Concern over violence as Palestinians prepare for Ramadan in Jerusalem

Bloodshed and hardline Israeli politics raise tensions on eve of Muslim holy month

In the Old City of Jerusalem and the Palestinian neighbourhoods surrounding it, preparations for Ramadan are under way: strings of festive lights and lanterns are ready to welcome sundown on Thursday, while sweet shops and bakers are busy making qatayef – fried dumplings filled with cream or sweet cheese, traditionally eaten during the Muslim holy month.

The period of fasting that commemorates Gabriel’s revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad is a time for self-discipline, reflection and celebrations with family and friends. As with almost every religious holiday in the contested city, however, this year Ramadan is accompanied by worries of surging violence.

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Sadiq Khan switches on London’s first Ramadan lights in Piccadilly Circus

Mayor turns on display made up of 30,000 sustainable lights on eve of Muslim month of fasting

Sadiq Khan has switched on the London’s first ever celebratory Ramadan lights, in Piccadilly Circus.

It is the first time a European city has seen such a grand display for the festival, with the installation featuring 30,000 sustainable lights.

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Punjab hit by internet blackout as authorities hunt for Sikh preacher

Shutdown imposed as part of search for Amritpal Singh Sandhu, accused of disrupting communal harmony

Economic life in the north Indian state of Punjab has been paralysed by an internet shutdown, affecting 30 million people, imposed as part of a huge manhunt for a Sikh preacher fighting for a separate Sikh state.

Police have been searching for Amritpal Singh Sandhu, who is wanted for allegedly disrupting communal harmony, since Saturday.

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Spanish monastery admits girls to choir for first time in 700-year history

Mixed group to take over duties of Escolania choir at Montserrat monastery one weekend a month

Women and girls are to be admitted to a choir at the Montserrat monastery near Barcelona, home to the famous Escolania all-boys choir, for the first time in its 700-year history.

The new chamber choir, made up of a mix of about 25 boys and women and girls aged 17 to 24, will be separate from the Escolania, which comprises 45 boys aged nine to 14.

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Board of Deputies of British Jews apologises for calling journalist an ‘asshole’

Tweet, now deleted, was in response to Rachel Shabi’s comments on Holocaust education

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has apologised to the journalist Rachel Shabi after a message on its official Twitter account described her as an “asshole”.

The tweet from the organisation’s account on Saturday was in response to Shabi’s comments on Holocaust education.

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Australian Catholic order accused of waiting for paedophile to die and using death to shield it from abuse claims

Marist Brothers approach in seeking to halt a survivor’s case over a clergy member’s death would be ‘absolutely perverse’, court hears

A Catholic order allegedly sat on its hands for almost two years waiting for a notorious paedophile clergy member to die and is now using his death to claim it could no longer receive a fair trial against one of his victims, an approach described in court as “absolutely perverse”.

The Marist Brothers order is currently seeking to permanently halt a survivor’s case alleging abuse by the late Brother Francis “Romuald” Cable, arguing his death renders it unable to fairly defend itself because it can no longer call him as a witness.

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Hillsong under investigation by charities regulator over explosive allegations aired in parliament

Documents tabled by MP Andrew Wilkie claim to show church used jobkeeper funds to help purchase Melbourne’s Festival Hall

The federal charities regulator is investigating Hillsong over explosive allegations aired under parliamentary privilege that it engaged in money laundering and tax evasion, with claims the mega-church earned $80m more than it publicly declared.

Financial documents tabled in parliament by the independent MP Andrew Wilkie, obtained from a whistleblower, claim to show Hillsong used funds from the jobkeeper wage subsidy program to help fund the purchase of Melbourne’s Festival Hall, and that its founder, Brian Houston, used tithes from parishioners to pay for upgraded hotel quarantine accommodation when returning from overseas at the height of the Covid pandemic.

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Iraqi customs officials ordered to impose import ban on alcohol

Move met with indignation by many across country, where liquor sales have boomed in recent years

Over the past two decades of problems in Iraq, where to find a drink has never been one of them. But one of the country’s most popular vices – alcohol – is again at the centre of a tussle between hardliners, who are demanding an import ban, and drinkers intent on defying them.

The latest row about whether alcohol can be served has followed a decree from a conservative cabinet minister at the weekend that ordered customs officials to impose an import ban.

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Evangelical Christians flock to Republicans over support for Israel

Powerful voting bloc looking to back pro-Israel politicians in hopes of dictating policy that fits their theological views

When Israel’s former ambassador to the US said his country should worry less about what American Jews think and concentrate on Christian evangelicals as the “backbone” of support for the Jewish state, he had in mind the Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee.

Hagee founded Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a group that claims 11 million members, who have had a significant influence on Republican party politics and in hardening Washington’s already strong support for Israel.

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Christian prayer march along Newtown street was ‘unauthorised protest activity’, police say

Around 30 men filmed marching down the LGBTQ+ hub of King Street praying and holding rosary beads above their heads

A group of around 30 men staged a Christian protest march on a popular entertainment strip in Sydney’s inner west on Friday night, in what police confirmed was “unauthorised protest activity”.

