IRAN
“The captain of an Iranian women’s football team is to miss a forthcoming Asian championships because her husband would not allow her to renew her passport.”
UGANDA
“A group of five female students from Makerere University in Uganda have successfully created a test kit connected to a smartphone app that is able to detect harmful vaginal bacteria that cause bacterial vaginosis and other infections.”
DENMARK
A Danish atheist society has launched an atheist bus campaign to encourage atheist members of the state church (Folkekirken) to cancel their membership and to make people of faith examine their beliefs.
NEPAL
“Nepal’s Constituent Assembly has rejected calls to revert back to a Hindu state, deciding instead to keep its secular system brought in after the abolishment of the monarchy in 2008. “
SAUDI ARABIA
Over 100 people died after a crane crashed into the Grand Mosque in Mecca. This is a tragedy, but, according to a British Muslim leader, the people who lost their lives are to be congratulated because they will go straight to heaven without any questions.
SPAIN
Muslims become number one victims of hate crimes in Spain. “At least 57 cases of hate crime have been reported throughout Spain so far this year, says the Interior Ministry. And most of those complaints, which are now investigated in all their forms under the new penal code, are the result of Islamophobia, representing 40 percent of the total, according to police reports.“
ARGENTINA
“Argentina ended its ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood on Tuesday, a decision that may have an impact on countries like the U.S. that still restrict blood donations from men who admit same-sex relationships.”
CANADA
“A Memorial University student with a hearing disability is upset that one of his professors refused to wear a sound-transmitting device last week during a lecture, and he said she told him it was because of religious reasons.” Unfortunately, an agreement made with the professor in 1996, when a similar incident happened, means the professor does not have to wear an FM transmitter.
AUSTRALIA
Just a couple of days into the job, and the new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has already been accused of mansplaining. I think it’s awesome that an MP used the word “mansplain” in parliament.
Featured image: cartoon by Mana Neyestani about Niloufar Ardalan, the captain of the Iranian women’s futsal team.