Articles
France: secularism sowing hatred and division
01 Nov 2019
Religion is again at the forefront of French public debate. After an 84-year-old former far-right candidate fired shots at a mosque in Bayonne, Emmanuel Macron evoked the French concept of ‘laïcité’ in a speech at the…
Vietnam: Phuc, poverty and prayers
31 Oct 2019
Prime minister Phuc has asked the public security and foreign ministries to investigate the trafficking of Vietnamese citizens into foreign countries after 39 people died in a refrigerated truck in Essex. Vietnam’s UK embassy and the…
USA: new wildfires as crews brace for winds
31 Oct 2019
The US national weather service has issued an ‘extreme red flag’ warning for wildfires in Los Angeles county, Ventura county and the Simi valley. ‘I don't know if I've ever seen us use this warning,’ forecaster…
Syria: al-Baghdadi’s ugly legacy
31 Oct 2019
In 2014 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the establishment of an Islamic caliphate and that the world’s Muslims owed him their allegiance as ‘Caliph Ibrahim.’ It was an attempt to establish Islamic sovereignty across the Earth much…
DRC: Justin Welby visits Ebola zone
31 Oct 2019
The Archbishop of Canterbury has visited areas affected by the Ebola crisis in the DRC, which surfaced in August 2018 and has killed 2,169 people so far. Following strict anti-contamination procedures he toured hospitals transformed into…
Lebanon: demonstrations - PM resigns
31 Oct 2019
Protesters have paralysed Lebanon, blocking roadways, closing schools and shutting banks nationwide. Emergency reform measures and an offer of dialogue with protest representatives by the president failed to defuse anger or move the cross-communal demonstrations of…