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August 2, 2023

A street preacher who says he was arrested June 10 and had his Bible and personal items briefly seized is warning of worsening religious freedom conditions in the United Kingdom.

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Ryan Schiavo, an American-born preacher, said he was ministering when he found himself in cops’ crosshairs.

“I went out in the streets to evangelize that’s what I spend most of my time doing here, and we chose to go to the city of Canterbury,” he told CBN’s Faithwire, noting a young friend who wanted to learn more about street preaching accompanied him. “We went on a Saturday, and, upon our arrival, we saw rainbow paraphernalia pretty much everywhere in the city center.”

Schiavo said he quickly realized there was a Pride event unfolding and carried on with his ministry. He found a spot to preach and he began speaking about Romans 1, specifically verses 18 through 32.

“[I] began to talk about how God will bring judgment and wrath on society for sin, particularly sexual sin,” he said. “And did speak about the homosexual and LGBT agenda the damage it’s doing to society, how God views this.”

Watch him tell the story:

Schiavo said “within a short period of time” a crowd came around him, with supporters and detractors taking part. At one point, the evangelist said he was having a productive talk with a member of the LGBTQ community when a handful of police officers came on the scene.

“One was quite verbally aggressive with me from the very beginning,” he said. “He was not even close to unbiased [and] began trying to incriminate me with questions [and] intimidate me.”

Schiavo continued, “And it was very clear that he was taking the side of the LGBT community, and the Pride event, and he had basically no regard for my freedom of speech.”

He said the officer asked if he planned to stop, but Schiavo responded, “I don’t know if I’ll stop, because the Word has to be preached.” Schiavo added he’s always careful where he preaches and how he does it, as he wants to protect his witness and not share in an improper way.

Unfortunately, he said the chaotic situation resulted in his arrest.

“I was not in violation of any law,” he said. “The police arrested me. … he put the handcuffs on me so hard that I had marks on my wrists into the third day afterwards.”

Schiavo said police officers in the U.K. have become “out of control when it comes to LGBT,” noting symbolism has made its way onto patrol cars and inside cop trainings. As a result, he believes he wasn’t treated in a fair-minded way, adding his Bible, speaker, and other materials were reportedly taken.

“I was in custody for about 11 hours,” he said. “I was in the cell for probably nine and a half, 10 hours.”

Schiavo continued, “They took my Bible as evidence, along with my speaker, and my microphone, and my Gospel tracts.”

The preacher said he was initially released on bail with charges pending, and was told he couldn’t attending any other Pride events in June.

But authorities reportedly later backtracked.

“I did get a phone call five days later from the police that they had dropped the charges,” he said, noting he later got back his Bible and other items.

Schiavo said the situation in the U.K. is diminishing, likening it to the “early stages of communism,” and noting the scary circumstances surrounding what he sees as dire restrictions on speech.

The American-born preacher spends his time traveling and preaching quite a bit and said he simply wants to do “what God’s called” him to do.

“It’s a unique work,” he said. “It can be a very enjoyable and very rewarding work. … My main target is younger people.”

Schiavo spoke about the cultural pressures placed on young people and the negative messages they receive through schooling and social media, lamenting the “secular, atheistic culture” that’s been percolating of late.

“If we really love the Lord, we cannot accept this and just bow down before it,” he said. “To my American brothers and sisters, this is coming to our country. … We need to have a voice and stand up.”

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up forFaithwires daily newsletterand download theCBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

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Entertainment

Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in pictures

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Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in pictures

It’s a night of glitz, glamour and high camp, in which pop, rock, disco and opera all come together in one big Eurovision cocktail.

This year’s acts incorporate a giant gold microphone, a sauna – and of course pyrotechnics and fake ice aplenty.

Here are some of the best moments on stage in Basel.

Tommy Cash, singing Espresso Macchiato for Estonia. Pic: Reuters
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Tommy Cash, singing Espresso Macchiato for Estonia. Pic: Reuters

Kyle Alessandro performs Lighter for Norway. Pic: AP
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Kyle Alessandro performs Lighter for Norway. Pic: AP

Yuval Raphael performs New Day Will Rise for Israel. Pic:AP
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Yuval Raphael performs New Day Will Rise for Israel. Pic:AP

JJ singing Wasted Love for Austria. Pic: Reuters
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JJ singing Wasted Love for Austria. Pic: Reuters

VAEB performing Roa for Iceland. Pic: AP
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VAEB performing Roa for Iceland. Pic: AP

Remember Monday perform What The Hell Just Happened for the UK. Pic: AP
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Remember Monday perform What The Hell Just Happened for the UK. Pic: AP

Ziferblat perform Bird Of Pray for Ukraine. Pic: AP
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Ziferblat perform Bird Of Pray for Ukraine. Pic: AP

Melody perform Esa Diva for Spain. Pic: AP
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Melody perform Esa Diva for Spain. Pic: AP

Lucio Corsi performing Volevo Essere Un Duro for Italy. Pic: Reuters
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Lucio Corsi performing Volevo Essere Un Duro for Italy. Pic: Reuters

Tautumeitas performing Bur Man Laimi for Latvia. Pic: Reuters
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Tautumeitas performing Bur Man Laimi for Latvia. Pic: Reuters

Erika Vikman performing Ich Komme for Finland. Pic: Reuters
Erika Vikman, representing Finland, performs "ICH KOMME", during the Grand Final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 17, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
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Erika Vikman performs Ich Komme for Finland. Pics: Reuters

Claude singing C'est La Vie for The Netherlands. Pic: Reuters
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Claude singing C’est La Vie for The Netherlands. Pic: Reuters

