Daily media briefing
Stay informed with our daily media briefing newsletter. Every weekday morning we'll bring you the most relevant news and updates related to secularism directly to your inbox.
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Tue, 19 Dec 2023
Esther Rantzen says she's joined assisted dying clinic
The broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen says she has joined the Dignitas assisted dying clinic in Switzerland.
BBC
EU launches investigation into Elon Musk’s X over Hamas propaganda
Social network under fire for failing to counter misinformation and violent content.
The Telegraph*
US archbishop secretly backed bid to free priest convicted of raping child
'I join you in the prayer to guide those regarding your appeal,' Gregory Aymond of New Orleans wrote to priest given life sentence.
The Guardian
US: Satanic Temple condemns vandalism of its statue by Christian military veteran
Michael Cassidy arrested over tearing down of satanic altar – symbol of humanism and anti-authoritarianism – at Iowa capitol.
The Guardian
Timbuktu: Mali's ancient city defies jihadist siege to stage a festival
Timbuktu has been under blockade by the al-Qaeda affiliated group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin since late August.
BBC
India opposition fury as 141 MPs suspended
On Monday, the opposition accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of attacking democracy after a record 78 MPs were suspended in one day.
BBC
Mon, 18 Dec 2023
German spies say Briton is Hamas’s man in Europe
A British pro-Palestinian activist living in Berlin has been accused of running Hamas networks across Europe after three alleged members of the terrorist organisation were arrested on suspicion of planning an attack in Germany.
The Times*
Man says church tried to command the "spirit of homosexuality" to leave him with prayers
A gay man has spoken about his traumatic experience undergoing conversion therapy at a church in Sheffield.
BBC
David Davis: ‘Ban Iranian group that exports terror to Britain’s streets’
"It is time to stand up to Iran's hostile and aggressive acts. The head of the snake is in Tehran, and its fangs are the IRGC. In September, I wrote to Rishi Sunak asking him to proscribe the IRGC and last month 70 cross-party MPs, including myself, again wrote to him urging action."
The Times*
Church of England blesses same-sex couples for the first time, but they still can’t wed in church
Church of England priests offered officially sanctioned blessings of same-sex partnerships for the first time on Sunday, though a ban on church weddings for gay couples remains in place amid deep divisions within global Anglicanism over marriage and sexuality.
Associated Press
Islamic extremist jailed for life over Hyde Park terror plot
An Islamist extremist who planned to murder a Christian preacher at Speakers' Corner refused to attend court yesterday to receive a life jail sentence.
The Times*
Denmark widens terror investigation that coincides with arrests of alleged Hamas members in Germany
Denmark is holding two people in custody and four others are the target of a terrorism investigation, a prosecutor said Friday, in a case that coincided with an arrest in the Netherlands and several in Germany of alleged Hamas members.
Associated Press
Ex-Jesuit’s religious community in Slovenia ordered to dissolve in one year over widespread abuse
The Vatican has decided to shut down a Slovenian-based female religious community founded by a controversial ex-Jesuit artist accused by some women of spiritual, psychological and sexual abuses.
Associated Press
Cardinal Becciu: Vatican court convicts former Pope adviser of financial crimes
A Vatican court has sentenced Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, a former adviser to Pope Francis, to five-and-a-half years in jail for financial crimes.
BBC
US man charged over damage to Satanic Temple display in Iowa
A political candidate from Mississippi has been arrested after a controversial Satanic Temple display inside the Iowa Capitol was partially destroyed.
BBC
Police officer stoned to death after rescuing FGM survivors in Kenya
Efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation in Kenya have suffered a setback after a police officer was killed in a confrontation with a gang of youths.
The Guardian
Fri, 15 Dec 2023
Mosque linked to Iran was given £372,000 by Holyrood
A mosque which has been linked to the Iranian state received £372,000 from the Scottish government.
The Times*
Report on demise of ISB is ‘partial’ say sacked members
The sacked members of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) have described as "partial" a report on the demise of the ISB, and defended their decision not to take part in the review.
Church Times*
Hanukkah: Two menorahs vandalised in London
The Metropolitan Police is investigating after two menorahs were attacked in London.
BBC
Germany arrests over alleged Hamas anti-Jewish plot
German authorities say they have made four arrests of suspected Hamas members linked to an alleged plot to attack Jewish sites.
BBC
Germany and Turkey agree to train imams who serve Germany’s Turkish immigrant community in Germany
Germany and Turkey agreed Thursday to gradually end the deployment of Turkish state-employed imams to Germany and to instead have imams trained in Germany to serve the country's large Turkish immigrant community.
Associated Press
Role of Islam in Turkish education fuels secularist fears
Turkey's steps to promote traditional moral values in students, increase Islamic lessons and open prayer rooms in schools are fuelling secularist concerns in the Muslim country and laying bare divisions over the role religion should have in education.
Reuters
Yazidis, led by Nobel winner, sue French cement maker over ISIS support
Hundreds of Yazidi-Americans, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, filed a lawsuit against French cement maker Lafarge on Thursday, accusing it of conspiring to provide material support to a campaign of violence by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Reuters
US: Victims’ lawyers hit Archdiocese of Washington’s call to dismiss sex abuse lawsuit
Lawyers for three men who claim to have been sexually abused by priests in the Archdiocese of Washington decades ago are criticizing the Catholic enclave's attempts to dismiss their lawsuit under Maryland's Child Victims Act of 2023.
Washington Times
Two alleged abuse survivors win first challenge against Australian Catholic church’s legal tactics
Two abuse survivors have won the first major challenge to the Catholic church's use of permanent stays since a high court decision in October.
