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In the News

  • Independent: Government set to make it easier for gay men to give blood
    May 7th, 2017

    The Government is expected to be told to make it considerably easier for gay men to donate blood in a dramatic winding down of the ban implemented amid the 1980s Aids epidemic.

    An advisory committee is understood to have decided that the current deferral period, in which men cannot give blood within 12 months of having sex with another man, should be reduced to three months.

    The change is in line with improved testing measures, which can establish whether someone has a blood infection, such as HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C or syphilis, inside three months.

    Read more.

  • Washington Post: 82 Chibok girls freed in Nigeria after years in Boko Haram custody
    May 6th, 2017

    Eighty-two Chibok schoolgirls were released from Boko Haram insurgents on Saturday, according to Nigerian officials, a major development in the case of the Islamist group's most famous victims, the teenagers whose kidnapping inspired the #BringBackOurGirls movement.

    After months of negotiations, the girls were exchanged "for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities," according to a government statement. They are expected to be sent to Nigeria's capital on Sunday to meet the president.

    In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from a secondary school in the town of Chibok. That mass abduction turned the insurgent group, operating mostly in the country's northeast, into a household name across much of the world. Then-first lady Michelle Obama tweeted a picture of herself holding a placard with the #BringBackOurGirls appeal.

    Read more.

  • Christian Institute: Parents: 'UK media are cheerleaders for harmful idea that kids can be trans'
    May 6th, 2017

    The UK media has facilitated the harmful idea that children can be transsexual, a parental campaign group has warned.

    Transgender Trend, a group of concerned parents who challenge pro-trans propaganda, says the media – and the BBC in particular – are responsible for introducing and normalising the idea that children can be 'trapped in the wrong body'.

    In an article published earlier this week, it set out the results of a study of media output from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.

    Read more.

  • BBC: Schools to get new powers to sack 'maverick governors'
    May 6th, 2017

    School governing bodies are to be given new powers to sack maverick, corrupt and incompetent parent governors.

    Head teachers have campaigned for the change, saying the "destructive actions" of rogue governors can stop schools in England running smoothly.

    The new Department for Education guidelines close a loophole that prevents elected governors from being removed even if they misbehave.

    Read more.

  • Jamaica Observer: Bermuda gay couple clear legal hurdle in fight to wed
    May 6th, 2017

    Two gay men have been celebrating following a landmark ruling handed down on Friday that paves the way for same-sex marriage here – less than a year after voters in this British Overseas Territory overwhelmingly rejected such unions in a referendum.Winston Godwin, a Bermudian, and his Canadian partner, Greg DeRoche, took their fight for equal rights to the Supreme Court after the Registrar-General rejected their application to marry on the island, arguing that the Human Rights Act took primacy in Bermuda and protected their right to wed.

    "On the facts, the applicants were discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation when the Registrar refused to process their notice of intended marriage, said Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons.

    "The applicants are entitled to an order of mandamus compelling the Registrar to act in accordance with the requirements of the Marriage Act and a declaration that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under the Marriage Act," the judgment stated.

    Read more.

  • BBC: Stephen Fry faces blasphemy probe after God comments
    May 6th, 2017

    Police in the Republic of Ireland have launched an investigation after a viewer claimed comments made by Stephen Fry on a TV show were blasphemous.

    Officers are understood to be examining whether the British comedian committed a criminal offence under the Defamation Act when he appeared on RTE in 2015.

    Fry had asked why he should "respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world.... full of injustice".

    Read more.

  • The Wee Flea: Video: Why are Christians such Homophobic Bigots?
    May 6th, 2017

    Here is the latest Solas 'Short' – you can access it on Youtube, Facebook and on the Solas Short Answers.

    Watch here.

  • The Chronicle of Higher Education: A Journal Article Provoked a Schism in Philosophy. Now the Rifts Are Deepening.
    May 6th, 2017

    The associate editors of Hypatia, a journal of feminist philosophy, apologized on Facebook this week for the publication of "In Defense of Transracialism," an article by Rebecca Tuvel, that had quickly drawn opprobrium. "Clearly," they wrote, "the article should not have been published."

    One problem with that statement: Hypatia's editor now says she disagrees with it.

    The essay by Ms. Tuvel, an assistant professor of philosophy at Rhodes College, had incited considerable controversy online. It drew parallels between the experiences of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman and former leader of an NAACP chapter who for years has identified as black, and the celebrity Caitlyn Jenner, who transitioned to being a woman. Critics blasted the article as a product of white and cisgender privilege, said it discounted important scholarly work by transgender and black academics, and accused its author of using harmful language.

    Read more.

  • Premier: Christian charity sends manifesto to politicians, wants help for persecuted Christians
    May 6th, 2017

    Barnabus Fund, a relief agency which supports the persecuted church throughout the world, urged politicians to adopt policies to prevent genocide among persecuted Christians.

    The manifesto was sent to each political party contesting the upcoming June 8th General Election.

    The manifesto warns: "The next UK government should recognise that without specific urgent action now there is a very real danger that Christian communities will have ceased to exist in large parts of the Middle East by the time of the next general election in 2022."

    Read more.

  • Archbishop of Canterbury: General Election 2017: Archbishops highlight the place of faith in British life
    May 6th, 2017

    Faith has a central role to play in politics and this general election, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York say today.

    In a pastoral letter to the parishes and chaplaincies of the Church of England, Archbishops Justin Welby and John Sentamu urge people to set aside "apathy and cynicism" and draw new inspiration from the ancient Christian virtues of "love, trust and hope".

    The three-page letter, intended to be shared in churches from this Sunday onward, encourages voters to remember Britain's Christian history and heritage as well as a concern for future generations and God's creation as they make their decisions.

    Read more.