Gendercide could be on its way out of UK
Gendercide–choosing abortion because of the baby’s gender–could be on its way out of the UK within the next few months after MP’s upheld a parliamentary motion to fast-track a new law last week. The amendment, which prohibits abortion based on the baby’s gender, was signed by more than 70 MP’s. If passed, the amendment will be added to the Government’s Serious Crime Bill by May 2015. The proposed law would mean that doctors who commit gendercide can be prosecuted. Conservative member Fiona Bruce is one of the main supporters of the amendment. She related in The Daily Telegraph that the Government has shown a lack of interest in this issue, claiming that the coalition Government ‘persistently denied’ that sex selective abortions were happening in the UK. Referring to the statistical analysis that the Government used to back up its claims, Bruce said:
Government ‘sorry’ over Christian group conference ban
A Christian organisation has received a public apology after its event was banned from a Government-owned venue because of its traditional marriage beliefs. In 2012, the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre prevented Christian Concern from holding a debate which was to feature speakers for and against gay marriage. The centre cancelled the event the night before it was due to take place, saying the group’s views were ‘inappropriate’ for a Government-owned building. But Christian Concern took legal action, and has now reached an out-of-court settlement with the conference centre and the Department for Communities and Local Government which owns the venue. It said: “The Centre accepts that some people have deeply held views about the nature of marriage, and that every individual has the freedom to express these in accordance with the law. (See Prayer Alert 5-7-2012)
Iran: Khamenei’s message to the West
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has posted an open letter to Western youth on his website, asking them to ‘gain direct and first-hand knowledge’ about Islam instead of information based on ‘resentments and prejudices.’ It might be the first time a senior Islamic cleric has directly addressed the youth of the West about his religion. The letter was posted just two weeks after the 7 January attacks by Islamist extremists in Paris. Part of the letter says, ‘I don’t insist that you accept my reading or any other reading of Islam. What I want to say is: Don’t allow the extremists this dynamic and effective reality in today’s world to be introduced to you through resentments and prejudices. Don’t allow them to hypocritically introduce their own recruited terrorists as representatives of Islam. Gain information about Islam through the Qur’an.’
India: Religious freedom
President Obama ended his visit to India with a speech referring to religious freedom. He warned India not to stray from its constitutional commitment to allow people freedom to ‘profess, practice and propagate’ religion. Obama's visit aimed to cement a strategic partnership with India, and the two leaders gave the media plenty of opportunity to see them developing a stronger relationship. The President chose his parting speech to deliver his message to the nation about treatment of non-Hindu faiths. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, Obama said that Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism are ‘all different flowers in the garden, India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith’. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in 2014, Hindu activists have been eager to declare their country a nation of Hindus, which has led to an increasing number of attacks on minority faiths.
