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** Your daily media briefing - Thursday 3 September

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

* Outdated weddings laws of England and Wales face overhaul <[link removed]>

Couples could soon be free to get married on the beach, in a private garden or at sea, according to proposed changes to outdated wedding laws.

The Guardian

* Nicola Sturgeon open to amending hate crime proposals to tackle freedom of speech criticism <[link removed]>

Nicola Sturgeon has suggested controversial hate crime proposals could be overhauled to "listen to concerns" that new laws may threaten freedom of speech.

The Herald

* Cost of hate crime bill has been grossly underestimated, police say <[link removed]>

Ministers have grossly underestimated policing costs associated with the hate crime bill, according to a union representing frontline officers.

The Times (£)

* Sturgeon announces bill to enshrine UN convention on child rights in Scots law <[link removed]>

Nicola Sturgeon announced that a Bill will soon be introduced to enshrine the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), describing the Bill as "one of the most ambitious pieces of legislation in the 20- year history of devolution".

Express and Star

* Emmanuel Macron refuses to condemn Charlie Hebdo cartoons of Muhammad <[link removed]>

The French president defended citizens' right to freedom of speech, saying "there is in France a freedom to blaspheme."

Deutsche Welle

* Texas officials want to cut funding for women's health services while preserving an anti-abortion program <[link removed]>

An August budget document shows funding for the anti-abortion program would be maintained, but reduced for doctors and clinics that provide reduced-cost contraception and health screenings.

Texas Tribune

* Atheists persuade Puerto Rico educators to end mandatory school prayers <[link removed]>

A district court challenge in Puerto Rico filed by two atheist organisations has convinced educators to drop mandatory prayer from at least one school's daily agenda.

Friendly Atheist (Patheos)

* Uighur doctor tells of disturbing testimonies of 'forced abortions and removal of wombs' in China <[link removed]>

An Uighur doctor says that for much of her career she worked for the Chinese government as part of what she describes as its population control plan to curtail the growth of the Uighur population.

ITV

* 'Tense wedding for woman rejected by parents for refusing FGM procedure' <[link removed]>

Mary Nchagwa pleaded with her parents to let her avoid Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and bless her marriage. Her parents staunchly refused.

The Standard

* Lord O’Neill of Clackmannan – obituary <[link removed]>

National Secular Society honorary associate Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan has died aged 75.

The Telegraph

** New NSS podcast

* Ep 33: Kaja Bryx, Catholic Nationalism in Poland <[link removed]>

In this episode Emma Park speaks to Kaja Bryx, president of the Polish Rationalist Association, about the influence of the Catholic Church and the religious right in Poland.

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