Rebel News - Independent News and Analysis

Children are being branded witches by preachers in the UK who supposedly exorcize youngsters by beating, starving or even murdering them in the church.

Activists say children are increasingly facing horrific tortures that may even lead to their death -- as in the case of Victoria Climbié -- across the country only for accusations of being haunted.

Christians across Canada have been angered by an Anglican priest, who offered Holy Communion to a dog accompanying a newcomer in the congregation.

Donald Keith, the owner of the dog 'Trapper', said as he was new to the holy place the vicar personally invited him up to receive his communion.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has issued a report detailing how the ban on hijab in western societies violates the rights of Muslim minorities there.

The report follows a ban on Islamic dress in certain Western countries which has led to infringement of the rights of Muslim minorities.

Spain's parliament is due to debate a ban on Muslim women wearing full-face veils in public, making it the latest European country seeking to clamp down on its use. France is expected to pass a bill in September against it, and the veil has also become an issue in Belgium and the Netherlands. Al Jazeera's Bhanu Bhatnagar reports.

Following the issue of Vatican's new rules against pedophile priests, the Catholic Church says churches must respect local law when handling child abuse cases.

Vatican Spokesman Federico Lombardi said Saturday that civil laws in each country must be applied to men of the church, too.

The world's first female Protestant bishop has resigned in Germany over her handling of a sex abuse case.

"My credibility has been contested," international German broadcaster Deutsche Welle quoted Mary Jepsen, the bishop of Hamburg, as saying on Saturday.

US researchers have succeeded to create a genetically modified mosquito which cannot pass malaria, known as a major global killer, to humans.

Latest figures have revealed that malaria, caused by a single cell parasite called Plasmodium, infects 250 million individuals per year, while claiming the lives of more than a million of them, mainly children.

The Vatican has stiffened its disciplinary measures on sexual abuse in a decree that considers the ordination of women to priesthood a grave crime tantamount to pedophilia.

In a move that has drawn harsh criticism from women's ordination groups, the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday issued revisions to its internal laws including a controversial provision that labeled the designation of women as priests a crime "against the faith", which should be dealt with in the same way as child sexual abuse, AFP reported.

The Vatican has revised its guidelines on how the Roman Catholic Church will handle sex abuse cases. The rules include a significant lengthening of the time period a victim can lodge an abuse complaint. The latest policies follow a new series of allegations against the church's clergy in recent months. Al Jazeera's Claudio Lavanga reports. [July 16, 2010]

The 27th international competition of the Holy Qur'an has opened in the Iranian capital Tehran, bringing together representatives from 60 Muslim countries.

The competition is held annually on reciting and memorizing the Holy Qur'an.