politics

Turkey: Freedoms suffer as government blocks decades-old mothers’ vigil
August 29, 2018 By Faith Matters

Turkey: Freedoms suffer as government blocks decades-old mothers’ vigil

Every Saturday for 23 years, dozens of people have held a vigil in a central Istanbul square, sitting in silence and holding pictures of relatives who went missing in police detention. The group was about to stage their 700th demonstration last Saturday when Turkish police told them their protest was banned, before firing tear gas […]

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Uganda: Lawmaker remanded in custody on treason charges
August 24, 2018 By Faith Matters

Uganda: Lawmaker remanded in custody on treason charges

An opposition Ugandan lawmaker was charged with treason on Thursday over his alleged role in the stoning of President Yoweri Museveni’s convoy this month. A civilian magistrate ordered Robert Kyagulanyi remanded in custody until Aug. 30 and granted him access to private doctors, citing the “health of the accused”, according to footage broadcast on private […]

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Bosnia: Leader accuses U.S. of meddling in elections
August 23, 2018 By Faith Matters

Bosnia: Leader accuses U.S. of meddling in elections

The president of Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic has accused the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo of using its development agency to interfere in the Balkan country’s election process, a charge dismissed by the embassy as a “wild” conspiracy theory. Milorad Dodik said the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was implementing its aid programme through non-government […]

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US: Social media platforms dismantle disinformation campaigns
August 22, 2018 By Faith Matters

US: Social media platforms dismantle disinformation campaigns

Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc. collectively removed hundreds of accounts tied to an alleged Iranian propaganda operation on Tuesday, while Facebook took down a second campaign it said was linked to Russia. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the accounts identified on his company’s platform were part of two separate campaigns, the first from […]

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Egypt: Government finalising details of long-term Hamas-Israel truce
August 17, 2018 By Faith Matters

Egypt: Government finalising details of long-term Hamas-Israel truce

Egypt is finalising details of a long-term truce deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian security source said on Thursday, amid easing tensions on the border of the enclave where some two million Palestinians live. Cairo has brokered an interim truce that has allowed commercial goods into Gaza ahead of the […]

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US: Google provides data on U.S. political advertising
August 17, 2018 By Faith Matters

US: Google provides data on U.S. political advertising

Google has added a section to its twice-yearly transparency report to show who buys U.S. election ads on its platform and how much money is spent on political advertising, the search engine giant said on Wednesday. The move follows similar steps from Twitter and Facebook in late June, as social media platforms face the threat […]

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Indonesia: President highlights nationalism amid controversy
August 13, 2018 By Faith Matters

Indonesia: President highlights nationalism amid controversy

Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, brandished his nationalist and religious credentials on Friday amid reports he had come under pressure from Islamic party allies to accept a conservative cleric as running mate in next year’s election. In a last-minute decision, Widodo announced on Thursday Ma’ruf Amin, who heads the board of advisers of the country’s biggest […]

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Slovenia’s centre-left coalition nominates Marjan Sarec for PM
August 9, 2018 By Faith Matters

Slovenia’s centre-left coalition nominates Marjan Sarec for PM

Slovenia’s five centre-left parties nominated Marjan Sarec, a comedian turned politician, to become prime minister and form a government following an inconclusive June 3 general election. The nomination is expected to end Slovenia’s longest political stalemate since an election. The anti-immigrant Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) of former Prime Minister Janez Jansa, the strongest single party […]

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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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