Latest Religion and politics News

FILE - In this May 28, 2020, file photo provided by the Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, talks during his speech at the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines. Duterte on Friday, July 3,2020, has signed a widely opposed anti-terror law which critics fear could be used against human rights defenders. President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Anti-Terrorism Act after weighing the concerns of different groups, his spokesman said. (Ace Morandante/Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division via AP, File)

Philippine president signs widely opposed anti-terror law

Jul. 3, 2020 8:43 AM EDT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president on Friday signed a widely opposed anti-terror law which critics fear could be used against human rights defenders and to muzzle dissent. President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Anti-Terrorism Act after weighing the concerns of different groups, demonstrating...

In this June 29, 2020, photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a field operations officer inspects a suspect hair accessory at a centralized exam station in Newark, N.J. On Wednesday, July 1, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained a shipment of weaves believed to be made in a Chinese detention camp. The shipment is suspected to be human hair. Some information on the package was blurred by the source. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP)

AP Exclusive: Hair weaves from Chinese prison camps seized

Jul. 3, 2020 12:34 AM EDT

Federal authorities in New York on Wednesday seized a shipment of weaves and other beauty accessories suspected to be made out of human hair taken from people locked inside a Chinese internment camp. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials told The Associated Press that 13 tons (11.8 metric tonnes) of hair...

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Edwardsville Police Department shows former Kansas City, Kansas Police detective Roger Golubski. A coalition of Kansas lawmakers, religious leaders and racial justice advocates called Thursday, July 2, 2020, for an investigation into the retired police detective accused of preying on Black women for sex over decades and framing for murder the son of one of them. Numerous residents have said Golubski wielded his power to terrorize the Kansas City, Kansas Black community for years, and the local prosecutor asked for help with a probe more than two years ago. (Edwardsville Police Department via AP, File)

Kansas legislators seek investigation into former detective

Jul. 2, 2020 5:40 PM EDT

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A coalition of Kansas lawmakers, religious leaders and racial justice advocates called Thursday for an investigation into a retired white police detective accused of preying on Black women for sex over decades and framing for murder the son of one of them. A letter signed by 27...

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen Tuesday, June 30, 2020 in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Supreme Court agrees to hear Nazi art case

Jul. 2, 2020 1:44 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a case involving the descendants of a group of Jewish art dealers from Germany who say their ancestors were forced to sell a collection of religious art to the Nazi government in 1935. The justices will decide whether the dispute involving...

FILE - In this May 16, 2001, file photo, the entrance to the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. A Zen Buddhist priest wants a federal judge to stop the execution of a federal death row inmate he’s been counseling and argues he would be put at high risk for the coronavirus if the execution happens this month. Dale Hartkemeyer goes by the religious name Seigen. He filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Indiana. The 68-year-old wants the court to delay Wesley Ira Purkey’s execution until a coronavirus vaccine is available or there’s a widespread effective treatment. Purkey is one of four federal death row inmates scheduled to be executed in July and August. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Priest sues to stop federal execution over coronavirus risk

Jul. 2, 2020 11:08 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Zen Buddhist priest, who is a spiritual adviser to one of three federal death row inmates scheduled to be executed this month, filed a lawsuit Thursday arguing the Bureau of Prisons is putting him at risk for the coronavirus by moving forward with executions during a nationwide...

FILE - In this April 21, 2007 file photo, a Masai girl holds a protest sign during the anti-female genital mutilation (FGM) protest in Kilgoris, Kenya. The World Health Organization says the practice constitutes an

Sudan's bid to ban genital mutilation sparks hope, caution

Jul. 2, 2020 2:25 AM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — It’s been more than 60 years. But the scene is seared still into Kawthar Ali’s mind. The women pinned her down on a bed. She was maybe 5 1/2 or 6 years old. Holding her knees, they spread her legs open, her genitals exposed. At the time, she didn’t fully understand what...

A Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol honor guard carefully folds the retired Mississippi state flag after it was raised over the Capitol grounds one final time in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, July 1, 2020. The banner was the last state flag with the Confederate battle emblem on it. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Old times not forgotten: Mississippi furls rebel-themed flag

Jul. 2, 2020 1:25 AM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi officials held a ceremony Wednesday to retire the former state flag and send it to a history museum, a day after Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed a law stripping official status from the last state banner in the U.S. that included the Confederate battle emblem. One...

In a photo provided by Mauree Turner For HD88, Mauree Turner poses for a photo in February 2020 in Oklahoma City. Turner is a living example of the growing diversity of big cities. The 27-year-old gay, Black, Muslim woman knocked off a three-term, white male incumbent to win the Democratic nomination for a state legislative seat. People like her have won elections in liberal states on the east and west coasts, but until Tuesday, it had never happened in conservative Oklahoma. (Qazi Islam/Mauree Turner For HD88 via AP)

Urban-rural divide on display in Oklahoma's primary election

Jul. 2, 2020 12:56 AM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Mauree Turner is a living example of the growing diversity of big cities. The 27-year-old gay, Black, Muslim woman knocked off a three-term, white male incumbent to win the Democratic nomination for a state legislative seat. People like her have won elections in liberal states on the...

Health officials disinfect an area around a hospital after one of the hospital's patients tested positive for the new coronavirus in Gwangju, South Korea, Wednesday, July 1, 2020. South Korea is considering including religious facilities on the same list with nightclubs, hostess bars and karaoke rooms as

The Latest: South Korea worries as virus resurgence spreads

Jul. 1, 2020 10:41 PM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says it has confirmed 54 more COVID-19 cases as the coronavirus continues to spread beyond the capital region and reach cities like Gwangju, which has shut schools and tightened social restrictions after dozens fell sick this week. The figures reported Thursday brought the...

FILE - In this April 12, 2020, file photo, a woman prays while wearing a face mask before speaking at an Easter drive-in service at the International Church of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas. Nevada's lawyers say the 50-person cap the state has placed on worship services due to the coronavirus doesn't infringe on constitutional protections of religious freedom because it doesn't target anyone's ideology or opinion.

Nevada defends church attendance cap in US appeals court

Jul. 1, 2020 8:50 PM EDT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Lawyers for the state of Nevada say the 50-person cap placed on worship services due to the coronavirus doesn’t infringe on constitutional protections of religious freedom because it doesn’t target anyone’s ideology or opinion. “The right to practice religion...

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