Liberty Counsel Promises Legal Defense for Georgia City's Memorial Day Cross Display

Liberty Counsel is offering free legal defense to the city of Hiram, Georgia, for its Memorial Day display of 79 wooden white crosses, which were meant to honor 79 fallen local soldiers. The city originally displayed the crosses but, after one person complained recently, hastily took them down the same day.

The Nearly Unbelievable Truth of What America's Become

Newsweek magazine, on December 27, 1982, in an article entitled, "How the Bible Made America," made this revealing statement, "historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document."

To understand the core values of a nation, one must simply look to the beliefs set forth during its conception, and, in the case of America, during the transitional years of the American Revolution. Judge for yourself how far we have drifted from the original intent of early Americans. Consider the following:

Metastudy of over a million cases finds ‘significantly higher risk’ of premature birth after abortion

A meta-analysis of 36 international studies involving more than one million women has concluded that abortions are associated with “significantly higher risk” of subsequent premature births, and underweight babies.

Prematurity is, in turn, associated with far greater risk of cerebral palsy and other conditions.

Former MP Stephen Woodworth leading protest Tuesday to support Christian law school

Former Conservative MP and stalwart pro-life advocate Stephen Woodworth is changing hats and leading a demonstration on behalf of Trinity Western University at the Vancouver law courts on May 31. There, on the following day, the Evangelical institution will defend its right to establish a law faculty against the wishes of the B.C legal profession.

How Benedict XVI's resignation changed the papacy

When Pope emeritus Benedict XVI resigned as pontiff three years ago, he added a new dimension to the papacy, said his personal secretary Archbishop George Ganswein.

Archbishop Ganswein remains prefect of the Pontifical Household. He works closely with both Benedict and Pope Francis.

The archbishop spoke about Benedict’s pontificate and its wake at a May 20 book presentation of “Oltre la crisi della Chiesa” (Beyond the Church’s Crisis) by Father Roberto Regoli, a historian and professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University. The book aims to be the first history-based evaluation of Benedict XVI’s pontificate.

Egypt's president appeals for unity over Minya attack, urges victim not to be 'angered'

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has called on the woman attacked by a mob in a Christian village in Minya province not to be "angered" by what happened.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new housing project on Monday, he condemned the sectarian attack and said those responsible would be punished.

The attack saw a 300-strong mob torch Christian houses and strip the 70-year-old woman naked as she was dragged along the street. It followed allegations that a Christian man – thought to be the woman's son – and a Muslim woman were involved in an relationship.

How a music professor became a papal knight

Growing up in a modest home in southern California, Leo Nestor never imagined that his love of music would one day lead to him becoming a papal knight.

But that’s exactly what happened, as the outgoing music professor at The Catholic University of America received the knighthood upon his retirement, in recognition of his lifetime of work for the Church.

Nestor was inducted as a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great on May 14, honoring his lifetime of service to the Church through conducting and teaching music.

What to Pray When You're in Spiritual Danger

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven!

We have all made this declaration thousands of times, and yet, there are so many insidious ways that the enemy of our souls finds to take our hearts off of God's heavenly will for His kingdom on Earth.

Pope Francis to author new book answering teens' questions

After becoming the first Pope to author a children's book earlier this year, Pope Francis will soon come out with another, based on his responses to questions posed by youth through a new online platform.

Speaking at the May 27-29 World Encounter of the Directors of Scholas Occurrentes, Italian journalist and author Tiziana Lupi explained the idea behind the new book, which she said seeks to “open a door” to dialogue with youth.

Secret Societies of All Time

Johnny Depp Drops Out as Speaker at Atheist Reason Rally After Wife Files for Divorce

Hollywood actor Johnny Depp has dropped out from a speaking engagement at the Reason Rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on June 4, which is aiming to be "the biggest gathering of nonreligious people in history."

Hemant Mehta of The Friendly Atheist blog said on Thursday that Lyz Liddell, the rally's executive director, shared with him that Depp has dropped out, along with his wife, Amber Heard.

