Malaysia’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) barely a month after joining makes a mockery of the government’s commitment to justice, Human Rights Watch says.
This year Prince Charles visited the Armenian Orthodox, Chaldean Catholic, Coptic Orthodox and Syrian Orthodox Churches during the course of 2014. In the case of the Syriac Church, he visited them twice in one short year. Ekklesia associate and Middle East analyst Dr Harry Hagopian assesses the significance of these acts of concern and solidarity.
Catholics and leaders of the 16 Commonwealth countries where Queen Elizabeth II serves as head of state have welcomed an announcement by British Prime Minister David Cameron about changes to the royal succession that include allowing the monarch to marry a Roman Catholic.
Some religious leaders see Queen Elizabeth II's state visit to Ireland this week as a sign of reconciliation following centuries of sectarian hatred and violence.
The ornate rituals in Westminster Abbey, and Donald Trump’s investigation of President Obama’s birth certificate have something in common, says Heather McRobie: a very pre-modern fixation on blood as a marker of belonging, and heritage as a prerequisite for legitimacy to rule.
The incongruity appeared to raise little comment. At a wedding - perhaps one of the most tender of human ceremonies in its manifestation of love and hope - all the principal male figures wore the uniforms of forces whose business is armed conflict.
The pomp, circumstance and military trappings of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was light years away from the teachings of the vulnerable man Jesus who was executed by the Romans, says Sande Ramage. Despite that 'The Royals at the Abbey', with the full co-operation of the church, keep trying to blend two irreconcilable concepts.
An estimated two billion people around the world tuned in on 29 April to watch the wedding of Prince William, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, and Catherine Middleton.