Call for UN to establish international day for victims of religious persecution
World Watch Monitor Local priest Father Daniel shows one of the many houses destroyed by Islamic State in the Iraqi town of Bashiqa, near Mosul, where Christians are slowly returning. PICTURE: Courtesy of Open Doors International. The United Nations should establish an International Day Commemorating the Victims and Survivors of Religious Persecution, say parliamentarians in […]
Religious freedom advocates in the UK welcome special envoy announcement
Religious freedom advocates have welcomed news Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon has been appointed UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief. In a statement on Wednesday, the UK Government said the role will allow Lord Ahmad, who is also Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN at […]
Iraqi archbishop tells USAID delegation to hurry up aid delivery
World Watch Monitor An Iraqi Catholic archbishop has said he and other bishops are “delighted” that the US aid arm is to make good on a pledge to send aid directly to non-Muslim communities recovering from the so-called Islamic State’s occupation of their towns and villages, but warned “time is running [out]”. Archbishop Bashar Warda […]
Burundi school ban on expectant teens “skewed” against girls’ education
Thomson Reuters Foundation Burundi’s ban on pregnant girls and expectant teen fathers attending school is not only a violation against children’s right to education, but also unfairly discriminates against girls, campaigners said on Wednesday. The ministry of education in Burundi last week issued a directive to provincial authorities saying pregnant teens and young mums, as […]
SOUTH AFRICA: “DISPOSSESSED” URBAN POOR CALL FOR LAND REFORM
KEVIN MWANZA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
US campaign to blitz the country with ‘In God We Trust’ laws takes root
RNS As the summer heat waxes and state legislative sessions wane, the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation has scored a few small but significant victories. This year, five state legislatures passed laws mandating that every public school prominently display the US motto, “In God We Trust.” The addition of Arkansas, which passed such a law in […]
ESSAY: WHY AMERICANS HAVE LONG BEEN FASCINATED BY GUNFIGHTING PREACHERS
In an article first published on The Conversation, STEVE PINKERTON, a lecturer in English at Case Western Reserve University in the US, looks at the fascination with pastors bearing firearms…
Church of England “warmly welcomes” UK Government commitment to end gay conversion therapy
The Church of England has “warmly welcomed” a commitment by the British Government to eradicate gay conversion therapy. The government pledged on Tuesday that it would end the use of gay conversion therapy as part of its LGBT Action Plan in which the therapy was described as an “abhorrent practice”. Some two per cent of respondents […]