In The Media

Three Rivers District Council has agreed a recommendation to pass the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) definition of Islamophobia.

Watford Observer

A researcher who convinced Islamic State sympathisers to reject extremism has suggested the "cure" for radicalisation is scrapping the taboo of engaging with jihadists.

The Telegraph

Louise Palmer was raped and repeatedly indecently assaulted as a young child by Richard Davenport. But she claimed when she later told her devoutly religious parents and church elders, she was told not to alert police - to avoid bringing shame on the religion.

Birmingham Live

Pakistan's white-ball cricket captain Babar Azam has said that he would not display the logo of any alcohol beverage company on his shirt during the ongoing T20 Blast event in England.

Kashmir Reader

Nearly 2,000 submissions have been made to the Scottish Parliament in the course of a 12-week public consultation on a hate crime bill proposed by the government.

Catholic News Agency

The hearing comes more than three years after Salman Abedi set off a bomb as people left a concert on 22 May 2017, killing himself and 22 others.

BBC

The new bill incorporating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scots law is momentous, says Bruce Adamson.

The Times (£)

French President Emmanuel Macron criticised Friday what he called "Islamic separatism" in his country and those who seek French citizenship without accepting France's "right to commit blasphemy."

Associated Press

For the first time in the demonstrations, supporters of LGBT rights appeared with rainbow flags in the women's march in Minsk, an indication that opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko are becoming bolder.

Yahoo! News

"Until now the low point in the Church's modern history is taken to be its failure to stand up to Hitler. But its appeasement of the Chinese Communist Party is coming close."

The Times (£)

MSPs have received almost 2,000 submissions on the SNP Government's Hate Crime Bill in an "unprecedented" response to a piece of legislation.

The Herald

A Scots MP has petitioned the House of Commons to abolish the unelected House of Lords - warning that it is one of only two parliamentary bodies in the world that reserves places for the clergy.

The Herald

A prominent British human rights lawyer is convening an independent tribunal in London to investigate whether the Chinese government's alleged rights abuses against Uighur Muslims constitute genocide or crimes against humanity.

Associated Press

Councillor Pat Berryman allegedly accused a member of "weaponising your religion" when they asked for arrangements to be made in meetings for those fasting during Ramadan.

Labour List

It is hardly a stretch to suppose that someone out there might consider a satirical or derogatory depiction of the Islamic prophet Mohammed offensive and report it to police, says Stephen Daisley.

The Spectator

Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician sentenced to death for blasphemy against the Islamic prophet Muhammad by a sharia court, has appealed the judgment.

Sahara Reporters

Twenty Republican senators sent a letter to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking that the abortion pill be deemed dangerous.

Mail Online

A group of researchers have said that public school principals in the US discriminate against atheist and Muslim families.

Friendly Atheist (Patheos)

The Samaritan's Purse charity CEO has said the Democrats are "opposed to faith" and that God 'has put Trump in this position'.

Christian Today

Facebook has banned a politician from India's ruling party over alleged hate speech on the social media service after facing strong condemnation over its inaction and handling of similar posts.

The Telegraph

One of the largest collections of online material belonging to Islamic State has been discovered by researchers at the Institute of Strategic Dialogue.

BBC

A Catholic archbishop has said Catholic politicians should not promote or endorse legal protections of any kind for abortion.

Catholic Herald

Couples could soon be free to get married on the beach, in a private garden or at sea, according to proposed changes to outdated wedding laws.

The Guardian

Nicola Sturgeon has suggested controversial hate crime proposals could be overhauled to "listen to concerns" that new laws may threaten freedom of speech.

The Herald

Ministers have grossly underestimated policing costs associated with the hate crime bill, according to a union representing frontline officers.

The Times (£)

Nicola Sturgeon announced that a Bill will soon be introduced to enshrine the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), describing the Bill as "one of the most ambitious pieces of legislation in the 20- year history of devolution".

Express and Star

The French president defended citizens' right to freedom of speech, saying "there is in France a freedom to blaspheme."

Deutsche Welle

An August budget document shows funding for the anti-abortion program would be maintained, but reduced for doctors and clinics that provide reduced-cost contraception and health screenings.

Texas Tribune

A district court challenge in Puerto Rico filed by two atheist organisations has convinced educators to drop mandatory prayer from at least one school's daily agenda.

Friendly Atheist (Patheos)

An Uighur doctor says that for much of her career she worked for the Chinese government as part of what she describes as its population control plan to curtail the growth of the Uighur population.

ITV

Mary Nchagwa pleaded with her parents to let her avoid Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and bless her marriage. Her parents staunchly refused.

The Standard

National Secular Society honorary associate Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan has died aged 75.

The Telegraph

French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has republished cartoons of the Islamic prophet Mohammed that made them the target of a deadly terror attack in 2015.

BBC

LGBTQ+ couples can now tie the knot in religious ceremonies across Northern Ireland.

Belfast Live

A DUP MLA and prominent opponent of same-sex marriage has said that "LGBT militants" could try and force clergy to carry out or facilitate same-sex marriages.

News Letter

The Church of England has been accused of withholding vital information which could have paved the way for affordable homes being built in a rural community.

The Northern Echo

A Chinese citizen who claimed to be at risk of persecution in China because of his practise of the banned Falun Gong religion has lost his appeal against a decision by the Home Secretary to treat his further submissions as a fresh claim.

Scottish Legal News

One of Scotland's best-selling crime authors fears the Scottish Government's proposed hate crime legislation could see her books in the dock.

The Sunday Post

Bishops in Poland are calling for the opening of conversion therapy "clinics" to make LGBT+ people "regain their natural sexual orientation".

Pink News

The Vatican both fought efforts to reunite two Holocaust orphans with their relatives and urged Pope Pius XII not to protest the Nazi deportation of Italian Jews, Brown University historian David I. Kertzer has found.

Jewish News

A controversial Imam has spoken out urging Muslims not to take a potential coronavirus vaccine, claiming it is forbidden.

Mail Online

Hundreds of women and girls in North Rift continue to be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) despite the practice being outlawed. This has in turn negatively affected education of girls in the region, with reports indicating that less than 50 per cent of cut girls continue with the learning; the rest are married off after being subjected to FGM.

The Standard

There are already fears about creeping censorship and muzzling of the press and activists in Pakistan, with existing or proposed restrictions limiting free speech, usually in the name of Islam or national security.

Channel News Asia

The Supreme Court will hear a case this term on whether a Catholic foster-care agency can get a city contract and exclude gay couples.

Los Angeles Times

Research by the National Secular Society found that 132,216 children were assigned to faith schools in England between 2014 and 2020 despite their families listing a non-faith school as their first preference.

iNews

Paul Stephen, the Independents Alliance councillor for Woodstock, has decreed that politics and religion no longer mix in the council chamber at Sittingbourne and has refused to appoint a new civic chaplain.

Kent Online

Cumbria County Council has made the decision to defer withdrawal of free public transport for children at faith schools until next year.

NW Mail

Dignity in Dying said the rule change, announced late on Thursday for England, has made it "impossible to plan" for terminally ill patients hoping to travel to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.

Shropshire Star