The men were filmed marching down King Street in Newtown, while praying and holding rosary beads above their heads.

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King Charles coronation oil is consecrated in Jerusalem

Oil has been created using olives from two groves on Mount of Olives, and a formula dating back centuries

The fragrant chrism oil that will be used to anoint King Charles during his coronation in May was made sacred in Jerusalem on Friday.

A ceremony took place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the holy oil was consecrated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, and the Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum.

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Sydney Anglican church accuses law reform commission of double standard over religious school hiring

Submission says agency’s push to enable LGBTQ+ role models ‘preferences one worldview over another’

The Sydney Anglican church has accused the Australian Law Reform Commission of a “double standard” for seeking to give LGBTQ+ students role models while limiting the ability of religious schools to hire by faith.

The church’s submission to a review of exemptions for religious schools from discrimination law is part of a broader conservative backlash that has prompted the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to recommit the government to allowing schools to select staff based on faith.

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Catholic church uses paedophile priest’s death to try to block NSW survivor’s lawsuit

Case is latest in series where church seeks to capitalise on landmark ruling that a priest’s death meant church could not receive a fair trial

The Catholic church is attempting to use the death of a paedophile, who had been jailed for the abuse of 17 children, to shield itself from further civil claims from his survivors.

In recent months, the church has adopted an increasingly aggressive approach to survivors in cases where paedophile clergy have died. It has sought to capitalise on a recent decision in New South Wales’s highest court that ruled a priest’s death meant the church could not receive a fair trial in a claim brought by a woman known as GLJ.

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Maths teacher accused of misgendering pupil on religious grounds

Joshua Sutcliffe denies regulator’s charge of prioritising his convictions over pupil’s interests

A maths teacher “failed to separate the teacher from the preacher” when he allegedly misgendered a transgender pupil repeatedly and inappropriately shared his religious beliefs in the classroom, a misconduct panel heard.

Joshua Sutcliffe, 32, was accused by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) of “conduct that negatively affected pupils” on multiple occasions during his time at schools in Oxford and London. He denies the charges of professional misconduct.

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Hillsong College allegedly taught some students women should ‘submit’ sexually to husbands

The school’s code of conduct instructs students to ‘abstain from biblically immoral practices’, including ‘sexual sins’

Patriarchal churches that teach women should “submit” to men are creating a culture where abuse can thrive, experts say.

A News Corp Australia podcast has alleged that some female students at Hillsong College, part of Hillsong Church, were taught to “submit” sexually to their husbands, which one former student described as “kind of a rape culture”.

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Labour’s Preet Gill accused of undermining Sikh victims of sexual violence

Shadow development secretary urged those calling Sikh temples unsafe to submit written apologies

Grassroots Labour supporters have complained about the behaviour of Preet Gill, the shadow international development secretary, whom they accuse of undermining Sikh victims of sexual violence.

Sikh members have made a complaint to the party after Gill sent a series of messages on a WhatsApp group that appeared to cast doubt on allegations of sexual abuse within gurdwaras.

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Matt Kean backs push to outlaw gay conversion practices in NSW

Leading Coalition moderate says he supports the concept but is waiting to see Alex Greenwich’s bill

The New South Wales treasurer, Matt Kean, says he “wholeheartedly” supports a push to outlaw gay conversion practices in the state, despite the premier, Dominic Perrottet, refusing to say whether he would support a ban.

As Sydney prepares to play host to the WorldPride festival beginning this week, the powerful crossbench MP Alex Greenwich has made a ban on the practice a condition of his support in the event of a hung parliament after the March state election.

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PM reaffirms commitment to allow religious schools to hire staff based on faith

Albanese says Labor made its position ‘clear a long time ago’ after religious groups reject proposal as having ‘severe limits’

Anthony Albanese has reiterated that Labor will respect religious schools’ right to select staff based on faith, after widespread backlash from religious groups to a proposal to limit their hiring and firing powers.

On Monday an alliance of religious leaders rejected a proposal by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) to allow religious preference only where “the teaching, observance or practice of religion is a genuine occupational requirement”.

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Sudan court sentences three men to hand amputation for stealing

The verdict, the first of its kind in almost a decade, has shocked many who fear country is sliding back into state extremism

Three Sudanese men have been sentenced to hand amputation for stealing, the first time in almost a decade that such a punishment has been handed down in the country’s courts.

The three men in their 20s were convicted of stealing gas cylinders in Omdurman, Sudan’s most populous city, which sits across the Nile River from the capital, Khartoum.

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Portugal: Catholic clergy abused nearly 5,000 children since 1950, inquiry finds

Independent commission reaches conclusion after hearing evidence from over 500 survivors last year

Catholic clergy in Portugal have abused nearly 5,000 children since 1950, an independent commission said on Monday after hearing hundreds of survivors’ accounts.

Thousands of reports of paedophilia within the church have surfaced around the world, and Pope Francis is under pressure to tackle the scandal.

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