11 Ways for a Man to Keep Himself Pure

When societies lose the directional parameters of purpose, they cast off all restraint. The 1960s sexual revolution ushered in a degrading of America's young people. Now, the first generation of men who grew up with unlimited access to pornography are suffering unexpected collateral damage—porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED).

Put aside the spiritual and moral argument for a moment and simply look at the psychological and emotional effects. Young men are reporting an incredible disconnect with the women they are physically intimate with. Rather than truly experiencing the moment with her, they admit to fantasizing about porn while they're personally with a young woman. They're mixing their virtual reality with reality. The result of such mental and emotional compounding is delusion.

Holy See backs global health goals, says 'leave no one behind'

The Vatican has voiced support for global health care goals and has said that Catholic institutions are committed to combating problems like communicable diseases.

“The Holy See delegation welcomes the vital emphasis on the dignity of the human person and the strong focus on equity expressed in the pledge that ‘no one will be left behind’,” said Bishop Jean-Marie Mupendawatu.

The bishop headed the Holy See’s delegation to the World Health Organization’s World Health Assembly, held in Geneva May 23-28.

Did Facebook 'blacklist' religious news in their trending topics?

Earlier this month, a report from Gizmodo dropped the equivalent of a social media bomb – several former Facebook employees said the company routinely suppressed conservative news in the social media giant's “trending news” section.

These former Facebook news curators said they were sometimes instructed to insert stories into the “trending” section that had not earned enough attention to be a trending topic, or that they had the freedom to “blacklist” topics that they didn’t want to appear in the section, meaning that the section was not organically curated by the interests of other Facebook users, contrary to popular thought.

Egypt: President Sisi promises justice after 70-year-old Christian woman stripped and beaten

The President of Egypt has demanded justice after Christians homes were torched and an elderly Coptic woman was stripped naked and beaten in the streets of an Egyptian village.

Muslims attacked Christian homes in a village in Minya Province on Friday after rumours that a Christian man was having an affair with a Muslim woman.

7 Ways to Boost Your Brain Health

Do you desire ways to decrease the aging process and increase smartness naturally? Are you looking for ways to live a longer and healthier life?

Simple daily strategies exist which help to provide the body naturally with more brainpower, increase mental-alertness, and boost energy levels (among other health benefits).

1. Embrace exercise. Exercise is one necessary health routine which can add life, increase energy levels, and improve positive brain function. During fitness sessions, one process which takes place in the body is a multiplication of nerve cells through neurotrophic factors. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, is one protein released by the body during physical activity which improves overall health and also increases cognitive function.

5 smartphone apps to enhance your spiritual life

The ubiquity of the smartphone hardly needs further documentation. Suffice to say: we've (almost) all got one, and we're (almost) all prone to spending far too much of our time staring at it. Our natural response to this, especially as Christians, is to decry the awfulness of all the distraction and preoccupation involved. We proclaim the damage that our phones can cause to our ability to form and conduct meaningful relationships, especially with God. But that's not the only way of looking at it.

If we're aware of the pitfalls, and intentional about avoiding them, smartphones don't have to be bad news for our friendships or our spiritual lives. In fact, in the case of the latter, they can actually be useful in enhancing our connection with God. Various smartphone apps have been created with this specific purpose in mind, but there are also a range of other great programmes available which – while this might not have been their creator's intent – have a great spiritual application (no pun intended).

Exorcist says there's a demon that targets the family

There's a demon that specializes in attacking the family, said exorcist César Truqui, a priest who participated in a course on exorcism held in Rome last year.

Fr. Truqui warned that everything that is harming the family, including divorce, pleases the devil.

Speaking to the Italian weekly Tempi in 2015, the priest said that there is “a demon who specializes in the attack on the family, also cited in the story of Tobias, called 'Asmodeus.'”

Indiana University to sue state so it can continue experimenting on aborted babies’ body parts

Indiana University is seeking to legally block a state's law requiring that aborted children be buried or cremated, because it would prevent the public university from experimenting on aborted babies' organs and tissue.

The pro-life statute, which was passed by the Indiana legislature in the wake of shocking undercover video from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) and set to take effect on July 1, stops the grizzly practice of profiting from the sale of aborted babies by participation in such scientific experiments.

