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In the News

  • Guardian: LGBT characters on TV will make up larger percentage than ever, study finds
    November 4th, 2016

    The 2016-17 television season will have the highest percentage of LGBTQ regular characters yet, a new study released on Thursday said.

    The research conducted by Glaad, an LGBTQ media advocacy organization, found that 4.8% (43) of the characters expected to appear on primetime scripted broadcast TV will be LGBTQ, a record in the 21 years it has been tracking such numbers.

    The report, titled Where We Are on TV, analyzes the overall diversity of prime-time scripted series on broadcast, cable and streaming services in the US.

    Read more.

  • National Secular Society: Counter Extremism Bill alarmed me most, says independent reviewer of terrorism legislation
    November 4th, 2016

    The senior lawyer tasked with reviewing the Government's legislation on counter-extremism has strongly criticised draft plans for tackling "non-violent extremism".

    David Anderson QC said that in six years reviewing counter-terrorism legislation for the Government the draft Counter Extremism Bill was "the single document that has alarmed me most".

    "Over the last six years I've seen an awful lot of secret material. Everything to do with the operation of the laws against terrorism, everything to do with surveillance. I think the single document that has alarmed me most was the early draft, I emphasise, of the Counter-Extremism Bill that I saw in the summer of 2015. Since then we've seen nothing definite."

    Read more.

  • Church of England: New Head of Media Operations announced
    November 4th, 2016

    The communications office of the Church of England has today announced the appointment of John Bingham as Head of Media Operations. John replaces Neill Harvey Smith who moved on from the role in July of this year.

    John Bingham brings substantial experience to the post with 15 years in full time journalism with much of this at a senior level. He has held his current role as Religious and Social Affairs editor for the Daily Telegraph for almost 5 years having previously worked as a Senior Reporter for the Telegraph and Chief reporter for the Press Association.

    Read more.

  • BBC: Metro Bank lets customers choose Mr, Ms, Mrs and Mx
    November 4th, 2016

    Metro Bank is the latest organisation to let customers choose an honorific that is neither male nor female.

    The High Street lender is now offering the non-binary "Mx" prefix on its forms.

    It said the option will be available to customers opening products such as current accounts, as well as staff.

    Read more.

  • TES: Anti-radicalisation training is insufficient, says teachers
    November 4th, 2016

    Two-fifths of respondents to TES online survey say that preparation for the Prevent duty lasts for an hour or less

    Over two-fifths of teachers say that the training they have received for the government’s Prevent strategy lasted only an hour or less, according to a TES survey.

    Read more.

  • BBC: Abortion case: Supreme Court to hear NI challenge
    November 2nd, 2016

    A Supreme Court challenge to allow women from Northern Ireland to access NHS-funded abortion care in England is expected to get under way later.

    The appeal is being brought by a mother and daughter who travelled to England for the girl to have an abortion when she was 15.

    Unlike the rest of the UK, abortion is only allowed in very restricted circumstances in Northern Ireland.

    Read more.

  • Mail: Rise of the basement sharia council: MPs told unregulated authorities that perform unofficial marriages and hand out divorces are ‘popping up everywhere’
    November 2nd, 2016

    Unregulated Sharia law authorities are operating across Britain, performing unofficial marriages and handing out divorces, MPs were told.

    The backstreet operations are popping up ‘everywhere in the country’, experts said.

    Dr Ahmad Al-Dubayan, chairman of the UK Board of Sharia Councils, told MPs it was impossible to know how many of the self-appointed bodies existed in Britain.

    Read more. 

  • BBC: Louis Smith: British Gymnastics bans four-time Olympic medallist over video
    November 2nd, 2016

    Four-time Olympic medallist Louis Smith has been given a two-month ban by British Gymnastics for appearing to mock Islam in a video.

    The video, filmed by the 27-year-old Smith but leaked to the media in September, showed him laughing while retired gymnast Luke Carson mimicked Islamic prayer practices.

    Smith, who won pommel horse silver at Rio 2016, later said he was "deeply sorry" for his "thoughtless actions".

    Read more.

  • Premier: Prison chaplain given chance to appeal unfair dismissal verdict
    November 2nd, 2016

    A prison chaplain who resigned after being accused of reading "homophobic" Bible quotes to prisoners has been given the opportunity to appeal an employment tribunal ruling which dismissed his unfair dismissal claim.

    Rev Barry Trayhorn, an ordained Pentecostal minister, took his case to the courts claiming he was being discriminated against after officials reprimanded him when prisoners complained about the Bible verses he was reading.

    Read more.

  • LifeNews: Why is This Pro-Life Woman Being Forced to Pay $62,000 for Trying to Stop Sex-Selection Abortions?
    November 2nd, 2016

    A 23-YEAR-OLD Christian woman, whose attempt to bring ‘gender-abortion’ doctors to justice was derailed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), will tomorrow (02 NOV) ask a court to set aside a crippling legal bill.

    Aisling Hubert, who lives with her parents in East Sussex and is unable to pay the huge bill, says that the case raises crucial issues of access to justice and the CPS’s accountability.

    Read more.