The Guardian
Thu, 14 Dec 2023
Smyllum Park: Nuns and carer guilty of abusing orphanage children
Two nuns and a care worker have been found guilty of abusing vulnerable youngsters at a Scottish orphanage.
BBC
Church and union representatives lose voting rights on council body
Church and union representatives on East Lothian Council's education committee will no longer be able to vote on policy decisions after councillors stripped them of the right.
The National
Students can make provocative remarks if they do not break law, watchdog says
University staff and students can make provocative statements on subjects such as Israel and Gaza as long as they do not break laws on incitement or harassment, under proposals by the government's campus free speech tsar.
The Guardian
UK Jews feel less safe since October 7 Hamas attack, poll finds
Eighty per cent of Jews feel less safe in Britain than they did before Hamas's attacks on Israel two months ago, with more than a quarter having experienced antisemitic abuse since then, a poll reveals.
The Times*
Schoolgirl seeks to kill teacher with knife at French school: prosecutors
A 12-year-old schoolgirl threatened a teacher with a knife in an apparent murder attempt at a French school on Wednesday, prosecutors said, the latest incident in the country's increasingly tense education system.
France24
US: Oakland’s largest menorah found destroyed days after lighting ceremony
Three days after members of Oakland's Jewish community celebrated the beginning of Hanukkah, the giant menorah used in the lighting was found shattered, with parts lying in and beside the lake — and antisemitic remarks scribbled onto the cement block that had served as its pedestal.
Los Angeles Times
Rohingya girls fleeing refugee camps becoming trapped and abused child brides
Scores of underage Rohingya girls fleeing violence and starvation in Myanmar are being forced into arranged marriages with older Malaysian men who regularly abuse them.
ITV
Wed, 13 Dec 2023
Church and union representatives lose voting rights on council body
Church and union representatives on East Lothian Council's education committee will no longer be able to vote on policy decisions after councillors stripped them of the right.
East Lothian Courier
Met commissioner hosted mosque chairman who praised Hamas founder
A mosque chairman who hailed the founder of Hamas as a "master of the martyrs of resistance" attended a buffet meal hosted by the Metropolitan police commisioner.
The Jewish Chronicle
UK advertising agency removes images of kidnapped Israelis
A UK outdoor advertising company is being accused of an agreement breach after taking down images of kidnapped Israelis just six days into a two-week campaign.
Jewish News
‘I do not think you are going to get a secular state without getting rid of the monarchy’
On the NSS's Members Day, Graham Smith, CEO of Republic, gives his thoughts on the connections between religion and the monarchy.
The Freethinker
Far-right Polish MP uses fire extinguisher to put out Hanukah candles
A far-right Polish MP has extinguished candles on a menorah lit for Hanukah in Poland's parliament, disrupting proceedings before a vote of confidence in the new government.
The Guardian
Vatican corruption trial will also be verdict on Pope Francis’s legacy
With a cardinal facing years in prison if guilty of a financial scandal involving a development in Chelsea, the pontiff's reputation as a reformer is also on the line.
The Times*
Mahsa Amini’s name is ‘secret code for freedom’ says mother as EU presents award
The European parliament has presented a rights prize posthumously to Mahsa Amini, whose death in Iranian custody prompted mass protests, as her mother hailed her daughter's name as "a secret code for freedom".
The Guardian
Tue, 12 Dec 2023
C of E safeguarding board was heading for trouble right from the start, review suggests
A "complex matrix of reasons" led to the disbanding of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB), says a report published on Monday.
Church Times*
NHS doctor describes Hamas as 'freedom fighters resisting occupation' during TV interview
The head of the UK sect of an extremist Islamist group who led a 'jihad' chant at an anti-Israel rally last month has labelled Hamas terrorists 'freedom fighters' in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
Daily Mail
UK government considering travel bans for violent West Bank settlers
The UK government is 'planning to introduce' travel bans for Israeli settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Jewish News
France: Teachers strike after Muslim threats over nudes in art class
Staff have gone on strike at a school near Paris saying they fear for their lives after Muslim pupils and parents voiced anger towards a teacher who displayed a Renaissance painting of nude women.
The Times*
France to end contract with biggest Muslim high school amid fears of wider crackdown
France is to end funding for its biggest Muslim high school on the grounds of administrative failures and questionable teaching practices, a local official said on Monday, the latest in what some rights groups say is a wider crackdown on Muslims.
Reuters
France to ban far-right Catholic group for 'legitimising violence'
France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has announced that he intends to disband Academia Christiana, a movement of far-right traditionalist Catholics that he accuses of justifying and inciting violence.
rFi
Activists in Uganda finalise appeal to overturn draconian anti-gay law
Civil society groups in Uganda will meet constitutional court judges this week as they attempt to overturn the world's harshest anti-LGBTQ+ law.
The Guardian
Mon, 11 Dec 2023
UCKG: Church tells boy 'evil spirit' hides in him
A UK branch of a Christian church has been secretly filmed trying to cast out evil spirits from a 16-year-old.
BBC
Scotland Yard invited mosque chairman who praised Hamas to dinner with Met Police chief
Scotland Yard invited a mosque chairman who praised Hamas' founder as 'the master of the martyrs' to a buffet dinner with Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley.
Daily Mail
Huge backlash after ex-Bristol councillor calls for someone to 'blow up' Jewish conference
A former Labour councillor has sparked a huge backlash after allegedly calling for someone to "blow up" a Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) conference.
Bristol Post
Recent wave of extremist mosque sermons continues
An imam who ranted about punishing "the sins of the Jews" and another who recommended the writings of a vicious antisemite are just two examples from a dossier of extremist messages that have poured from mosque pulpits since October 7.
The Jewish Chronicle
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