World

Three people on trial for \'Vatileaks\' scandal could face years in prison
Three people on trial for 'Vatileaks' scandal could face years in prison

Vatican prosecutors have demanded heavy jail terms for three of those trial after sensitive Vatican documents were leaked and their contents ended up in two books

Facebook responds to Israeli minister\'s attack after killing by alleged social media user
Facebook responds to Israeli minister's attack after killing by alleged social media user

Facebook has called on users to report content that promotes violence after the website was attacked by an Israeli minister at the weekend over material posted by the alleged killer of a 13-year-old girl in a West Bank settlement.

Kidnapped Iraqi priest: \'During the day I was a spiritual father, at night they tortured me\'
Kidnapped Iraqi priest: 'During the day I was a spiritual father, at night they tortured me'

An Iraqi Catholic priest has described being kidnapped and tortured and having his church blown up in war-torn Iraq after the invasion in 2003.

Beaten and abused for their faith in Jesus: Christian persecution in India
Beaten and abused for their faith in Jesus: Christian persecution in India

Hundreds of thousands of Christians across India are faced with a sobering ultimatum: hide their faith, or risk harassment, intimidation, and even death.

U.S. federal court blocks new Mississippi law that seeks to protect people\'s freedom of conscience
U.S. federal court blocks new Mississippi law that seeks to protect people's freedom of conscience

A U.S. District judge issued an injunction on Thursday blocking the implementation of a new law in Mississippi that aims to protect the freedom of conscience of state residents from government discrimination.

Hillary Clinton attacks Donald Trump for \'blatantly antisemitic\' tweet
Hillary Clinton attacks Donald Trump for 'blatantly antisemitic' tweet

Hilary Clinton has attacked Donald Trump as "blatently antisemitic" for a tweet that featured a six-pointed star.

Charleston church massacre survivors sue FBI for allowing shooter Dylann Roof to buy a gun despite drug use admission
Charleston church massacre survivors sue FBI for allowing shooter Dylann Roof to buy a gun despite drug use admission

A lawsuit has been filed against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by the families of the victims and survivors of last year's shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina over the agency's alleged failure to stop the suspect from buying a gun.

U.S. court blocks state law banning abortion of foetuses with Down syndrome
U.S. court blocks state law banning abortion of foetuses with Down syndrome

A U.S. District Court in Indiana has issued a preliminary injunction to stop the enforcement of a new state law that prohibits women from getting abortion because of the foetus's sex, race, colour, national origin, ancestry, or disability such as Down syndrome.

Atheists display anti-God billboard in Mississippi, the most religious state in America
Atheists display anti-God billboard in Mississippi, the most religious state in America

Atheists will put up an anti-God billboard in Mississippi, which a study showed as the most religious U.S. state.

Terror bomb blast kills four in Saudi holy city of Medina
Terror bomb blast kills four in Saudi holy city of Medina

A suicide bomber has targeted Islam's second holiest site in Saudi Arabia, murdering four people and wounding five others.

Court to decide on whether vacant Catholic Church property needs to be taxed as what atheist group demands
Court to decide on whether vacant Catholic Church property needs to be taxed as what atheist group demands

An atheist organisation has filed a brief in court supporting a city's decision to tax a vacant Catholic Church property in Madison, Wisconsin.

Court upholds decision not to accredit evangelical Christian law school for its alleged anti-LGBT policy
Court upholds decision not to accredit evangelical Christian law school for its alleged anti-LGBT policy

A top court in Ontario, Canada, has upheld a decision of a law society not to give accreditation to an evangelical Christian law school over the latter's alleged anti-LGBT policy barring students from engaging in sexual intimacy outside of marriage between a man and a woman.

City council seeks to thwart Satanist\'s invocation with silent prayer plan
City council seeks to thwart Satanist's invocation with silent prayer plan

The Pensacola City Council in Florida will have a special meeting to decide whether to end its tradition of having invocations to stop a planned prayer on July 14 by a member of the Satanic Temple West Florida.

Iraq\'s minorities \'on verge of disappearance\' say rights groups
Iraq's minorities 'on verge of disappearance' say rights groups

Iraq's Christian population, which before 2003 numbered as many as 1.4 million, is now under 250,000, according to a report by MRG and other rights organisations.

\'The Girl Who Beat ISIS\': New book tells harrowing account of how a brave Yazidi teen escaped from the jihadists\' lair
'The Girl Who Beat ISIS': New book tells harrowing account of how a brave Yazidi teen escaped from the jihadists' lair

Young and innocent—who didn't even know what "rape" was all about—18-year-old Yazidi girl Farida Khalaf suddenly found herself in the hellish clutches of the Islamic State (ISIS) as a sex slave.

Centenarian best friends bare secret to long life and enduring friendship: Faith in God
Centenarian best friends bare secret to long life and enduring friendship: Faith in God

On July 23 this year, Bernice Underwood will turn 100, joining her two best friends—Gladys Butler and Ruth Hammett—as centenarians. A fourth friend, Leona Barnes, would have turned 100, too, this July, but she passed away last May.