The hidden temptation that's more insidious than pornography

It can be really hard. We turn on the TV, and there it is. We open a newspaper or a magazine and we're hit with it again. Walk down a high street and there's something every few steps. Even looking at a website on our phones isn't safe. It's a massive, all-pervading, dangerous temptation.

Perhaps the assumption is that I'm talking about pornography, which is what most people imagine when they think of visual temptation. In fact it's more subtle than that. It's so subtle it doesn't even seem like a temptation. It's just – well, stuff. Advertisements for gadgets, for holidays, for houses, for clothes. Carefully calculated appeals to our instinct to possess, finely tuned to make us want things we never knew we needed and part with money we could have spent on things we probably needed more.

The Secret to Dealing With Difficult People

Difficult people—we all know them, don't we?

At first glance, they may not look the same. After all, different people aggravate us for different reasons and in different ways. But no matter what they do or what they say that puts us over the edge, you may be happy to know that there is a way to redeem the situation!

This New Religion Is Causing an Existential Crisis at American Colleges and Universities, NYU Prof Says

There's a new religion exploding on the campuses of American universities and colleges, says Thomas Cooley professor of ethical leadership at New York University, Jonathan Haidt. And if it isn't stopped, it might just be better to shut them all down in the next 10 or 20 years.

The religion of fundamental social justice sweeping across college campuses is so alarming, intense, and dripping with such extreme liberal fundamentalism, says Haidt, it has created an existential crisis for American academia while punishing heretics with public shame.

With Albino killings on the rise, Malawi's bishops speak out

Amid increased violence against albinos in the southeastern African nation of Malawi, the bishops' justice and peace commission has condemned their killing, which is linked to the practice of witch doctors.

“Albinos are being abducted and killed for ritual purposes. Graves have been exhumed and some people have been caught by the police with bones and other albino body parts,” Martin Chiphwanya, acting national coordinator of Malawi's Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, said in a May 21 statement.

Why you can only go to church in Northern Cyprus once a year

The decision by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to restrict church services there to once a year has thrown into sharp relief the divisions on the island. Some Christians are claiming it's an infringement of their religious freedom. According to the TRNC, it's just a practical measure; it can't cope with the numbers.

I am not really grasping this. Why is going to church a problem?

Going to church in Northern Cyprus is a problem because most Christians live in the south of the country and there's a border to cross.

Dating: Fact Versus Fiction

In the Christian dating world, there are a lot of unanswered questions floating through the minds of young suitors. Here are the three most important things to remember throughout your relationship.

1. FACT: You are dating, not married. FICTION: If I start dating someone, then I have to marry him.

Although we should purpose our lives with the intention of dating to marry, sometimes we may not make the right choice. If, in the first few months of a new relationship, you realize that your goals and your standards are not lining up, don't feel bad about calling it off! Dating is this: getting to know another person. Marriage is this: deciding to attach yourself to another with like spirit and mindset. Don't mix the two up!

Supreme Court sends more mandate cases back to lower circuits

After sending the Little Sisters’ HHS mandate case back to the circuit courts on May 16, the Supreme Court voided two more mandate cases with Catholic plaintiffs on Monday.

The court was expected to rule this summer on the constitutionality of the “opt-out” process for non-profits with the HHS contraception mandate.

The Little Sisters of the Poor, who care for the poor elderly in homes across the country, have argued that the process – where they would notify the government of their religious objection to providing the coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs for employees – still forced them to be complicit with evil.

UNICEF lobbies Canadian Parliament to allow euthanasia for children

UNICEF Canada is pushing for assisted suicide and euthanasia for children — or “mature minors” — arguing that this conforms with the Charter, Canadian legal precedent and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

That would include euthanasia or assisted suicide for mature minors who suffer from a non-terminal illness or disability, according to UNICEF Canada’s policy director Marvin Bernstein.

UNICEF, or United Nations Children’s Fund (originally, Emergency Fund) is a UN organization that is, according to its website, “on a mission to reach every child and ensure their well-being, no matter where they are in this world.”

Ontario gvmt will use schools to vaccinate 150,000 boys against sexually transmitted HPV

The Ontario government will inject 150,000-plus school boys from Grade Seven up with a vaccine against sexually-transmitted Human Papilloma Virus beginning this fall, despite concerns it attacks the auto-immune systems of some, and links to deaths in some countries.

