BRIEFING
Let teens vote in English parish council elections
ALLOWING people as young as 16 to vote in parish council elections in England could give a significant boost to local democracy, a new report argues. The report from the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPdPR) North, Handforth in hindsight: the future of...
UN mission announces airbridge to facilitate aid relief for Haiti
OUT-OF-CONTROL gang violence has created a humanitarian crisis in Haiti that the UN aims to help alleviate through the creation of an airbridge with the neighbouring Dominican Republic. The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) said that the air corridor will enable...
EU weakens proposed supply chain rules to appease big business
EUROPEAN Union countries rubber-stamped a deal on the EU’s new supply chain rules on 15 March. This law – the Corporate Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) – aims to make companies accountable for the damage they cause to people and the planet. In response, Oxfam EU’s...
Toolkit for English schools supporting children with a parent in prison
CHILDREN in England with a parent in prison will have access to more support with the launch of a new, dedicated resource pack for English schools and educational settings. The new toolkit created by Pact (the Prison Advice and Care Trust) provides advice and...
Renters need protections beyond ban of ‘no-fault’ evictions
THE UK's leading debt advice charities StepChange, Money Advice Trust, Citizens Advice, and Christians Against Poverty, alongside the Law Centres Network, have written to the Secretary of State responsible for Housing, Michael Gove, urging him to prioritise the...
COMMENTARY
Remembering a good man and a blessing that will endure
WAR, violence, a climate crisis. Cruelty, deceit, self-interest, division and corruption. There is a great deal of darkness in our world. There is much to make us despairing and cynical. It is easy to lose a grip on hope, to cease to believe that there may be goodness...
Gaza and a ‘beyond alarming’ election result
WHY has the election of a single MP in a northern town got the political and media establishment so rattled – and why now? George Galloway has been elected as an MP several times in the past, and his election then did not elicit such a reaction. His character and...
Grave dangers as US and UK leaders defy Genocide Convention
THE ISRAELI STATE has continued to kill, injure and displace civilians on a major scale. Its international military backers, primarily the US government but also that of the UK and others, kept calling for restraint. Yet – long after it was clear such calls would not...
Labour’s second century: where the purpose, what the vision?
A CENTURY AGO this week, the first Labour government took office. This administration lasted for nine months and Labour was not really to establish itself as a parliamentary force for another couple of decades This should not surprise anyone. Power arranges matters...
Birth, death and impossible new life at Christmas
THIS CHRISTMAS, in Palestine and Israel, in Sudan, in Ukraine and in other less publicised parts of the globe, darkness and violence seem overwhelming. In Bethlehem, traditionally the birthplace of Christ, seasonal celebrations have been cancelled in respect for the...
MEDIA
UPDATES
Gaza news updates and truth-sourcing
IT HAS long been said that truth is the first casualty in war. In the age of digital technology, social media, AI and deepfakes, that awful reality has been turbo-charged. The continuing bombardment and assault on Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are prime...
Confronting Christian Zionism and advocating for peace and justice
JOIN the Rev Dr Munther Isaac for a thought-provoking online conversation (6:30pm UK time, Sunday 4th February) on combatting Christians Zionism and empowering people of faith to advocate for Palestinian liberation. This will be an insightful discussion, shedding...
Seminar: Free speech, responsible speech and hate speech
EKKLESIA is delighted to be promoting a forthcoming online seminar and discussion on Free Speech, Responsible Speech, and Hate Speech: Spiritual, Social, and Policy Perspectives. organised by our friends at the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and...