Daily media briefing

A reverend who wrote in a magazine that the Bible "condemns homosexual acts" has apologised for any offence his remarks caused.

BBC

The Guardian has seen video evidence of a female Afghan human rights activist being gang-raped and tortured in a Taliban jail by armed men.

The Guardian

A French bishop has put off any decision on whether to remove mosaics by an ex-Jesuit artist accused of abusing women, saying that they'll stay for now on the Lourdes shrine but that eventually they should be removed.

Associated Press

Islamic authorities in Russia's mostly-Muslim North Caucasus region of Dagestan on Wednesday temporarily banned women from wearing the niqab full-face veil, after simultaneous attacks targeting churches and synagogues killed 22 last month.

Reuters

The National Secular Society has given further evidence to a county council of what it sees as an "alarming" campaign of evangelism at a Welsh community school.

Nation Cymru

The way in which the Church of England commissions and completes safeguarding reviews into past cases must be "done differently" in future, to avoid repeated delays that are retraumatising survivors, the Church's lead safeguarding bishop has said.

Church Times*

The Labour leader has promised a decade of national renewal. But in this exclusive interview with Premier Christianity, he admits he can't do it without the Church

Premier Christianity

Keir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of desperate tactics amid claims that Tory criticism of his defence of family time was insensitive and had antisemitic undertones.

The Guardian

A woman with diabetes who died after stopping her insulin while taking part in a four-day slapping therapy workshop regarded the person who ran the retreat as a "messenger sent by God", a jury has heard.

The Guardian

Dozens of members from Pakistan's civil society rallied on Tuesday in the southern port city of Karachi against the death sentence handed down to a Christian man on blasphemy charges, nearly a year after one of the worst mob attacks on Christians in the country.

Associated Press

Two days of talks between the international community and the Afghan Taliban have been productive, diplomats say.

BBC

'Scripture slots' have been found during Llanidloes High School assemblies, two weeks after news broke that the school was allegedly teaching creationism with wall-sized posters, Christian tutor group and assembly sessions.

Cambrian News

Conservative candidate Miriam Cates was a trustee of a church while it promoted so-called conversion therapy, the BBC has learned.

BBC News

Safguarding and disciplinary bodies in the Church of England may be "marking their own homework", the songwriter Matt Redman, a victim of Mike Pilavachi's abuse, has suggested.

Church Times*

A letter from Neil Barber of Edinburgh Secular Society criticising the funding of ritual genital cutting for purely religious reasons by NHS Scotland.

The Scotsman

A court in Pakistan sentenced a Christian man to death for sharing what it said was hateful content against Muslims on social media after one of the worst mob attacks on Christians in the eastern Punjab province last year, his lawyer said Monday, adding he will appeal the verdict.

Associated Press

It's a bill that's been decades in the making, but the Archdiocese of St. John's is days away from learning the full cost of decades of abuse by priests and Christian Brothers under the church's nose.

CBC

A new "grassroots" political movement called the Muslim Vote says it will back at least three independent candidates aiming to topple Labor ministers and the government whip in western Sydney at the next federal election.

The Guardian

Thousands of ultra-orthodox Jews clashed with Israeli police in Jerusalem in violent protests over a Supreme Court ruling to begin enlisting the community for military service.

The Times*

Scotland's policy of funding religious circumcision through the NHS will breach new human rights legislation and must be scrapped, campaigners have claimed.

The Times*

A Hindu priest is being sued for up to £8million over claims he posed as 'God on Earth' to swindle and rape his disciples.

Daily Mail

It is exactly 10 years since the self-styled Islamic State group proclaimed its caliphate, announced to the world days later by its founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from the Nuri Mosque in Mosul. It was eventually driven out of its last refuge in 2019, so what has become of IS today?

BBC

Bulgaria's Orthodox Church on Sunday elected Daniil, a 52-year-old metropolitan considered to be pro-Russian, as its new leader in a vote that reflected the divisions in the church and wider society since Russia invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.