The vaccine Gardasil has been given to all girls from Grade 8 up in Ontario since 2006. The new program could cost an additional estimated $60 million a year.

Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte calls Catholic bishops 'sons of whores'

Rodrigo Duterte, president-elect of the Philippines, is going head-to-head with the Roman Catholic Church in a series of public and controversial confrontations.

Just one day after he referred to the Catholic bishops as "sons of whores", he has pledged to defy the Church and impose a three-child policy in an attempt to control the fast-growing population of the intensely-religious nation where eight in ten of the 100 million population are Catholic.

How can you tell if someone is demon-possessed?

Recognizing the difference between a person who's possessed and a person struggling with a mental illness or other infirmity is a vital part of the ministry of exorcism, according to a long-time exorcist and priest.

Father Cipriano de Meo, who has been an exorcist since 1952, told CNA's Italian agency ACI Stampa that typically, a person is not possessed but is struggling with some other illness.

Why You Shouldn't be a Pushy Prophet

Have you ever received a prophetic word that you absolutely, 100 percent, clearly no-doubt-about-it knew was from the Lord—only to have the one you share it with forcibly reject it?

If you've been operating in spiritual gifts for any length of time, the answer is likely yes. What you do next will reveal your maturity in the prophetic and how much the Holy Spirit can trust you to rightly exercise the His gifts.

Obama Heads to Vietnam, Japan; Is Religious Freedom on the Agenda?

Barack Obama departed Saturday afternoon for his first trip to Vietnam and Japan. As a goodwill gesture, Vietnam's Communist government released a Catholic priest from prison, but the president agenda might press for the release of more political prisoners while making no mention of a new highly restrictive religion law being enacted in that country.

Obama arrived in Hanoi on Sunday evening and will later visit Ho Chi Minh City, spending three days in Vietnam before leaving for Japan, Asia's second-largest economy, to attend the G7 Summit in Ise-Shima.

Obama is the third U.S. president to visit the country since the Vietnam War ended 41 years ago. The president will also visit Hiroshima, and become the first president to visit the city.

Could this save Catholic marriage prep?

With high divorce rates among Catholic couples – and marriage rates plummeting among millennials – Church leaders are scrambling to address the problem.

But long before Pope Francis' recent apostolic exhortation on “The Joy of Love” was written, one marriage prep ministry was already putting the Holy Father's message into practice.

The U.S.-based Witness to Love marriage prep ministry seeks to challenge engaged couples to a greater and more fulfilling life of virtue through an intensive, multi-faceted program.

Taliban chief likely killed in US air strikes

The Afghan Taliban head has been killed in US air strikes on Pakistan, in unconfirmed reports.

If confirmed, the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour may trigger a battle for succession and deepen fractures that emerged in the insurgent movement after the death of its founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, was confirmed last year, more than two years after he died.

Saturday's strike, which US officials said was authorized by President Barack Obama and included multiple drones, showed the United States was prepared to go after the Taliban leadership in Pakistan, which the Western-backed government in Kabul has repeatedly accused of sheltering the insurgents.

It also underscored the belief among US commanders that under Mansour's leadership, the Taliban have grown increasing close to militant groups like al Qaeda, posing a direct threat to US security.

"The United States conducted a precision air strike that targeted Taliban leader Mullah Mansour in a remote area of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border," US Secretary of State John Kerry told a news conference while on a visit to Myanmar.

Mansour posed a "continuing, imminent threat" to US personnel and Afghans, he said.

In the Underworld

Many a man who call themselves Psychic Scientists have done a great deal of harm to mankind by recklessly experimenting into a region which they have no good knowledge of. This they do by magically putting a physical human being in a trance and magnetically manipulate his soul into the ethereal or spiritual domain--for pleasure, investigative purposes, or in search of a solution/an answer to a particular problem.

Little do they know that what is physical belongs to the physical and can only operate within the periphery of the world of matter with impunity, as against the spiritual or the ethereal plane--unless earned through inner development.