Abor & Tynna sing Baller for Germany. Pic: AP
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Abor & Tynna sing Baller for Germany. Pic: AP

KAJ perform Bara Bada Bastu for Sweden. Pic: AP
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KAJ perform Bara Bada Bastu for Sweden. Pic: AP

Shkodra Elektronike performing Zjerm for Albania. Pic: AP
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Shkodra Elektronike performing Zjerm for Albania. Pic: AP

Louane sings Maman for France. Pic: AP
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Louane sings Maman for France. Pic: AP

PARG performs Survivor for Armenia. Pic: AP
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PARG performs Survivor for Armenia. Pic: AP

Klavdia sings Asteromata for Greece. Pic: AP
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Klavdia sings Asteromata for Greece. Pic: AP

Gabry Ponte performing Tutta L'Italia for San Marino. Pic: AP
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Gabry Ponte performing Tutta L’Italia for San Marino. Pic: AP

JJ is crowned the winner of Eurovision 2025. Pic: Reuters
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JJ is crowned the winner of Eurovision 2025. Pic: Reuters

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Sports

Journalism rallies to win Preakness; Gosger 2nd

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Journalism rallies to win Preakness; Gosger 2nd

BALTIMORE — Journalism won the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, coming from behind down the stretch to make good on the lofty expectations of being the odds-on favorite in the middle leg of the Triple Crown two weeks after finishing second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby.

Finishing first in a field of nine horses that did not include Sovereignty but featured some of the best competition in the country, Journalism gave trainer Michael McCarthy his second Preakness victory. It is Umberto Rispoli’s first in a Triple Crown race, and he is the first jockey from Italy to win one of them.

Gosger was second by a half-length after getting passed by Journalism just before the wire. Sandman was third and Goal Oriented fourth. Journalism went 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.37.

Journalism thrived on a warm day that dried out the track after torrential rain fell at Pimlico Race Course for much of the past week. Those conditions suited him better than the slop at Churchill Downs in the Derby.

Sovereignty did not take part after his owners and trainer Bill Mott decided to skip the Preakness, citing the two-week turnaround, and aimed for the Belmont on June 7. That made this a fifth time in seven years that the Preakness, for various reasons, was contested without a Triple Crown bid at stake.

But Journalism staked his claim for 3-year-old horse of the year by winning the $2 million American classic race run at the old Pimlico Race Course for the last time before it’s torn down and rebuilt. The Preakness is set to be held at nearby Laurel Park, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., next year before a planned return to the new Pimlico in 2027.

Journalism is the first horse to win the Preakness after running in the Kentucky Derby since Mark Casse-trained War of Will in 2019. Only two others from the 19 in the Derby participated in the Preakness: Casse’s Sandman and fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas’ American Promise.

Lukas, the 89-year-old who has saddled the most horses in Preakness history, referred to McCarthy once this week as “the new guy.” This was just McCarthy’s second, and he’s 2 for 2 after Rombauer sprung the upset as an 11-1 long shot in 2021.

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World

Donald Trump says he has call with Putin planned – as Ukraine condemns Russia over bus attack

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Donald Trump says he has call with Putin planned - as Ukraine condemns Russia over bus attack

Donald Trump has said he will speak to Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately on Monday in a bid to secure a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.

The US president made the announcement on Truth Social – shortly after the Ukrainian president condemned Russia for the “deliberate killing of civilians” after a drone hit a bus in north-eastern Ukraine.

Mr Trump said he will speak to Mr Putin over the phone. He will then talk with Mr Zelenskyy and “various members of NATO”, he wrote.

In an all-caps post, he said: “HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!”

The Ukrainian town of Bilopillia today declared a period of mourning lasting until Monday after nine people were killed in a Russian drone attack – which occurred just hours after Kyiv and Moscow held peace talks.

Seven others were injured, Ukrainian authorities said. The bus was evacuating civilians from a frontline area when the drone hit, the country’s national police said.

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Nine killed in Russian strike on bus

A “father, mother and daughter” were among the dead, Mr Zelenskyy said, writing on Telegram: “All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting.”

The attack has also been condemned by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who said he was “appalled”.

“If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done,” he wrote on X.

Representatives for Kyiv and Moscow met for direct peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey, just hours before the drone attack.

While the discussions – which were not attended by the Mr Putin or Mr Zelenskyy – did not result in a truce, both countries agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners in their biggest swap yet.

Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said on national television the exchange could happen as early as next week.

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What happened at Ukraine talks?

Russia ‘threatened eternal war’ at peace talks

After a Ukrainian official yesterday said Russia made “unacceptable” demands during the discussions, a source from the Kyiv delegation has now told Sky News that Moscow threatened “eternal war”.

Separately, a senior Kyiv official said Russia’s proposed ceasefire terms included the full withdrawal of troops from four regions of Ukraine: Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk.

Moscow also called for international recognition that those regions and Crimea – annexed in 2014 – are Russian and for Ukraine to become a neutral state, with no allied troops stationed there, they said.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the matter.

Read more:
What happened last time Putin and Zelenskyy met?
Ukrainians tortured and killed in Russian jails
Analysis: the chilling moment in Russia-Ukraine talks

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Ukraine has rallied support from its allies following the talks, and a number have spoken out.

French President Emmanuel Macron said: “Today, what do we have? Nothing. And so I tell you, faced with President Putin’s cynicism, I am sure that President Trump, mindful of the credibility of the United States, will react.”

The EU is working on a new package of sanctions against Moscow, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

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