They died because they lied to God. Things we can learn from the death of Ananias and Sapphira

 

We can learn important lessons from the Bible. The book of Acts records a very serious lesson that the earliest Christians learned about telling lies.

The happenings in the early church teach very important lessons for us today. Whether these events are good and pleasing, or tragic and depressing, all of it brings to us insight and learning that will refine us and make us ready for the return of the Lord Jesus.

Story Overview:

Because so many Jewish Christians stayed in Jerusalem after Pentecost, some Christians sold property and gave the money to the church so those in need could have enough. Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, sold some of their property and then decided to give part of the money to the church. They proceeded to lie and say that they had given it all. Peter confronted Ananias in front of the church and told him that by doing this he had lied to God. Ananias fell down dead. Unaware of what had happened to her husband, Sapphira came before the church and lied again about the money. She too fell down dead. The whole church was afraid.

One such event that teaches us very important lessons is the tragic death of a couple, Ananias and Sapphira. Their deaths, recorded in Acts 5: 1-11, did not come as a result of persecution or trouble. They died because of something else: they lied to God.

The event of Ananias and Sapphira is set against the backdrop of life in the early church. The church was on fire and growing rapidly every day. Passages such as Acts 2: 44-47 and Acts 4: 32-37 describe the unity of the early church and of selling their possessions and sharing with those in need.

We understand that Ananias and Sapphira also sold something that they possessed so that they could give. The problem here is not that they didn't give; the problem is they decided to lie.

During His ministry Jesus had encouraged his followers to not hold to any material attachments in this world, knowing that they would one day have to literally leave everything behind, whether due to persecution or the pending destruction of Jerusalem, or to the call of God. Jesus also taught the importance of caring for those in need through His words and example. With these teachings in mind it is not surprising that the early church radically embraced these ideals in selling their property and sharing their profits.

Ananias and Sapphira agreed to sell their property, but they lied about the current selling price. In their greed, and apparent stinginess, they gave a false amount so they could keep some money.

Of course, they owned the possession they sold; it was theirs. When they sold it, they still had control over what to do with the proceeds. They didn't have to lie - they could've just said they will give "a part of the proceeds," and it would be OK. But no, they lied.

They lied to God, and they died. And their deaths caused people to fear the LORD even more (see Acts 5:11).

So what can we learn from them? Here are a few things:

1) God sees everything, even what we keep in secret

Ananias and Sapphira tried to lie to Peter and the apostles, but they could not lie to God. He knows what we hide in our secret places.

We can never hide from God; why hide anyway?

2) Greed will always cause us to commit sin

The Bible did say that the love of money is the root of all evil (see 1 Timothy 6:10). Greed will always cause man to commit all sorts of sin.

In this couple's case, it was lying to the Holy Spirit and faking an image of generosity. In other cases, it could be anything from stealing, manipulation, lying, coercion, robbery, and the like.

3) When we lie, we lie to God and not to men

We must realize that when we Christians lie, we don't just lie to man; we lie to God.

We have to realize that everything we do, we do unto the Lord. If we lie to man, we lie as His ambassadors. If we steal from man, we steal as His children. Everything we do affects our relationship with Him.

4. Fear is a part of worship.

Unsurprisingly, these dramatic deaths caused a great deal of fear (Acts 5: 5, 11). But we may be shocked to see that even in light of this, “more and more people believed in the Lord” (Acts 5:14). Fear is an integral part of worship.

For those of us familiar with the idea of an infinitely loving God, this is a jarring realization. But God ’s love only makes sense when we know the magnificence of his glory and the might of his power. That is why John Newton wrote, “Tis grace that taught my heart to fear.” As the fear of God increases, so does the sense of his love of him, because we understand more fully what we have been saved from.

My favorite definition of the fear of God is awe mixed with intimacy. We are invited into the closest possible relationship with God, but this intimacy must never overshadow the majesty of who God is.

5. Sin is a deadly serious matter to God.

If we’re honest, many of us find God’s actions here offensive — but that merely reveals our ignorance of our sin and God’s holiness. We shouldn’t ask the question, “Why did they die?” Instead we should wonder, “Why do we remain alive?”

