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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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Canada: Hajj pilgrims and students face uncertainty
August 17, 2018 By Faith Matters

Canada: Hajj pilgrims and students face uncertainty

Canadian Muslims travelling to the Hajj pilgrimage face delays coming back due to a diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia that is also prompting thousands of students from the kingdom to scramble to sell their assets and return home to meet a month-end deadline. As the stalemate continues, Canada is reaching out to its allies, including […]

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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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China: Buddhist monk master resigns after sexual misconduct allegations
August 17, 2018 By Faith Matters

China: Buddhist monk master resigns after sexual misconduct allegations

One of China’s highest-ranking Buddhist monks quit as the head of the country’s Buddhist association on Wednesday after facing a government investigation over accusations of sexual misconduct. The abbot of Longquan Temple on the outskirts of Beijing, who is also a member of the Communist Party’s top political advisory body, has denied accusations of harassing […]

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UK: Westminster terror suspect arrested for attempted murder
August 16, 2018 By Faith Matters

UK: Westminster terror suspect arrested for attempted murder

A 29-year-old man detained over a suspected terrorist attack outside parliament has been further arrested for attempted murder, police said on Wednesday. He had initially been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after he appeared deliberately to drive his car at cyclists and pedestrians before ramming it into barriers outside the parliament building on Tuesday […]

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US: Pennsylvania report details decades of sexual abuse by priests
August 16, 2018 By Faith Matters

US: Pennsylvania report details decades of sexual abuse by priests

Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania sexually abused thousands of children over a 70-year period and silenced victims through “the weaponization of faith” and a systematic cover-up campaign by their bishops, the state attorney general said on Tuesday. An 884-page report made public by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro after a two-year investigation contained graphic examples […]

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Myanmar: Why Facebook is losing the war on hate speech in Myanmar
August 16, 2018 By Faith Matters

Myanmar: Why Facebook is losing the war on hate speech in Myanmar

In April, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg told U.S. senators that the social media site was hiring dozens more Burmese speakers to review hate speech posted in Myanmar. The situation was dire. Some 700,000 members of the Rohingya community had recently fled the country amid a military crackdown and ethnic violence. In March, a United Nations […]

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New Mexico: Muslim suspects granted bail; judge receives threats
August 16, 2018 By Faith Matters

New Mexico: Muslim suspects granted bail; judge receives threats

A New Mexico judge received death threats and Islamophobic abuse on Tuesday a day after she granted bail to five Muslims charged with child abuse and accused of training children at their compound to carry out attacks, court officials said. Police raided the compound in Taos County on Aug. 3 following a tip-off that children […]

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Australia: Politicians condemn call for ‘final solution’ to Muslim immigration
August 15, 2018 By Faith Matters

Australia: Politicians condemn call for ‘final solution’ to Muslim immigration

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and all major political parties on Wednesday condemned a speech by a minor senator who used the term “final solution” in calling for a revival of a “White Australia” restrictive immigration policy. In one of the most divisive speeches seen in parliament since 1996 when far-right politician Pauline Hanson declared […]

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South Korea: Japanese wartime ‘comfort women’ commemorated
August 15, 2018 By Faith Matters

South Korea: Japanese wartime ‘comfort women’ commemorated

South Korea marked its first “memorial day” on Tuesday for girls and women forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels, with both of the U.S. allies expressing concern that the emotionally charged issue could undermine their relations. Under a 2015 deal, Japan apologised to the “comfort women”, its euphemism for women – many of them […]

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