Associated Press

Teenage girls and young women arrested by the Taliban for wearing "bad hijab" say they have been subjected to sexual violence and assault in detention.

The Guardian

A deadly attack in Dagestan this week signalled a weakness in President Putin's apparatus as it diverts increased resources into the war against Ukraine

The Times*

China's newest Roman Catholic bishop has been installed after promising to "uphold socialist principles", under an agreement allowing the Communist Party to control the appointments process.

The Times*

A Kansas mother who vanished along with her two young daughters may have been coerced to travel to a religious rehabilitation facility in Mexico, according to investigators.

Independent*

An anti-sectarian group said that in an article in praise of the march, Drew McKenzie, the provost for the area, used provocative and insensitive language — such as "Proddy" and "Tim" — that would not ease community tensions.

The Times*

Over 60 percent of voting parents supported the school's move to integrated status.

NI World

Candidates standing for Reform UK have posted links to antisemitic videos by the conspiracy theorist David Icke, shared claims that Israel was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks and suggested Greta Thunberg is "controlled" by "Rothschild handlers".

The Jewish Chronicle

Ryan Walters calls Bible 'necessary document to teach kids' and says Ten Commandments will also be required learning.

The Guardian

But this time there is a wild card: a reformist former heart surgeon and health minister, Massoud Pezeshkian, who has declared "immoral" the actions of Iran's morality police, who enforce strict dress codes on women.

BBC

Military service is compulsory for most Jewish men and women in Israel. But politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won draft exemptions for their followers that allow them instead to study in religious seminaries.

AP News

A Christian pastor in Texas claims God does not want women to vote and Americans should be ruled by a religious dictator.

Daily Mail

Group say they may have to create 'parallel province' if go-ahead is given for trial standalone services.

The Telegraph*

Alfred Cannan said the proposed legislation 'changes the social contract' and should be put to a public vote.

Shropshire Star

Financier convicted in Holy See's tribunal over high-value UK property deal launches civil action in London.

The Guardian

"In Pakistan, the formation of a truly democratic government is increasingly hindered by the limited participation of religious minorities", writes Ayaz Brohi.

The Freethinker

The presiding judge, Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua, said Al Hassan played a "key role" overseeing amputations and floggings as police chief when the Ansar Dine Islamist group seized control of Timbuktu for almost a year from early 2012.

The Guardian

The he United States offered rare criticism of close partner India in a report published Wednesday on religious freedom, while also voicing alarm over rising bigotry worldwide against both Jews and Muslims.

AFP / MSN

"Conservative Christians would use their unlikely champion's return to office to impose their own regressive values on America", writes Jill Filipovic.

The New Statesman

Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc and the Vancouver and Kamloops arms of the Catholic Church have released the details of a signed document agreeing to a historical record acknowledging the harms caused by residential schools and the role the church played.

CBC / Yahoo! News

The report, which will be presented to the church's governing assembly, the General Synod, next month, suggested that priests were overly critical of church leaders and operated with too much "autonomy" and even "separatism" from church leadership.

The Times*

The 49-year-old, who held the position at one of the city's oldest churches for a decade, cited "institutional validation of homophobic and misogynistic views" as his reason for resignation.

Liverpool Echo

In a now-deleted post discovered by The Times, Aston wrote: "Many of the powerful groups agitating for the mass import into England of Muslims from the Third World are Jewish."

Bournemouth Echo

Contributing to a new book calling for more integrated education, Mr Higgins said it was past time policy makers caught up with the public mood.

Irish News

A 60-year-old Catholic priest who specialised in exorcisms and worked as a youth church leader in the Island has appeared in the Magistrate's Court charged with ten counts of sexually abusing a child in Jersey.

Jersey Evening Pos

Republican governor intends to appeal to Supreme Court as GOP officials test church-and-state firewalls.

Independent