Yes, God is patient with us and slow to anger. But as R.C. Sproul says, we forget that God’s patience is designed to lead us to repentance, not to become bolder in our sin. If Jesus really went through the tormenting hell of the cross to redeem us, and we neglect that in pursuit of our sin, what will it be like to stand before God? "How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2: 3).

When teaching this story with the background in mind, it could be useful to explain why God takes dishonesty so seriously. Dishonesty can destroy marriages, families, churches, relationships and our witness. It hurts us. It hurts others. It hurts God. If we are honest, even when we make a mistake, things can be made better.

Satan will attack God’s church from both without and within. The incident of Ananias and Sapphira was the first noted internal spiritual attack in church history. God needed to protect the purity and the witness of the church. Should that lie have been overlooked or allowed to stand as it was, it would have allowed for further dishonesty, corruption and hypocrisy and thus could have destroyed the fledgling church. Ananias and Sapphira were killed both as an example and as an an act of protection.

No matter how much we try, nothing can be kept secret from God.

Pope urges Iraq to embrace its Christians on historic visit

 Pope Francis urged Iraqis on Friday to treat their Christian brothers as a precious resource to protect, not an “obstacle” to eliminate as he opened the first-ever papal visit to Iraq with a plea for tolerance and fraternity among Christians and Muslims.

Francis brushed aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns to resume his globe-trotting papacy after a yearlong hiatus spent under COVID-19 lockdown in Vatican City. His primary aim of him over the weekend is to encourage Iraq ’s dwindling number of Christians, who were violently persecuted by the Islamic State group and still face discrimination by the Shiite majority, to stay and help rebuild the country devastated by wars and strife.

“Only if we learn to look beyond our differences and see each other as members of the same human family will we be able to begin an effective process of rebuilding and leave to future generations a better, more just and more humane world,” Francis told Iraqi authorities in his welcoming address.

The 84-year-old pope donned a facemask during the flight from Rome and throughout all his protocol visits, as did his hosts. But the masks came off when the leaders sat down to talk, and social distancing and other health measures appeared lax at the airport and on the streets of Baghdad, despite the country’s worsening COVID-19 outbreak.

Francis, who relishes plunging into crowds and likes to travel in an open-sided popemobile, was transported around Baghdad in what Iraqi security officials said was an armored black BMWi750, flanked by rows of police on siren-blaring motorcycles. It was believed to be the first time Francis had used a bullet-proof car.

Iraqis seemed keen to welcome Francis and the global attention his visit he was bringing, with some lining the road to cheer his motorcade and banners and posters hanging high in central Baghdad depicting Francis with the slogan “We are all Brothers.” In central Tahrir Square, a mock tree was erected emblazoned with the Vatican emblem, while Iraqi and Vatican flags lined empty streets.

The government is eager to show off the relative security it has achieved after years of wars and its defeat of the IS insurgency.

“This visit is really important to us and provides a good perspective of Iraq because the whole world will be watching,” Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for Iraq’s joint operations, said in explaining the increased security.

At Baghdad international airport, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi greeted Francis as he descended from the Alitalia charter that landed shortly before 2 p.m. (1100GMT). Francis was visibly limping in a sign his sciatica of his, which has flared and forced him to cancel events recently, was possibly bothering him.

He told reporters aboard the papal plane that he was happy to be resuming his travels again.

“This is an emblematic journey,” he said. "It is also a duty to a land tormented for many years."

Francis ’first main event was a pomp-filled courtesy visit with President Barham Salih at the Baghdad palace inside the heavily fortified Green Zone. Afterward, Francis told Salih and other Iraqi authorities that Christians and other minorities shouldn’t be considered second-class citizens in Iraq but deserve to have the same rights and protections as the Shiite Muslim majority.

“The religious, cultural and ethnic diversity that has been a hallmark of Iraqi society for millennia is a precious resource on which to draw, not an obstacle to eliminate,” he said. “Iraq today is called to show everyone, especially in the Middle East, that diversity, instead of giving rise to conflict, should lead to harmonious cooperation in the life of society.”

That’s a tough sell even for Christians, given the few Christians who remain in Iraq harbor a lingering mistrust of their Muslim neighbors and face discrimination that long predated IS.

Salih echoed his call from him and praised Francis for coming to make it in person in Iraq despite the pandemic and security concerns.

