Latest Updates

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  Islamists collude with officials in false blasphemy cases in Pakistan

  An Islamist gang trapped more than 450 people in false blasphemy charges in recent years in Pakistan, including five who were tortured death in custody, according to human rights lawyers.

  5 min read

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  Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse send chaplains, relief aid to support survivors of Los Angeles fires

  Trained chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) are visiting relief shelters to offer frontline support and prayers to those forced to flee their homes as fires ravage the Los Angeles region in Southern California.

  2 min read

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  Charity regulator investigates more charities linked to Barnabas Aid

  The Charity Commission announced on Thursday that it was launching statutory inquiries into TBF Trust, the Oxford Centre for Religion in Public Life, the Reconciliation Trust, and Servants Fellowship International (SFI). The charity regulator said the new investigations were being launched after it had identified "possible risks due to their shared premises, trustees and/or founders, and the flow of funds with Barnabas Aid, another charity under inquiry". 

  2 min read

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  Over 400 NZ church leaders oppose controversial changes to historic treaty with Maori as public consultation ends

  The public consultation period for New Zealand’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill, opposed by 400 church leaders and affecting the tenets of the 19th-century Treaty of Waitangi, closed on Jan. 7, 2024. Some respondents reported technical difficulties submitting feedback on the New Zealand Parliament’s website.

  3 min read

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  New Zealand government proposal seeks to require universities to protect freedom of speech

  Universities in New Zealand face obligations to “strengthen freedom of speech obligations” under legislation changes planned by the government. In a joint statement (Dec. 2024), Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour announced the proposed changes to the existing Education and Training Act 2020. The politicians said that each university would be required to adopt a freedom of speech statement in line with “clear expectations.” 

  2 min read