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** Your daily media briefing - Friday 31 July
In the Media <[link removed]> is our daily collection of news and commentary related to secularism, available delivered to your inbox. You can also read the latest news <[link removed]> and opinion <[link removed]> and listen to our podcasts <[link removed]> on our website.
** Secularism in the media
* Liverpool school admissions process to be examined amid concern it disadvantages Muslims <[link removed]>
The effect of Liverpool's schools admissions processes on Muslim children and those from ethnic minority backgrounds is set to be examined by councillors. It comes after a meeting earlier this year, when a group of Muslim parents said admissions criteria for faith schools and academies nearby meant their children often ended up being placed in schools on the other side of the city.
Liverpool Echo
* Jewish faith schools to select pupils based on 'religious practice' points <[link removed]>
The Chief Rabbi has published new guidelines for entry into Jewish schools under his authority in September 2021 because of the pandemic. If schools are oversubscribed, priority goes to children who have attained a certain number of points on a religious practice certificate.
The JC
* Council to undergo review of directory service after 'conversion therapy' link highlighted <[link removed]>
Mid Ulster District Council have temporarily suspended their directory function after a listed organisation was linked to controversial 'conversion therapy' tactics some organisations claim can 'cure' homosexuality.
Derry Now
* 'Islamic State supporter from Bury planned lone wolf terror attacks', court told <[link removed]>
An alleged supporter of so-called Islamic State researched modifying a drone to be used in a terrorist attack, possibly targeting the British Army or police, a court has heard.
Bury Times
* Jehovah's Witnesses had 'disowned' man found dead in park <[link removed]>
Lewis Marshall, 27, died after he hanged himself at St James Park in Bristol. His mother said he was "disowned" by his Jehovah Witness fellowship due to his smoking and drinking and erratic behaviour.
Somerset Live
* 'Only a true "numpty" could support new hate crime bill in its current form' <[link removed]>
The Bill erodes one of the key fundamentals of our hard-earned rights, namely freedom of speech, says Alan Simpson.
The Herald
* Mexico Supreme Court rejects state's bid to decriminalise abortion <[link removed]>
The case revolved around an injunction granted in the eastern state of Veracruz, which would have effectively decriminalised termination in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
BBC
* 'Banned in China, some Falun Gong fear new Hong Kong national security law'
The spiritual group was banned in mainland China in 1999 but its members have been allowed to practice in Hong Kong freely, even though the group urges people to renounce the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
Reuters
* 'The Supreme Court’s religious crusaders take on the pandemic response' <[link removed]>
The fight over limits on church attendance divides the justices, says Linda Greenhouse.
The New York Times (£)
* 'IS prisoner issue a ticking timebomb for the West' <[link removed]>
The latent danger posed by thousands of defeated and captured fighters who joined the Islamic State group is festering and growing in the squalid, overcrowded prison camps of north-east Syria, where riots and attempted breakouts are becoming commonplace.
BBC
** The latest from the NSS
* It's not too late to fulfil George Holyoake's secularist vision <[link removed]>
With secularist principles under siege across much of the world, it's worth reconsidering the vision of the man who coined the term 'secularism' in the 19th century, says his biographer Ray Argyle.
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