“The East cannot be imagined without Christians,” Salih said. “The continued migration of Christians from the countries of the east will have dire consequences for the ability of the people from the same region to live together.”

Christians once constituted a sizeable minority in Iraq, estimated at around 1.4 million. But their numbers began to fall after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein opened a wave of instability in which militants repeatedly targeted Christians.

They received a further blow when IS militants in 2014 swept through northern Iraq, including traditionally Christian towns across the Nineveh plains, some of which date from the time of Christ. Their extremist version of Islam forced residents to flee to the neighboring Kurdish region or further afield.

Few have returned - estimates suggest there are fewer than 300,000 Christians still in Iraq and many of those remain displaced from their homes. Those who did go back to their towns found homes and churches destroyed. Many feel intimidated by Shiite militias controlling some areas.

There are practical struggles, as well. Many Iraqi Christians cannot find work and blame discriminatory practices in the public sector, Iraq’s largest employer. Since 2003, public jobs have been mostly controlled by majority Shiite political elites, leaving Christians feeling marginalized.

Francis called for Iraqi authorities to grant all religious communities “recognition, respect, rights and protection,” including the right to participate in public life “as citizens with full rights, freedoms and responsibilities.”

For the pope, who has often traveled to places where Christians are a persecuted minority, Iraq’s beleaguered Christians are the epitome of the “martyred church” that he has admired ever since he was a young Jesuit seeking to be a missionary in Asia.

BAGHDAD (AP) -

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I see #Coming2America movie as offensive to Africa – Filmmaker Leila Djansi takes on producers

 American-based Ghanaian-born filmmaker, Leila Djansi has raised some concerns about the popular Hollywood movie, “Coming 2 America” after she watched the movie which was initially released in December 2020 in Russia and premiered for the world on March 5, 2021.

Even though the 2020 “Coming 2 America” is a sequel to the original film which was released back in 1988, Leila Djansi believes the producers of the 2020 film did a bad job at projecting Africa to the world.

Taking to her Facebook page, the award-winning film producer and director said that as an African she found # Coming2America mildly offensive.

In her view of it, the fact that the creators of the film decided to project Africa as a continent filled with jungles, wild animals, child warriors, and war was not the best thing to do.

She added that these tropes show how discriminatory and disrespectful the producers are and stressed that there are great ways of selling Africa to the world than what the producers of the movie did.

Leila Djansi also cited the villages in Europe and the issue of child gangs as a major reason why Hollywood producers must not try to defame Africa.

Her full post of her reads:

“As an African, I found # Coming2America mildly offensive. Jungles, wild animals, child warriors and war. Come on Hollywood, these tropes show how discriminatory and disrespectful y’all are. Enough!

There’s more to Africa and please don’t try hiding in within wealth. I don’t understand this unwillingness to change and accept that these images and ideas are wrong, mostly lies. Spent 15 years of my life in Ghana and never even seen a squirrel.

Child soldiers? Chicago gun-totting gang kids? Can we talk about that? STOP !! Africans are regular people. African cities are cosmopolitan. African villages are what they are based on culture and geography. Let’s not discuss villages in the South. Georgia?

I swear someone will be asking me about lions this week. Jesus take the wheel. ”

Some international artistes travel to Ghana to champion LGBTQ+ activism – American Artiste

 An American songwriter and songstress, HONE7 born Brittani Youman has strongly refuted allegations that she purposely came to Ghana to subtly push for acceptance of LGBTQ + rights behind the scenes.

She remarked “I don’t believe that everyone is here to support LGBTQ + rights in Ghana you know I personally believe I came to Ghana because of the music.

“The power that the producers and musicians have here is just amazing in Afrobeats is scattered all over the country honestly,” she said on Kastle FM in Cape Coast monitored by MyNewsGh.com

HONE7 who is signed on to international record label, NMS Records and does genres that includes R&B, Hip Hop and country music revealed to Amansan Krakye that some artistes come to Ghana for LGBTQ + rights activism.

“Some international or American artistes do come here to support the LGBTQ + rights behind the scenes but I don’t have that agenda so I can’t really speak on the issue,” she ended.

Some of the UK’s influential names in fashion, film and media, including Idris Elba, Naomi Campbell and the Vogue editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful, have signed an open letter in support of Ghana’s LGBTQ + community.

