News

China: Newspaper blames West for encouraging Xinjiang extremists
September 3, 2018 By Faith Matters

China: Newspaper blames West for encouraging Xinjiang extremists

Turbulence in China’s restive far western region of Xinjiang has been caused by “external factors”, a state-run newspaper said Saturday in an editorial responding to calls by a group of U.S. lawmakers for sanctions on Chinese officials. “Western accusations of Xinjiang governance seriously misled the extremists, making them believe they were launching religious Jihad and […]

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U.K.: Briton jailed for life over plot to kill Prime Minister
August 31, 2018 By Faith Matters

U.K.: Briton jailed for life over plot to kill Prime Minister

A British man was sentenced to life in prison on Friday over a plot to kill Prime Minister Theresa May by first detonating an explosive device to get into her Downing Street office and then using a knife or a gun to attack her. Naa’imur Rahman, 21, of north London, planned to detonate an improvised […]

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Pakistan: Critics fear Islamism rise as new minister bans ‘vulgar’ billboards
August 31, 2018 By Faith Matters

Pakistan: Critics fear Islamism rise as new minister bans ‘vulgar’ billboards

Punjab’s new information minister, Islamist politician Fayaz-ul-Hasan Chohan, has announced a ban on “vulgar” movie billboards in the Pakistani province, angering those who fear the growing influence of hardliners under new Prime Minister Imran Khan. Since Khan’s party appointed him last week, Chohan has caused a number of rows, including with his visit to the […]

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China: CCTV cameras and eviction for a ‘house church’ in Beijing
August 31, 2018 By Faith Matters

China: CCTV cameras and eviction for a ‘house church’ in Beijing

The Zion Church in Beijing, one of the city’s largest unofficial Protestant “house” churches, has operated with relative freedom for years, hosting hundreds of worshippers every weekend in an expansive, specially renovated hall in north Beijing. But in April, city authorities asked the church to install 24 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the building for […]

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UK: Foreign minister attacks Google over ‘child abuse content’
August 31, 2018 By Faith Matters

UK: Foreign minister attacks Google over ‘child abuse content’

British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt accused Google on Thursday of abandoning its moral values by failing to remove child abuse content while launching a version of its search engine in China that will block some websites. The British government has repeatedly criticized online platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook for failing to remove abusive […]

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Jordan: Country to lead fundraising for U.N. Palestinian agency after cuts
August 31, 2018 By Faith Matters

Jordan: Country to lead fundraising for U.N. Palestinian agency after cuts

Jordan said on Thursday it would lead a campaign to raise funds for the U.N. agency that supports Palestinian refugees, to help it survive after the United States cut its funding. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said a meeting next month in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly would mobilise support for […]

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Pakistan: Islamists call for Dutch envoy’s expulsion over cartoons
August 30, 2018 By Faith Matters

Pakistan: Islamists call for Dutch envoy’s expulsion over cartoons

An Islamist party in Pakistan called for the expulsion of the Dutch ambassador on Wednesday as it launched a protest against a far-right Dutch politician’s plan for a cartoon competition featuring caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. Several thousand activists gathered in the eastern city of Lahore for the demonstration organised by Tehreek-e-Labbaik, a party […]

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U.N.: Social media must clamp down on hate speech
August 30, 2018 By Faith Matters

U.N.: Social media must clamp down on hate speech

Social media, including Facebook, must proactively block content inciting hatred and prevent online campaigns which target minorities, such as those undertaken in Myanmar, the United Nations human rights chief said on Wednesday. Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, was speaking after U.N. experts accused Myanmar generals of “genocidal intent” and said Facebook […]

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Germany: Skulls from colonial-era massacre returned to Namibia
August 30, 2018 By Faith Matters

Germany: Skulls from colonial-era massacre returned to Namibia

Skulls and other remains of massacred tribespeople used in the colonial era for experiments to push claims of European racial superiority were handed over by Germany to Namibia at a church ceremony in Berlin. In what historians call the first genocide of the 20th century, soldiers of German Kaiser Wilhelm slaughtered some 65,000 Herero and […]

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India: Top court places rights activists under house arrest
August 30, 2018 By Faith Matters

India: Top court places rights activists under house arrest

India’s Supreme Court ordered police on Wednesday to put five prominent rights campaigners suspected of links to Maoist guerrillas under house arrest as outrage grew over their detention. Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government have dismissed the allegations against the activists, who were detained a day earlier, and said the crackdown was part of […]

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