Faith Matters General

Brazilian right-wing candidate Bolsonaro picks army general as running mate
August 7, 2018 By Faith Matters

Brazilian right-wing candidate Bolsonaro picks army general as running mate

Brazilian far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday tipped as his running mate a controversial retired military general who said last year that a military coup was possible in the country. General Antonio Hamilton Mourão warned last September that the military could seize power if Brazil’s courts do not punish corrupt politicians. Mourão was later […]

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Probe confirms Japan medical university cut women’s test scores
August 7, 2018 By Faith Matters

Probe confirms Japan medical university cut women’s test scores

A Japanese medical school deliberately cut women’s entrance test scores for several years, a panel of lawyers hired by the school to investigate the issue said on Tuesday, calling it a “very serious” instance of discrimination. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made a priority of creating a society “where women can shine”, but women in […]

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Pope recognises ‘decisive’ measures against abuse by Chile’s bishops
August 7, 2018 By Faith Matters

Pope recognises ‘decisive’ measures against abuse by Chile’s bishops

Pope Francis recognised on Monday measures that Chile’s bishops said they would take to assist prosecutors investigating allegations of sex abuse that have plagued the Roman Catholic Church in Chile, including that they would work to reach an agreement with prosecutors on an exchange of information. The pontiff wrote in a letter released to media […]

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Act on anti-Semitism or face ‘eternal shame’, says Deputy Leader of Labour
August 6, 2018 By Faith Matters

Act on anti-Semitism or face ‘eternal shame’, says Deputy Leader of Labour

The deputy leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party increased pressure on its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, over anti-Semitism on Sunday, saying the party could “disappear into a vortex of eternal shame” unless he tackled a growing crisis. Corbyn has been criticised by Jewish groups for what they describe as his tolerance of anti-Semitism in Labour, a […]

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Saudi Arabia to admit Iranian diplomat
August 6, 2018 By Faith Matters

Saudi Arabia to admit Iranian diplomat

Saudi Arabia has agreed to admit an Iranian diplomat to head an office representing Iranian interests in the kingdom, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported on Sunday, in a rare move after the rivals broke off relations in 2016. “An informed diplomatic source said Sunday that Saudi Arabia had agreed to grant a visa […]

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Police detain around 25 gay rights activists in St Petersburg
August 6, 2018 By Faith Matters

Police detain around 25 gay rights activists in St Petersburg

Russian police detained around 25 gay rights activists who took part in an unsanctioned rally in St Petersburg on Saturday, according to Reuters witnesses. A few dozen activists gathered at Palace Square on Saturday afternoon, defying a ban to hold the rally. Organisers had said they would stage one-man protests to demand freedom of association […]

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Facebook fakers get better at covering tracks, security experts say
August 6, 2018 By Faith Matters

Facebook fakers get better at covering tracks, security experts say

Creators of fake accounts and news pages on Facebook are learning from their past mistakes and making themselves harder to track and identify, posing new challenges in preventing the platform from being used for political misinformation, cyber security experts say. This was apparent as Facebook tried to determine who created pages it said were aimed […]

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Romanian officials condemn anti-Semitic vandalism of Elie Wiesel house
August 6, 2018 By Faith Matters

Romanian officials condemn anti-Semitic vandalism of Elie Wiesel house

Romanian police were investigating vandalism at the childhood home of Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, which was painted with anti-Semitic graffiti. Wiesel, an activist and writer, was born in the northwestern Romanian town of Sighetu Marmatiei. His family was deported to Auschwitz, where his mother and one of his sisters died. Wiesel and […]

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Israel’s Druze Arabs criticise new nation-state law
August 3, 2018 By Faith Matters

Israel’s Druze Arabs criticise new nation-state law

Israel’s new “nation-state” law has provoked anger among members of its most integrated minority, the Druze, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek corrective legislation. Netanyahu has defended the law, which declares that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country, from fierce criticism at home and abroad. But his conservative government appears […]

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Jerusalem Gay Pride parade marches amid tight security
August 3, 2018 By Faith Matters

Jerusalem Gay Pride parade marches amid tight security

Some 20,000 people turned out on Thursday for Jerusalem’s annual Gay Pride parade, flanked by police officers after threats by some Jewish activists to disrupt the celebration. They waved rainbow flags and a few Israeli ones with rainbow motifs as they processed through the Jewish part of Jerusalem on a march that went off largely […]

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