Daily media briefing

Members of a Toowoomba religious sect on trial over the death of eight-year-old diabetic Elizabeth Struhs have told a court that they still believe she will come back from the dead.

The Guardian

The Prince of Wales is considering making a major change when he becomes King by abolishing the religious coronation oaths, a report has claimed.

Daily Mirror

Can the next archbishop of Canterbury unite a divided Church?

The New Statesman*

A Merseyside vicar has admitted two child sexual abuse offences. Rev Andrew Leatherbarrow had been due to face trial but changed his plea during an appearance at Liverpool Crown Court earlier.

BBC

Two former pupils at St Aidan's Christian Brothers Primary School in west Belfast have claimed they were abused several times by former headmaster Paul Dunleavy in the 1970s, a court heard on Wednesday.

BBC

John Swinney is to shelve Nicola Sturgeon's plans for a Scottish ban on conversion therapy and look to back Labour's version of the policy in a move to avoid igniting a new row inside the SNP.

The Herald*

Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund tycoon who backs GB News, is poised to become the new owner of the Spectator in a deal worth up to £100m.

The Guardian

New BBC analysis shows the number of illegal settler outposts in the West Bank has risen rapidly in recent years, with 29 being set up last year – more than any previous year.

BBC

The Australian government is seeking to create some distance from its new special envoys on antisemitism and Islamophobia, suggesting they do not characterise their comments as official government policy.

The Guardian

A specialist domestic violence unit at Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham said that there was a "hidden pandemic" of violence that official figures did not reflect.

BBC

There were almost 2,400 allegations of sexual abuse in more than 300 schools run by religious orders in Ireland, according to a report commissioned by the Irish government.

BBC

Iraq's parliament is considering controversial legal changes that would give religious authorities more power over family law matters, a move that rights groups and opponents warn could open the door to the marriage of girls as young as 9.

Associated Press

An 18-year-old schoolboy was shot and killed by so-called cow protection vigilantes in India after they chased him for miles over suspicion of being involved in cattle smuggling.

Independent*

In Catholic Paraguay, which has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in South America, many young mothers explained their teen pregnancies to The Associated Press as the result of growing up in a country where parents avoid the birds and the bees talk at all costs and national sex education is indistinguishable from a hygiene lesson.

Associated Press

UN human rights experts* voiced profound concern today over the Taliban's recent enactment of the "Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," signalling further serious regression in human rights in Afghanistan and an escalation of the group's oppressive regime, highly reminiscent of their rule in the 1990s.

OHCHR

Retired Catholic priest and self-acknowledged child molester Lawrence Hecker's trial on rape and kidnapping charges – scheduled for 24 September – could be significantly delayed yet again after a medical report on the 92-year-old's mental health has been filed in court.

The Guardian

Pope Francis on Wednesday urged political leaders in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, to guard against religious extremism, which he said distorted people's religious beliefs through "deception and violence".

Reuters

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has said the Government is "actively considering" its approach to islamophobia in devising a full definition following far-right riots.

Shropshire Star

A former teacher and member of the Order of Christian Brothers has gone on trial accused of historical sex offences against school boys.

BBC

Jeremy Corbyn is to form an official parliamentary alliance with four independent MPs who were elected on pro-Gaza platforms – issuing a call for more MPs to join.

The Guardian

Prosecutors demanded a 14-year sentence Monday for a Pakistani Muslim leader accused of inciting the murder of anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, the leader of the party that won last year's general election in the Netherlands.

Associated Press

Ukrainian leaders have reacted indignantly to new remarks by Pope Francis, apparently endorsing Russian claims that Orthodox Christians are to be banned from praying in their country.

Church Times*

The Indian election delivered a blow to Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalists – but will it stem the tide of religious violence?

New Humanist

Afghan women, both inside and outside the country, have posted videos of themselves singing in protest against the Taliban's laws banning women's voices in public.

The Guardian

"I certainly hold to what I regard as being fairly scriptural views and all these things. I don't think it's right to censor education to the point that you refuse to teach something because it doesn't fit with your particular worldview", said Jim Allister.

iNews via MSN

Free-speech campaigners have warned they will take the Home Secretary to court if she reverses the previous Tory government's decision to water down the rules on recording hate speech that fell short of criminality.

Telegraph via MSN

The Chief Rabbi, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the heads of the Hindu Council and the Muslim Council of Britain have urged Britons to come together in the face of far-right plans to launch a campaign of hate against British Muslims.

iNews*

The doctor was previously suspended for ritually circumcising a boy without his mother's consent.

Nottingham Post

A former Church of England minister who served at St Lawrence's Church in Abbots Langley has been barred from ministry for four years following allegations of inappropriate conduct.

Premier Christian News

The ministry said the IZH, which includes one of the oldest mosques in Germany known for its turquoise exterior, had acted as a direct representative of Khamenei and sought to bring about an Islamic revolution in Germany.

Reuters via Yahoo

Popularised by Hollywood and the wedding of the crown princess, the patriarchal 'handover' is catching on. Now Lutherans want to stop it.

The Guardian

Candidates will be assessed on eight-point criteria that includes their stance on the war in Gaza.

The Guardian

Religious voters who turned out in huge numbers for the Republican presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020 are threatening to withhold support this time.

The Times*

The main spokesman for the Taliban warned against "arrogance" from those who may not be familiar with Islamic Sharia law, particularly non-Muslims who might express reservations or objections.

Independent via MSN

Between 1949 and the mid-1970s, an estimated 200,000 women were sent away to mother and baby homes run by churches and the state where babies were put up for adoption or died through poor care.

ITV

The message continued: "This is the Christian west under siege when children aren't safe (in) the places we send them to express happiness, joy and fun. What can you say to your children in years to come when we had one chance to stop the spread of evil Islam."

ITV

Ex-common sense minister defends her 'analogy' as she rejects criticism as 'politically correct bullying'.

Independent

"We conclude, therefore, that as a matter of justice, inclusivity, and gender equality in medical-ethical policy (we do not take a position as to criminal law), clinicians should not be permitted to perform any nonvoluntary genital cutting or surgery in prepubescent minors"

The American Journal of Bioethics

Two men in Sweden have been charged with "offenses of agitation against an ethnic or national group" for burning Qurans in front of mosques and public places.

Deutsche Welle

They wield great power but schisms within the movement are deepening.

The Economist*

Those harms include what the state describes as the centers suggesting they offer abortion-related care without providing abortions; delaying health care until it's too late for an abortion; and relying on untrained staff or volunteers.

AP via Yahoo

Community leaders have urged the government to take "urgent actions" including launching an independent review, engaging with "elected representatives of Muslim communities" and adopting an updated definition of Islamophobia.

Independent

In only two of the cases has the perpetrator been brought to justice, partly due to the difficulty of pursuing a crime which may have taken place several years ago and often in another country.

Evening Standard via Yahoo

"The damage is almost the entire head of the penis has been transected or amputated," Cohen said. "In the records it says, more than 50%."

CBS 12 News

In a reversal of changes introduced last year by Suella Braverman, Cooper is understood to support a strengthening of police recording of hate incidents.

Jewish News

An arson attack on a church in east Belfast is being treated as a racially-motivated hate crime, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has said.

BBC

Afghanistan's Taliban government has banned mixed martial arts (MMA), saying it is incompatibile with Islamic law.

BBC

The suspect, who expressed deep hatred of Jews, was charged with attempted terrorist murder on the grounds of race or religion and for association with a criminal organisation.

RFI via Yahoo