The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has passed a bill to criminalise religious conversion in the northern Indian state.

The Bill, which was passed on 30th August intends to extend a law that was introduced in 2006 which criminalised conversion by “fraud,” “force” and “inducement,” by adding “coercion” to its terms.

Inducement has also been redefined under the new bill as the “offer of any temptation in the form of any gift or gratification or material benefit, either in cash or kind or employment, free education in reputed school run by any religious body, easy money, better lifestyle, divine pleasure or otherwise.”

Freedom charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide have raised concerns over the wording of the amended terms, saying their loose definition could leave them open to misuse.

Anyone found attempting to convert a person from one religion to another in the Himalayan region could face up to seven years in prison, compared to three years under the old law.

The proposed law would also not recognise the marriage of two people from previously different religions, where a conversion has taken place either before or after their wedding day.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas has spoken out against the new legislation, saying: “This Bill is a clear expression of the state’s intention to restrict the right to freedom of religion or belief. As a multi-ethnic nation made up of diverse religious groups, India must respect the right to freedom of thought,…

The Business Secretary and former Leader of the House of Commons says John Bercow – who has the highest authority in the House of Commons and chairs MPs’ debates, has failed to uphold his position and permitted a “flagrant abuse” of parliamentary process.

The Speaker has a responsibility to remain impartial and uphold parliamentary order.

It comes after MP’s backed a motion to take control of the Commons timetable to pass legislation aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday Leadsom said the Speaker’s role was to be “a politically impartial, independent umpire of proceedings” who was in place “to protect the constitution and oversee the behaviour of the House.”

“But last week, the current Speaker failed us.”

She argued that by allowing the urgent debate, a move which meant opposition and rebel MPs could pass a law blocking a no-deal Brexit, Bercow “didn’t just bend the rules, he broke them” and gave “power to the Opposition”.

Leadsom went on the say that the “inappropriate” use of Standing Order No24 – the rule to apply for an emergency debate – undermined governance and the vote of the British public.

“It was intended to ram through legislation for purely political reasons,” she added.

In response to Bercow’s actions the Conservative Party will field a candidate in his constituency of Buckingham at the next election, according to…

Spurgeon’s College made the announcement last month that some students would not be able to access funds from the Student Loans Company.

The Office for Students (OfS) turned down the college’s registration application, after it failed its financial sustainability test.

Trustees of the Baptist Union decided to set aside £200,000 to replace Student Loans and Grants that would have been available to Spurgeon’s College students.

Baptist Union spokesperson Richard Wilson, told Premier they wanted to ensure those training to be ministers didn’t have their studies interrupted.

He said: “We were very worried about the decision that had been made by the OfS and the implication for students who were planning to start their courses this September.

“We’re very anxious that college students, Baptist union ministerial students, shouldn’t be disadvantaged by this difficult situation.

“We’re very keen to see new ministers going through training and fulfilling their calling.

He went on to say that the training of new ministers was essential for the health of the Church.

“We’re seeing, like all denominations, a number of our ministers are coming towards retirement. And so we are seeing our pool of ministers declining, we want to be refreshing that with new ministers coming through training,

“We all know that good leadership is essential to churches. So it was not a difficult decision…

The French village of Lourdes became a sacred pilgrimage site in 1858, after visions of the Virgin Mary were first reported there.

The Virgin Mary is said to have urged Saint Bernadette of Lourdes to drink and bathe in water from a spring in the Grotto of Massabielle.

Approximately six million people visit the site annually, in the hopes of receiving a miracle.

Although around 7000 people claim to have been miraculously healed there, only 70 have been officially certified by both the Catholic Church and the Lourdes Medical Bureau.

Kazik Stepan visited the holy site as a teenager after being diagnosed with an inoperable tumour on his spinal cord that left him unable to walk. He claims he was healed from the decease when he bathed in the natural spring on Saint Bernadette’s Birthday, a sacred feast day in 1965.

The International Medical Committee of Lourdes will be accompanying Stepan at Lourdes to verify his miracle. To do this, Stepans previous condition must first be proved to be incurable.

If the miracle is confirmed, Stepan will become the first official Briton to have been cured at the Roman Catholic site.

The case will be broadcast on Songs of Praise on 15^th September.

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Nora Quoirin’s body was discovered last month about 1.6 miles from the jungle resort of Dusun, where she had been on holiday with her parents and two siblings.

Hundreds of people were involved in the search operation.

The teenager – who was born with the brain defect holoprosencephaly and was described by her family as “vulnerable” – disappeared on August 4.

Her family believe she was abducted, insisting she would not have wandered off by herself.

However, police in Malaysia said they have so far found no evidence of abduction or kidnapping.

A post-mortem examination revealed Nora died from internal bleeding probably caused by hunger and stress.

Nora lived in London and was the daughter of French-Irish parents Sebastien and Meabh Quoirin.

Her funeral will take place next Tuesday at St Brigid’s Church in south Belfast, where she was baptised.

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He also pleaded for the government to fight the corruption that is ravaging the island’s environment and keeping its people in “inhumane poverty”.

Francis urged President Andry Rajoelina to provide Madagascar’s people with jobs and alternative sources of income so they aren’t forced to cut down trees to find fertile soil, poach the island’s wildlife and engage in contraband and illegal exportation of its diverse flora, fauna and mineral resources.

“The deterioration of that biodiversity compromises the future of the country and of the earth, our common home,” Francis warned Mr Rajoelina and other government authorities as he began the second leg of his week-long trip to southern Africa.

Madagascar is home to 5% of the world’s plant and animal species, with around 95% of its reptiles and 89% of its plant life existing nowhere else on Earth, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Yet it is also one of the world’s poorest countries, with 75% of its 25.5 million people living on less than two US dollars a day.

Environmental groups and Transparency International have long highlighted the illegal logging of Madagascar’s rosewood forests and other endangered tree species as evidence of the rampant corruption that has made multimillionaires out of a few “rosewood barons” who have plundered the island’s northeastern forests.

“Your lovely island of Madagascar is rich in plant and animal biodiversity, yet this treasure is especially threatened by excessive…

Peter Lynas has called the proposed law change – that would legalise abortions in Northern Ireland for up to 28 weeks – a “travesty.”

Currently, abortions are only allowed there under limited circumstances.

Speaking at the event Peter said: “[The proposed law] is an absolute travesty and it was forced upon us without proper consultation or proper regulations to put it in place. It’s just bad law.

“100,000 people are alive in Northern Ireland because we don’t have that law, we don’t want that to change. We want to be a beacon of hope and a beacon of light instead.”

Some quick reflections on tonight’s incredible gathering of 20,000 people at Stormont against abortion #theycannotspeak #nivoiceless #bothlivesmatter pic.twitter.com/CYOYlX3BSq

— Peter Lynas (@peterlynas) September 6, 2019

On 10th July Westminster MPs and Peers voted to add amendments to Northern Ireland’s (Executive Formation) Bill that would introduce more extreme laws on abortion, unless the Assembly – which has not been functioning properly for the past two years – is restored by 21st October.

The bill would mean that an abortion would be legal up to nearly 7 months into a pregnancy, under any circumstances, a decision that many campaigners say is not in line with the public opinion of NI.

On Friday evening, 20,000 anti-abortion protesters stood in silent protest to defend those “who have no voice” and call on the government to put a stop the proposed law that would give NI the most…