CP World Report: Romney, University of Gaza, Atheists, Kofi Annan

By World Report, The Christian Post in partnership with Crossroads, Friday, July 13, 2012

In reaching out to African-American voters, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney addressed the N-double A, C.P. National convention in Houston. During his speech, he mentioned eliminating Obamacare and got booed. Polls show African-Americans overwhelmingly prefer President Obama, but Romney's campaign says he's committed to competing in the African-American community, despite the odds.

Meanwhile, a group of leading black clergy, " The Coalition of African-American Pastors", says…members will continue to apply pressure on President Obama, by protesting the N-double A, C.P.'S recent support for same-sex marriage at its national convention yesterday. Coalition's relationship with the N-double A C.P. is tenuous, and it has posted a petition on its website.

An internal probe into the Penn State child sex abuse scandal has found that top university officials concealed allegations of abuse by ex-assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky to avoid bad publicity; and therefore failed to protect the victims. The independent investigation is up to 200 pages long and focuses on school officials and the role the school culture may have played in allowing the abuse to go on for so long. The probe was led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh who had this to say….

Israel has accused UNESCO of endorsing the Islamic University of Gaza that Israel calls a breeding ground for Hamas terrorists. The decision for UNESCO to establish a Chair there….shocked Israel, which bombed a wing of the university during "Operation Cast Lead" in 2008-09 because it said laboratories were being used to build bombs. And in 2007, a special Fatah force raided that same university and confiscated about 2,000 AK-47 assault rifles, hundreds of RPG launchers and other ammunition. The Palestinian Fatah movement is a rival of Hamas; while Hamas is a close ally to Iran.

Meanwhile….. Iran's top leader claims the country is immune to Western sanctions over its controversial nuclear program. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Iran has been able to make technological advancements despite the punitive measures.

UN special peace envoy Kofi Annan has been working—seemingly against hope—to revive his peace plan. He briefed the U.N. Security Council from Switzerland about where Iran and Iraq stood on the situation in Syria….

Do you wonder about what religion is least likely to keep its child-following after he or she grow up. According to a study by Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults. So where did the rest go? Of the 1,387 atheists studied, 30 percent are now with a Protestant denomination, 10 percent are Catholic, the rest dispersed to other faiths. The highest retention rate was by Hindus at 84 percent, followed by Jews and Muslims—both at 76%. Catholics were 68 percent, then Baptists at 60; Pentecostals were 50 Percent.

London is hosting a major summit on family planning, keyed to its significance as a global health issue. Roughly every two minutes, somewhere in the world, a woman dies of pregnancy-related complications. That's almost 800 women a day. 99-percent of them are in developing countries.
Although Contraception could save thousands of lives, cultural and religious traditions are obstacles….

While the debate on same-sex marriage in England continues, the United Reformed Church has taken a historic step to allow same-sex civil partnerships on its premises. The resolution was reached at the General Assembly and will affect all United Reform churches across England and Wales.