Dozens injured in Baghdad's Green Zone protests

Calm has been restored after a protest in Baghdad's heavily armed fortified Green Zone turned violent.

At least four people were killed and 90 injured among mainly Shia Muslim crowds as they protested against corruption, hospital sources said on Saturday.

Iraqi security forces used live and rubber bullets as well as tear gas to dislodge the protesters from the district that houses government buildings, parliament and embassies.

Is Having a Passion for Profit a Sin?

Passion is a popular word. A cursory Google search on 'passion' yields 633 million results in less than half a second. Coupling that search with the word 'profit' narrows the field to a paltry 93.6 million results. Each entry promises to inform and direct your gifts and passion in ways that will change your life forever and do so at a great profit.

So, what is the balance between passion and profit? How do these two things work together?

Like many, you may feel a tension in your heart between your passion and making a profit.

The Next World Leader to Speak to Congress Will Upset Many Christians

Speaker of House John Boehner (R-Ohio) ruffled quite a few feathers among Democrats when he invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress.

Now it seems his successor, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), is going to ruffle quite a few more—but this time within his own party. Friday afternoon, he announced via his official Twitter account that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address Congress on Wednesday, June 8.

Nearly 100 Children Attacked by 'Contagious Demonic Possession'

Nearly 100 children report a black figure at their school haunted them in incidents now called "contagious demonic possession or interference," according to reports.
 
In Peru, 11- to 14-year-olds report a "tall man in black with a beard" tried to kill them.

"It's disturbing for me to think about it. It's as if someone kept on chasing me from behind," a 12-year-old reportedly said. "It was a tall man all dressed in black and with a big beard, and it felt like he was trying to strangle me. My friends say I was screaming desperately, but I don't remember much."

A bizarre ruling in Colombia bans civic prayer...and hugs

In what's been labeled an “absurd” move, a judge in Colombia has banned prayer and “fraternal hugs” at the start of Cartagena city council sessions as well as local educational institutions.

The ban on civic prayer – as well as the baffling prohibition against “fraternal hugs” anywhere from businesses to private family life – has generated immense controversy and protests among Christians on the country's coast.

Canadians to rally against euthanasia June 1 on Parliament Hill

Concerned Canadians are urged to head to Ottawa June 1 to protest the Liberals’ Bill C-14 legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide.
 

The demonstration will take place from 12 noon to 1:30 on Parliament Hill.

“The rally may be our last opportunity to challenge Canadian society concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide and the dangerous language contained within Bill C-14,” says Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

Italian government sounds alarm over ‘apocalyptic’ drop in birth rate

Italy’s government is sounding the alarm about the country’s “apocalyptic” birth rate decline, but critics say the measure officials are proposing is a political gambit that will actually further undermine the Italy’s historically Catholic culture.

Earlier this week Italian Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin called for doubling current child benefits of 80 Euros per month for low income families and 160 Euros for the lowest earners making under 7,000 Euros a year.

Archbishop of Canterbury warns against 'ignorant phobia' of other faiths

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned against using "dangerous political rhetoric" that raises tensions among different faith groups.

At an interfaith gathering at Lambeth Palace on Thursday evening Justin Welby spoke out against the "unthinking, ignorant, fearful nature of much phobia" about other religions. He addressed an audience which included the chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis as well as number of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu representatives.

"I spend a lot of time trying not to get grumpy when Christians comment on how dangerous this faith tradition is or that faith tradition," he said.

Online baptisms won't happen, says Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland has dismissed claims it will allow online baptisms.

The claims circulated after the Church's Legal Questions Committee's report referred to the possibility of online membership and possibly allowing access to the sacraments without being physically present.

In a statement the Church dismissed reports of "online baptisms" as "the most extreme interpretation of what may be discussed" at the upcoming General Assembly, which will consider the report.

The Sin That's Eating Christians Alive

He's crafty. He's wily. He's a wolf in sheep's clothing. Many of us stop him when he comes at us with something we recognize as wrong like being tempted to pilfer funds no one will ever know are gone, go to a movie with that man or woman from the office who acts so much more interested in us than our spouse, drink and drive and hang out with folks who do. We can easily (I hope) say, "No!"

