for resolving international disputes
CNA

Cardinal Zen: Vatican officials are naïve about China, but Pope Francis is not
CATHOLIC CULTURE

Pope Francis appoints Thomas Daly as new Catholic Bishop of Spokane
SPOKESMAN

Pope Francis tells Korean Bishops that ministry is a "life of service"
RADIO VATICANA

Beatification of Oscar Romero to take place on May 23rd
CATHOLIC HERALD

Pope will visit Central African Republic in November, with a view of bringing hope to war-torn nation
CATHOLIC CULTURE

NORTH AMERICA

Firestorm erupts over Republican challenge to Obama’s authority to approve Iran nuclear deal

FXN

Top Clinton aide has strong ties to Muslim Brotherhood
WND

The New America: Teenage girls attack 15 year old at Brooklyn McDonald’s while bystanders watch — After the beating ended, one member of the crowd says
“Yo, she’s dead. It’s a murder!”
BREITBART

Senator Ted Cruz calls for IRS investigation of anti-Netanyahu group
ONE NEWS

Brave New America (not): The 379 companies urging the Supreme Court to support same-sex marriage
HUFFPO

Dollar surge poses policy dilemma for Fed — The euro fell closer to parity with the dollar on Wednesday, as the US currency’s strength heightened the policy conundrum facing the US Federal Reserve as it prepares for its first interest-rate increase in nearly a decade. (Sadly, this is all a sham, leading up to what many analysts believe will be a crash of the dollar within the next 18 months. Indeed, some speculate that we could witness as much as an 80% drop in the value of the dollar against today’s levels)
FT

Predicted persecution against the American church begins: "Florida city wages soviet-style crackdown on churches"
FXN

Obama’s shocking comparison has black pastors calling him a "disgrace" — (Some of the comments on this article are worth reading)
WESTERN JOURNALISM

Obama operative demands that US Air Force ceases using phrase "have a blessed day"
BCN

Many black pastors are "extensions of Democratic Party" — A conservative black pastor and former Texas NAACP official says many church-going African Americans have been co-opted by the Democratic Party
ONE NEWS

Ferguson supporters celebrate shooting of police officers
IWC

The New America: US Navy Chaplain could be dismissed for holding Christian beliefs — Attack against chaplain came from gay office worker
CHL FXN

Celebs slam Catholic school teacher’s anti-gay post — (Freedom of speech in America seems okay, just as long as it’s pro-gay)
USA TODAY

Abu Hamza encourages Muslims to pray for war against America
ARUTZ SHEVA

Muslim threatens to behead Jews at Miami synagogue
JW

American Atheists fail in bid to remove Ten Commandments from Oklahoma State Capitol grounds
CHARISMA

Catholicism and secular media: Ten questions for Bill Donohue
CWR

Diocese of Grand Rapids announces new Catholic school scholarship to help grow enrollment
MLIVE

Catholic bishops of Virginia issue a statement of support for pastor who cut off ties with a local council of Knights of Columbus, after group chose politician who repeatedly opposed Church’s moral teachings
CATHOLIC CULTURE

LATIN AMERICA

The Pope’s decision to appoint a bishop with ties to a notorious abuser has caused uproar in a Chilean diocese, reports Inés San Martín

CRUX

Nuns attacked in Haiti
CATHOLIC CULTURE

Mexican woman tied to bed, doused in gasoline, then set on fire and burned to death
BREITBART

"The blood pumped from a still-beating heart is the purest form of energy" — Inside the horrific Mexican satanist ‘Black Mass’ with live sacrifices that shocked disgusted tourists
DAILY MAIL

ISRAEL

Hamas rejects proposal for five-year truce with Israel

BIN

Australian Jew-haters disrupt university class to show support for Hamas
JPC

Israel’s cave of wonders: Silver coins and treasures dating back 2,300 years to Alexander the Great discovered

DAILY MAIL

RUSSIA

Putin reveals secret meeting where he gave order to annex Crimea four days before entering region

DAILY MAIL

Russian President Vladimir Putin to be "ousted in coup" as rumours swirl over ill-health
EXPRESS

Has Putin disappeared because he is fending off political coup? — Former aide claims another KGB spy is being lined up
DAILY MAIL

RECOMMENDED ON ALETEIA

Ending India’s Culture of Rape
— From sex-selective abortion to rape, women are victims of violence

How Should I Deal With A Forbidden Passion? — The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak —
"
What’s the solution? There is only one: to mercilessly uproot the evil desire, without mercy for the cries of the heart. If a passion is forbidden, it must be torn up by the roots, as much as it may hurt us."

How a "Little Course" from Spain Strengthened Christianity in America — The Cursillo Movement’s history and importance today

BRITAIN & IRELAND

Britain’s Wayward Church: Liberal Anglican clergyman defends right to offer services of thanksgiving after gay weddings and to hold Muslim prayer services in "church"
— (Let us not beat about the bush with regard to such matters. They are not of God, they are not sanctioned by Scripture, and they will attract our Lord’s hot displeasure. It’s as simple as that!)
CHRISTIAN TODAY

Un-Christian Britain:
Growing number of Christians being mocked
—
Religion losing its place in society — Equality and Human Rights Commission
BBC

How the government plans to steal your savings
DAILY MAIL

More victories for Islam in Britain as Oxford University Press is banned from writing about bacon
AP [American Prosperity]

Muslim teacher screens film depicting ISIS brutality showing heads on spikes to 14 year olds
DAILY MAIL