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Black school resource officer fired by Tampa police for using N-word

 A Florida police officer, who was working as a school resource officer, has been fired after he was caught on body camera footage using the N-word and later admitted to his superiors that it wasn’t the first time.

Tampa officer Delvin White was fired “for violations of policy that prohibit discriminatory conduct,” according to a Wednesday statement from the Tampa Police Department. White, an eight-year department veteran, was most recently working as a school resource officer at Middleton High School.

The Tampa Police Benevolent Association said on Thursday it is fighting the department’s firing of White, who is Black.

“We stand with the City of Tampa and the Tampa Police Department in their efforts to stamp out racism in every form and condemn any and all derogatory statements in or out of uniform,” Tampa Police Benevolent Association spokesman Danny Alvarez said in a statement.

But “the facts in the Delvin White matter do not reflect an act or any intent that warrants the punishment he received for his alleged transgression,” Alvarez said.

A body camera video released by the Tampa Police Department shows White driving around what appears to be a parking lot, making small talk with people standing around as he says goodnight. He indicated a game has just ended.

As he is leaving, he makes a phone call to a woman to tell her that he doesn’t want steak when he gets home, but rather a tuna salad sandwich. When she reminds him that he cannot have bread, he amends his request to tuna salad and gluten free crackers.

He then asks the woman why she didn’t call him three or four times like she usually does, and she says because he’s usually so busy. At this point, he starts comparing her job to hers, saying it’s a higher pressure job. He tells her he is responsible to make sure kids do n’t get shot and stabbed, and later repeats the statement to say her job is to ensure “some ghetto n—– do n’t get shot or stabbed.”

The statement from the Tampa Police Department said that while White was under investigation, he told his supervisor that he had also used the N-word while making an arrest in November. He twice used the word while arresting an uncooperative male for trespassing, according to the statement and body camera video.

“Derogatory statements made by police officers jeopardize the trust that our department works to establish with our community,” said Chief Brian Dugan. “Tampa Police officers are held to a higher standard and incidents like this negatively impact the entire law enforcement profession.”

Violation of the policy on discriminatory conduct are “grounds for immediate dismissal,” the statement said.

But Alvarez said the Tampa Police Benevolent Association will file a formal grievance in an effort to get White’s job back.

“Officer White is a beloved and trusted member of the East Tampa community that he was raised in and that he protected every day,” Alvarez said.

He added that, despite White ’s“ misstep, ”the chief of police had been receiving messages from citizens and school officials to legend their support and express“ their admiration for his character and contributions from him.

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UN alleges war crimes in Ethiopia’s Tigray, urges Eritrea exit

 The United Nations on Thursday alleged possible crimes against humanity in Ethiopia’s Tigray region including by Eritrean troops, as it urged a withdrawal by the neighboring country, which denies involvement.

The UN also warned of potentially catastrophic hunger as it pleaded for urgent humanitarian access, but divisions at the UN Security Council stopped the international community from showing a united front.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres joined calls for the Eritrean troops to leave Tigray, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday, while the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, is urging an investigation into the situation.

A week after Amnesty International said that Eritrean troops killed hundreds of people there, Bachelet said her office had corroborated information about incidents including indiscriminate shelling in the regional capital of Mekelle and the towns of Humera and Adigrat in November when Ethiopia launched an offensive.

It had also verified “reports of serious human rights violations and abuses including mass killings in Axum, and in Dengelat in central Tigray by Eritrean armed forces”.

A preliminary analysis of the information indicated that “serious violations of international law, possibly amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, may have been committed by multiple actors in the conflict,” it said in a statement.

“Without prompt, impartial and transparent investigations and holding those responsible accountable, I fear violations will continue to be committed with impunity, and the situation will remain volatile for a long time to come,” she said.

Sexual violence, extrajudicial killings

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights office also lamented what it said were continuing abuses including sexual violence and extrajudicial killings.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered the offensive after accusing the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), of attacking federal army camps.

Abiy - who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 - declared victory after pro-government troops took Mekelle in late November, although the TPLF promised to fight on, and clashes have persisted.

Eritrea ‘must leave’

The United Nations for the first time also publicly pointed the blame at Eritrea, Ethiopia’s one-time rival that has found shared objectives in Tigray. The governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara have denied the presence of Eritrean forces.