He's far more clever than to tempt us with the obvious. He's got his hand in something far more deadly than any of the things we ordinarily think of as sin, and yet it is one of the seven deadly sins. I am talking about the thing I've never heard even one pastor preach about or even talk about—gluttony, the sin that's eating Christians alive.

How Our Preachers Are Deceiving Us

Take a deep breath and clear your mind to digest Pastor David Lankford's words about the end of days.

To begin, many churches deal with false prophets and false teachers as described in 2 Timothy.

"Our preachers are deceiving us. All they want is one thing: money," Lankford says.

As believers, our first goal should be to pursue Luke 24:45, followed by 2 Timothy 3:16.

"The Word of God corrects us when we are wrong," Lankford says.

The concept is especially applicable to the prophesied judgments for the end of the world. Watch the video above to see his full explanation.

Methodists Form LGBT Commission to Discuss LGBT Rights

Amid protest, song and fears of a denominational breakup, United Methodists at their quadrennial General Conference decided yet again not to decide anything regarding LGBT rights.

But in a groundbreaking move, the delegates from the U.S. and abroad voted 428-405 on Wednesday (May 18) to allow the church's Council of Bishops to appoint a commission to discuss whether to accept same-sex marriage or ordain LGBT clergy.

The bishops said they want the commission to "develop a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph in our Book of Discipline regarding human sexuality."

In one state, more children homeschool than attend private schools. Why that shouldn’t shock you.

In North Carolina, the number of homeschoolers has now surpassed the number of students attending private schools.

That statistic may seem shocking if you’ve been a stranger to the growth of the homeschooling movement, which has rapidly increased in recent decades.

In 1973, there were approximately 13,000 children, ages 5 to 17, being homeschooled in the United States. But according to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of the 2011-2012 school year, that number has grown to almost 1.8 million or approximately 3.4 percent of the school age population. Other sources report numbers well over 2 million.

New York City imposes fines up to $250,000 for refusing to call trans person ‘ze’ or ‘hir’

New York City’s human rights commission says it will fine New York employers and landlords up to $250,000 for using the wrong pronoun to refer to a transgender person.

The New York City Commission on Human Rights’ “Guidance on Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Expression” interprets existing human rights laws against discrimination based on gender to include gender expression, defined as “actual or perceived sex and shall also include a person’s gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression,” regardless of someone’s biological sex.

#ZakiraBelkhiri: The Muslim girl's viral selfie in front of an anti-Islam protest

An anti-Islam protest in Belgium has backfired after a Muslim girl posed in front of the group to take selfies.

A photo of Zakia Belkhiri against the backdrop of the far-right nationalist group has gone viral with tens of thousands of likes and shares across social media.

Members of Vlaams Belang, who some describe as "openly anti-Muslim", had gathered to protest outside an Islamic lifestyle event. Filip Dewinter, one of the group's leading members said: "This Islam fair is an apartheid fair where they preach segregation instead of integration."

Second Chibok girl rescued from Boko Haram, says Nigerian army

A second girl who was among more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in a raid on their school in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok more than two years ago has been rescued, a spokesman for the Nigerian army said on Thursday.

Army spokesman Sani Usman said in an emailed statement that the girl was among 97 women and children held hostage by Boko Haram who were freed on Thursday morning after clashes between soldiers and jihadist militants in northeastern Borno state.

Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki, the first girl to be rescued, was found by soldiers working with a vigilante group on Tuesday near Damboa, south of Maiduguri in the remote northeast where Boko Haram has waged a seven-year insurgency to set up an Islamic state.

EgyptAir says flight from Paris to Cairo missing with 66 on board

National carrier EgyptAir said a plane carrying 66 passengers and crew on a flight from Paris to Cairo went missing on Thursday, disappearing from radar over the Mediterranean Sea.

"An official source at EgyptAir stated that Flight MS804, which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST), heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar," the airline said on its official Twitter account.

Later Tweets by EgyptAir said the plane, which was travelling at an altitude of 37,000 feet (11,280 metres), disappeared at 02:45 am, 20 minutes before it was due to land at 03:05 am, after entering Egyptian airspace.