"Islam can be a violent faith" says Queen’s Chaplain
DAILY MAIL

British Christians must keep faith hidden
CHRISTIAN TODAY

Mass goers walk out after priest promotes Biblical views on homosexuality — (As we can see, standing up for Christ is becoming increasingly challenging)
IRISH INDEPENDENT

New Catholic Chaplaincy planned for University of West Scotland
SCO

EUROPE

Now the EU wants its own ARMY
— (This was alway part of their agenda)
DAILY MAIL

Denmark: Only 1 in 4 "refugees" in work after a decade
TUNDRA

Abortion support blights European Parliament — says Federation of Catholic Family Associations
CNA

Turkish teacher tells girls they deserve to be raped for not wearing hijab
ZAMAN

AFRICA

Female teenage suicide bomber kills 34 in Nigeria

SEATTLE PI

Christian girl in Uganda who fled beating by Muslim uncle mysteriously dies
MSN

Soldiers kill Catholics in Nigeria — Nigerian soldiers have killed a number of Catholics as a result of a church in Kaduna state which apparently set up a road-block as a security measure, eyewitnesses say
MSN

Boko Haram pledges allegiance to ISIS
CBC

Muslims rape woman seven months pregnant
INDEPENDENT

Children rescued from Boko Haram are so traumatized they can’t remember their names — (Anyone with even a basic understanding of psychology or professional pastoral care, will be able to understand what horrific abuses these children must have suffered in order to cause such reactions. We must pray, and pray, and pray, for our persecuted brothers and sisters, even as we would wish for prayer if the tables were turned)
CHL

Sudan Air Force kills pregnant Christian mother
MSN

Wife of former Ivory Coast president is jailed for 20 years for organizing armed gangs following his 2010 election defeat which prompted rioting that left 3,000 dead
DAILY MAIL

How Egyptian teachers address the "problem" of young school children who fail to finish their homework
DAILY MAIL

The awe-inspiring cave churches of Ethiopia
DAILY MAIL

MIDDLE EAST

Iran’s contribution to International Women’s Day

NCR

THE ISIS FILES

ISIS attacks Christian villages in northeastern Syria
CHRISTIAN TODAY

Blindfolded and forced to their knees, three men are beheaded with blood-covered sword by ISIS executioner for homosexuality and blasphemy as crowd cheers on each blow — (Take note: There is a growing acceptance towards the atrocities of ISIS, both in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as among sections of Western society)
DAILY MAIL

The ISIS apprentice
DAILY MAIL

ISIS damages ancient monastery in Iraq
ALETEIA

Isis executes 11 guards and takes nine foreigners hostage in attack on Libyan oil field
INDEPENDENT

China’s Muslim Uighurs join ISIS
PHILLY

ISIS accepts loyalty pledge from Boko Haram
IRISH TIMES

ISIS fighter converts to Christianity — An ISIS fighter, who sustained multiple injuries in a battle and was then abandoned by his compatriots and left for dead by the Syrian Army, was rescued by members of the Saint Dominic Catholic Presbytery of Ayyash who wanted to give the man a proper burial. However, after he was carried 26 kilometers by his rescuers, the man regained consciousness and immediately told a priest of his visions during his near-death experience
CHRISTIAN TODAY

Interview: ISIS Will Be Defeated, But Will Its Ideology? — Assyrian priest says international pressure crucial for survival of Christianity in the Middle East
ALETEIA

ISIS spokesperson: We want Paris and Jerusalem — (Dream on. Well, not so sure about Paris, but Jerusalem .. it will never happen)
YNET

ASIA & AUSTRALIA

Delhi Police launch Facebook page in effort to address Christian persecution

ICH

Pakistani police beat 20 year old Christian to death while in custody
ASIA NEWS

Bangladeshi police lobby for torture rights
ASIA NEWS

Persecution watchdog predicts "Great Holocaust of Christians" in Pakistan following reversal of ban on death penalty
GOSPEL HERALD

Malay Muslims want to punish girl for carrying dog
MALAYSIA TODAY

Survey exposes Australian sympathies for ISIS
COURIER MAIL

FAMILY MATTERS

Vatican use of population control word “sustainable” at UN worrisome

LIFE SITE

Polyamory: The next "great sexual freedom" to be won by our debauched Western culture
DAILY MAIL

Contraception increases abortions —
and here’s the proof
LIFE SITE

Bible-believing Christian company refuses to print civil partnership invitations
CHRISTIAN TODAY

Why does the world say that an unchosen sexual disposition isn’t changeable, but an unchosen gender is?
CHRISTIAN POST

The true face of the "Sexual Revolution"
LIFE SITE

Three-parent embryos: gearing up for the US debate
CWR

Catholic Relief Services promoted MTV show glorifying promiscuous sex — (Shameful!)
LIFE SITE

ADDITIONAL REPORTS

Juliet Stevenson treated like a saint while filming Mother Teresa movie as Indians thought the Nobel Peace Prize winner had come back to life
DAILY MAIL

Rare solar eclipse will precede "blood moon" on Friday March 20th 2015
BIN

The antibiotics apocalypse: New mutant breeds spreading that NOTHING can treat
DAILY MAIL

"Apple Pay" prequel to "mark of the Beast?"
CBN

How God answered atheist’s prayer, then called him into the ministry
CHRISTIAN TODAY

Vatican hosted feminist conference featuring prof who compares Mass to gay sex — (Really??)
LIFE SITE

Book Review: The Future of the Catholic Church With Pope Francis by Garry Wills
GUARDIAN

Shame on us: Christian chatter in the Twittersphere
CHRISTIANITY TODAY

Persecution of Christians at all time high
CHRISTIAN DAILY