“It is now abundantly clear to all, and openly acknowledged by officials of the government administration in Tigray, that Eritrean defense forces are operating throughout Tigray,” the UN Under-Secretary-Seneral for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock, told a Security Council session on the crisis.

“Countless well-corroborated reports suggest their culpability for atrocities,” he told the closed-door, virtual session in remarks seen by the AFP news agency.

"Eritrean defense forces must leave Ethiopia and they must not be enabled or permitted to continue their campaign of destruction before they do so."

Lowcock called for assistance to be scaled up “dramatically” as he warned of the potential for “catastrophic” hunger in Tigray, with 4.5 million people in need of assistance.

Despite a UN agreement with Ethiopia, humanitarian access in Tigray remains minimal with the United Nations saying that hundreds of thousands of people in rural parts of the region have not been reached.

Ethiopian authorities “provide regular updates on what they’re doing on the humanitarian front but then it’s:‘ look here, there’s nothing to see ’,” one diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

A report by Amnesty International in February alleges Eritrean soldiers fighting in Tigray had killed hundreds of people in November last year in what the rights group described as a likely crime against humanity [File: Eduardo Soteras / AFP]

Failure to reach consensus

The Security Council session called by Ireland failed to reach a consensus on a joint statement, with diplomats saying that Russia was the main opponent.

Russia and fellow permanent member China, which also has the right of veto, saw the move as interference in internal affairs while non-permanent member India, although supportive of some form of statement, believed it should have been narrowly focused on the humanitarian situation, diplomats said.

A draft statement seen by AFP would have called for immediate humanitarian assistance as well as a halt to hostilities while asserting the importance for Ethiopia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The new US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that the crisis “poses a direct threat to regional peace and security”.

"We need to address it immediately," she said. “The burden to prevent further atrocities and human suffering falls squarely on the Ethiopian government’s shoulders.”

In one shift, diplomats said that the three African nations on the Security Council - Kenya, Niger and Tunisia - had supported the statement.

The three African nations had been reluctant at a previous session a month ago, saying that the African Union should take the lead.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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WHO sees Ebola risk as ‘very high’ for Guinea’s neighbours

 World Health Organization officials say the risk of an Ebola outbreak spreading to Guinea’s neighbors is “very high” and that some of those countries are not prepared for vaccination campaigns.

WHO’s Guinea representative Georges Alfred Ki-Zerbo told a virtual briefing on Friday that so far 18 Ebola cases had been identified, and four of those infected had died.

So far, 1,604 people have been vaccinated against Ebola in the new outbreak in Guinea, the first resurgence of the virus there since a 2013-2016 outbreak - the world’s worst - which spread to several other West African countries and killed more than 11,300 people.

The Ebola virus causes severe vomiting and diarrhea and is spread through contact with bodily fluids.

Officials said a readiness assessment for Guinea’s neighbors - Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Liberia - showed gaps in their preparedness.

“There are six neighboring countries to Guinea and we conducted an assessment of readiness. Two of the countries are not ready and one is borderline and there are three countries more or less ready, ”the WHO’s Regional Emergency Director Abdou Salam Gueye said by videoconference from Guinea.

He said none of the neighboring countries was completely ready to start Ebola vaccinations, should they be required, and that there were not enough vaccines doses available in any case to begin vaccinating preventively.

"But those neighboring countries agreed on cross-border cooperation and coordination to control the outbreak," he said.

Ebola vaccines, like some COVID-19 shots, require ultra-cold chain storage, which presents logistical challenges. Guinea received COVID-19 vaccine doses donated from China this week.

“We are dealing with quite fragile health systems including (lack of) capacity to address many public health challenges so dealing with both COVID and Ebola remains a challenge,” said the WHO’s Michel Yao, director of strategic health operations.

‘We must act fast’

Separately, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Thursday launched an appeal to raise $ 8m for efforts to stop the resurgence of the Ebola virus in Guinea.

The funds will be used to support essential outbreak preparedness and response activities, as well as critical coordination efforts at the national and prefectural levels and key border crossings, the United Nations body said in a statement.

“We have witnessed the devastation that delayed action on public health emergencies can do to a community and societies at large,” Maximilian Diaz, head of IOM Guinea.

