International
JUST IN: Prominent Televangelist and Founder of Christian Broadcasting Network, Pat Robertson is Dead
A prominent televangelist who founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, Pat Robertson, is reportedly dead at the age of 93 made the Christian right a powerful political force and unsuccessfully ran for president in 1988, died on Thursday.
According to a release by the network, “Pat Robertson, longtime TV host, religious broadcaster, educator, humanitarian, and one-time presidential candidate died at his home in Virginia Beach early Thursday morning. He was 93”.
Regent University in Virginia also released a statement saying it was mourning the loss of Robertson.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved founder,” Regent University Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs William L. Hathaway said.
“Dr. Robertson was a globally-renowned leader, broadcaster, philanthropist, educator, author, accomplished businessman, and – most importantly – a faithful servant of God who dedicated his life to glorifying the Lord and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Born in 1930, Robertson founded the Christian Broadcasting Network in 1960 and was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister a year later. He used that TV perch to push his message of conservative Christian values to people at home, taking aim at gay rights, feminism, abortion and other social issues.
Robertson helped transform the conservative evangelical movement into a political force on the American right that helped elect Ronald Reagan. He then ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1988, coming in behind both George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole.
Afterwards, he founded the Christian Coalition of America, which promoted conservative Christian political candidates, and returned to his TV show “The 700 Club.”
Robertson made a series of inflammatory and controversial opinions and repeatedly said that acts of terrorism or weather disasters were a form of divine retribution for perceived immorality.
“We have killed over 40 million unborn babies in America,” Robertson said on his September 12, 2005, broadcast of “700 Club,” about two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.
“I was reading, yesterday, a book that was very interesting about what God has to say in the Old Testament about those who shed innocent blood. And he [the author] used the term that those who do this, ‘the land will vomit you out.’ … But have we found we are unable somehow to defend ourselves against some of the attacks that are coming against us, either by terrorists or now by natural disasters? Could they be connected in some way?”
In more recent years, he became a supporter of former President Donald Trump, and in 2017 he linked the Las Vegas mass shooting to “disrespect” for Trump.
International
FG hails Elias’ election to UN International Law Commission
Elias emerged successful in a competitive election conducted to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Kenya’s representative, Professor Phoebe Okowa. Candidates from Ghana and Botswana also contested the seat.
The Federal Government has hailed the election of Nigerian international legal expert, Taoheed Elias, into the United Nations International Law Commission during the commission’s 77th session held in Geneva.
Elias emerged successful in a competitive election conducted to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Kenya’s representative, Professor Phoebe Okowa. Candidates from Ghana and Botswana also contested the seat.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the government described the election as a recognition of Nigeria’s contributions to the development of international law and multilateral diplomacy.
The government said Elias brings decades of experience in international legal affairs to the commission, having previously served as Registrar of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals with the rank of United Nations Assistant Secretary-General.
CNN’s founder Ted Turner / AFP
Ted Turner, the flamboyant US entrepreneur who transformed television news with the creation of CNN in 1980, has died at the age of 87, the network said Wednesday.
The mustached southerner, yachting enthusiast and philanthropist, whose empire also included sports clubs, had been suffering from the degenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia.
Cable News Network upended established broadcasting with its dedication to around-the-clock breaking news and shot to global recognition with its coverage of the Gulf War in 1990-91.
The 24-hour network was the first in the United States to run non-stop news and quickly built a worldwide footprint.
Correspondents brought live coverage from major events ranging from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the Chinese crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests.
CNN’s decision to keep reporters in Baghdad amid US bombing on the Iraqi capital cemented the network’s reputation as an indispensable source of breaking news.
International
Explosion at China fireworks factory kills 21 people
Authorities deployed nearly 500 personnel to conduct search and rescue operations and treat the injured, while robots were used to help find those trapped within the building.
A blast at a fireworks factory in China’s Hunan province has killed 21 people and left 61 wounded, according to state media.
The explosion at the Huasheng Fireworks plant happened at around 16:40 local time (08:40 GMT) on Monday, in the city of Liuyang, leading rescuers to evacuate everyone within a 3km (1.9mi) radius of the plant.
Authorities deployed nearly 500 personnel to conduct search and rescue operations and treat the injured, while robots were used to help find those trapped within the building.
Police, who are investigating the cause of the blast, have taken “control measures” against the person in charge of the fireworks company, Chinese state media reported.
Authorities said that two gunpowder warehouses within the factory area posed a high risk amid rescue efforts, state media reported.
Rescue teams had to evacuate everyone within a 3km (1.9mi) radius of the fireworks plant.
They also implemented measures like humidifying the area to “prevent secondary accidents during the rescue”.
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