British Isles
Flood defences
11 Dec 2015
It is going to be a grim Christmas for many in Cumbria as they clean up after the floods. Those who were also affected by the 2009 floods might not be inclined to believe the ‘once…
Northern Ireland: gay marriage ban challenged
04 Dec 2015
A legal challenge to Northern Ireland's ban on gay marriage opened on Thursday. The landmark challenge has been launched by two couples - Grainne Close and Shannon Sickles, and Chris and Henry Flanagan-Kanem. They have been…
Archbishop of York begins walking pilgrimage
04 Dec 2015
Dr John Sentamu began a six-month walking pilgrimage of his deaneries in the north-east of England on Tuesday with morning prayers at St Mary's Church in Whitby, which hosted the Whitby Synod in AD 664, uniting…
Compulsory sex education in schools
04 Dec 2015
Campaigners are again pushing for sex and relationships education (SRE) to be made compulsory in all English schools. Currently local authority-maintained schools in England are obliged to teach SRE from age 11 upwards, and must have…
This week, the Belfast High Court ruled that Northern Ireland’s abortion law is incompatible with human rights. By not allowing for exceptions where the child has a ‘fatal foetal abnormality’ (FFA), or where the pregnancy is…
Woman loses court battle in gender abortion case
04 Dec 2015
A woman has lost her legal challenge to bring charges against two doctors accused of agreeing to perform abortions based on the sex of unborn baby girls. Aisling Hubert, a pro-life campaigner from Brighton, accused the…