“We must stand by the people of Guinea, and we must act fast.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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EU wants employers to disclose wages to close gender pay gap

 Wage scales in Europe have long been shrouded in secrecy, which has helped perpetuate gender inequality on the continent.

The European Union’s executive branch wants to force employers to be much more open about how much their staff earn to make it easier for women to challenge wage imbalances and close the gender pay gap.

Even though the gender pay gap across the 27-nation bloc has been reduced to 14 percent for people doing exactly the same work, the European Commission wants to eliminate the disparity by imposing specific rules to make pay levels public.

“For equal pay, you need transparency. Women must know whether their employers treat them fairly, ”said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Since its inception in 1957, the European Union has sought to end such gender bias, but progress has been slow over the decades. When it comes to pension rights, reflecting working conditions of the past 30 to 40 years, the gender gap still stands at 30 percent.

Wage conditions and scales in Europe have long been shrouded in secrecy, which has helped extend inequality and proved to be a big hurdle for those demanding pay justice.

And companies have fallen far short in helping bridge the gap, said EU Vice President Vera Jourova. “We have sufficiently strong evidence that we need to have binding rules and not only to rely on social responsibility of the companies because we see that it doesn’t lead anywhere,” she said.

She said that over the past seven years, the gap had closed only by a little over two percentage points. “You can imagine if we continue like that, we will achieve pay fairness sometime in several decades. So we can't continue like that. ”

Under the commission’s proposals, employers would have to give information about initial pay levels in the vacancy announcement and ahead of the job interview, during which employers will not be allowed to ask about applicants ’previous pay grades.

Employees will be allowed to ask employers the average pay levels by gender for people doing the same work.

And to put more pressure on big companies, the proposal forces firms with more than 250 employees to publish information about any gender pay gap.

If women remain underpaid, the commission wants them to be able to get back pay and it wants the burden of proof to be on employers, not the women challenging them.The European Trade Union Confederation lauded the intent but said the proposals lacked teeth to force companies into decisive action. It complained that small- and medium-sized companies, where such discrimination often happens, were excluded from key elements of the enforcement.

The proposal now goes to the European Parliament and EU countries for further discussion before it can be approved.

The announcement came ahead of International Women’s Day next Monday.

The EU noted that women had been disproportionally affected by the pandemic coronavirus, many having to add more home tasks to their work schedules because of the closure of schools and daycare centers.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has not only consolidated injustices and inequalities that already existed in our societies, it is also likely to wipe out decades of achievements by women, on progress in the labor market,” said European Parliament President David Sassoli.

Jourova said women were vulnerable because most were still at the bottom of the pay scale.

“That overrepresentation in lower-paid sectors and occupations such as, for instance, hospitality, retail or personal services has made them particularly vulnerable in the labor market struck by the COVID-19 crisis,” Jourova said.

SOURCE: AP

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India went from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ in 2020: Freedom House

 US-based research institute voices fear the world’s largest democracy is descending into authoritarianism under Modi.

Freedom House has downgraded India from free to partly free, voicing fear that the world’s largest democracy was descending into authoritarianism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The democracy research institute, which is independent but receives funding from the United States, pointed to mob violence against Muslims, intimidation of journalists and rising judicial interference since Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won power in 2014.

“Rather than serving as a champion of democratic practice and a counterweight to authoritarian influence from countries such as China, Modi and his party are tragically driving India itself toward authoritarianism,” Freedom House said in its annual report on Wednesday.

“Under Modi, India appears to have abandoned its potential to serve as a global democratic leader, elevating narrow Hindu nationalist interests at the expense of its founding values ​​of inclusion and equal rights for all.”

Freedom House also pointed to the “ham-fisted” COVID-19 lockdown ordered by Modi in which enormous numbers of workers who lacked resources were obliged to walk across the country to their villages.

“The ruling Hindu nationalist movement also encouraged the scapegoating of Muslims, who were disproportionately blamed for the spread of the virus and faced attacks by vigilante mobs,” it said.

With the decline of the billion-plus nation in Freedom House’s rankings, it said that less than 20 percent of the world’s population lives in free countries, the lowest since 1995.

Freedom House also voiced alarm at deteriorations in Hong Kong, where Beijing imposed a draconian new security law; Belarus, where strongman Alexander Lukashenko has held onto power despite protests following elections widely seen as unfair; and Ethiopia, where Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military campaign in which rights groups have reported major abuses.

