All about: Church of England numbers, Kim Jong Un, Jair Bolsonaro, Mike Pence

The number of Britons who describe themselves as belonging to the Church of England has fallen to a record low with more than half now saying they have no religion, according to a survey published on Friday.

Church of England numbers in Britain are at record low: a survey

The number of Britons who describe themselves as belonging to the Church of England has fallen to a record low with more than half now saying they have no religion, according to a survey published on Friday. Just 14 percent of Britons identified themselves as Church of England, down from 31 percent 15 years ago, the British Social Attitudes survey found. The number saying they had no religion rose from 41 to 52 percent.

Ex-U.N. chief Ban's nephew sentenced to prison in the U.S. for bribe scheme

Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's nephew was sentenced on Thursday to six months in U.S. prison for a bribery scheme that he thought would result in the sale of a Vietnamese building complex to a Qatari sovereign wealth fund, federal prosecutors said. Joo Hyun "Dennis" Bahn, a South Korean citizen living in the United States, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan. He had pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy and violating a U.S. foreign corruption law.

North Korea's Kim sets denuclearization timeline, prompting thanks from Trump

North Korea's Kim Jong Un has given his first timeline for denuclearization, aiming for the end of U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, Seoul officials said on Thursday, prompting thanks from Trump who said they would "get it done together". Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 for a third summit and discuss "practical measures" toward denuclearization, Moon's national security adviser, Chung Eui-Yong, said a day after meeting Kim.

Brazil far-right candidate Bolsonaro in stable condition after stabbing

Brazil's front-running far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is in the serious but stable condition in hospital following "successful" surgery after he was stabbed while campaigning on Thursday, his running mate said. Flavio Bolsonaro, the candidate's son, wrote on Twitter that his father had been wounded in the liver, lung, and intestine. "He lost a lot of blood, arrived at the hospital ... almost dead. He appears to have stabilized now," he said.

U.S. Vice President Pence pressures Paraguay over Jerusalem embassy move

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence urged Paraguay's new president to stick to his predecessor's decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Pence's office said on Thursday after Asuncion announced plans to shift the diplomatic mission back to Tel Aviv. Paraguay on Wednesday dealt a blow to Israeli's quest for recognition of Jerusalem as its capital, which appeared to have gained some traction this year when the United States, followed by Guatemala and Paraguay, relocated embassies there.

The U.S. charges North Korean hacker in Sony, WannaCry cyberattacks

The U.S. government on Thursday charged and sanctioned a North Korean man in the 2017 global WannaCry ransomware cyberattack and the 2014 cyberassault on Sony Corp, U.S. officials said. The charges, part of a strategy by the U.S. government to deter future cyber attacks by naming and shaming the alleged perpetrators, also alleged that the North Korean hacker broke into the central bank of Bangladesh in 2016, according to a criminal complaint.

Spy chief says Britain, allies will counter the active Russian threat

Britain and its allies will deploy a "full range of tools" against Russia after London accused two Russian agents of carrying out the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, a British spy chief said on Thursday. British prosecutors on Wednesday charged two Russian nationals with the attack on the Skripals in the English city of Salisbury using the nerve agent Novichok.

The U.S. has seen evidence of Syria preparing chemical weapons in Idlib: envoy

There is "lots of evidence" chemical weapons are being prepared by Syrian government forces in Idlib region in northwest Syria, the new U.S. representative for Syria said on Thursday, warning any attack on the last big rebel enclave would be a "reckless escalation." "I am very sure that we have very, very good grounds to be making these warnings," said Jim Jeffrey, who was named on Aug. 17 as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's special adviser on Syria overseeing talks on a political transition in that country.

One protester dead, 25 injured in clashes with security forces in Iraq's Basra

One protester died and 25 more were injured during violent clashes on with security forces on Wednesday night in Iraq's southern oil hub Basra, local health and security sources said. Protesters blocked the entrance to Iraq's Umm Qasr commodities port and set fire to the main provincial government building where they had been demonstrating for the third night.

Australia, New Zealand deploy aircraft to Japan to help enforce North Korea sanctions

Australia and New Zealand said on Friday their governments were deploying three maritime patrol aircraft to Japan to assist with efforts to enforce United Nations sanctions against North Korea. Australia will add two AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft to conduct maritime surveillance to an existing aircraft deployed earlier in the year, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said in a statement.

(With inputs from Reuters)