The United States remained classified as free following Donald Trump’s turbulent presidency but Freedom House warned of the “parlous state of US democracy”.

It pointed to Trump’s false allegations of election fraud and the January 6 storming of the Capitol “incited by the president himself”.

Freedom House also highlighted the Trump administration’s dismissal of inspector-generals tasked with looking out for government misconduct as well as “disproportionate violence by police” against anti-racism protesters last year.

“The United States will need to work vigorously to strengthen its institutional safeguards, restore its civic norms and uphold the promise of its core principles for all segments of society if it is to protect its venerable democracy and regain global credibility,” it said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Meghan tells Oprah she cannot be ‘silent’ if Royal Family is ‘perpetuating falsehoods’

 When is Oprah's interview with Harry and Meghan? Meghan accuses Royal Family of 'perpetuating falsehoods' ahead of broadcast.

The clip has been released after Buckingham Palace confirmed it will investigate “very concerning” bullying allegations from the duchess ’time as a working royal.

Harry and Meghan are expected to lift the lid on their short period fulfilling royal duties together during their interview with Winfrey next week.

The couple stepped back from their roles to pursue a new life in America last year.

The duchess says she is not afraid of the consequences of speaking out during the 30-second teaser, before adding that “a lot… has been lost already”.

Winfrey asks Meghan: "How do you feel about the Palace hearing you speak your truth today?"

She replies: “I don’t know how they could expect that, after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.

“And, if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean, I… there is a lot that has been lost already.”

What else are Harry and Meghan known to have said during the interview?

Prince Harry has told Winfrey his fear of “history repeating itself” was part of his reason for stepping back from royal duties.

In one of two promo clips released by CBS earlier this week, Harry said: “I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side.”

As a photo was shown of him as a child with his mother, Princess Diana, he continued: “Because I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like for her going through this process by herself all those years ago, because it's been unbelievably tough for the two of us.

"But at least we have each other."

Another clip shows Harry saying: “My biggest concern was history repeating itself.”

The rest of the clip was dominated by Winfrey saying such statements as: “You said some pretty shocking things here,” and “almost unsurvivable - sounds like there was a breaking point?”

Meghan was not heard in either of the two clips.

What are the bullying allegations?

Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday that it is investigating claims Meghan bullied former royal staff.

Meghan and Harry will not be part of the process and it is understood the palace hopes to start the investigation soon.

Past and present employees are to be invited to speak in confidence about their experiences of working for Meghan, after it was alleged she drove out two personal assistants and staff were “humiliated” on several occasions.

The Times newspaper has reported the duchess “destroyed” one member of staff and another was left in tears before she departed.

There has long been speculation about the atmosphere in the Sussex household after a number of staff left.

Jason Knauf, the Sussexes ’former communications secretary, made a bullying complaint in October 2018 in an apparent attempt to force Buckingham Palace to protect staff.

A source suggested the attitude to the allegations was more about making them “go away” rather than “addressing” them, with the paper claiming Mr Knauf’s complaint was never progressed.

The Times has chronicled what it describes as “turmoil” within the palace walls.

They claim a number of sources said Meghan wanted to be a “victim” so her “unbearable experience of it” her would convince Harry they had to leave to the UK - something her lawyers have denied.

The monarchy’s “men in gray suits” have been accused of being aware of the alleged actions of the duchess and of doing “absolutely nothing to protect people”.

What have the Sussexes said about the bullying allegations?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have said they are the victims of a calculated smear campaign.

Lawyers for the couple have said the claims are based on “misleading and harmful misinformation“.

They also said Harry and Meghan believed staff were comfortable and happy.

Meghan ’s spokesman said:“ The duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma.

“She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and she will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good.”

What has Buckingham Palace said about the allegations?

Buckingham Palace has said it is “very concerned” about the allegations in The Times “following claims made by former staff of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”.

The palace statement continues: “Accordingly our HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article. Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learned.

“The royal household has had a dignity at work policy in place for a number of years and does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he “certainly won’t” be passing comment on the latest developments regarding the Royal Family.

He told broadcasters during a trip to Teesport in the North East: “I think that politicians, the best thing politicians can do on all these questions is really to bite their tongue.”

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