Vatican facing UN showdown on sex abuse record
The Vatican is gearing up for a bruising showdown over the global priest sex abuse scandal, forced to defend itself publicly for the first time against allegations it enabled the rape of thousands of children by protecting paedophile priests and its own reputation at the expense of victims. The Holy See on Thursday will be grilled by a U.N. committee in Geneva on its implementation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which among other things calls for signatories to take all appropriate measures to protect children from harm and to put children’s interests above all else. (Washington Post)
Egypt referendum enters second day
Voting has resumed in Egypt in a two-day referendum on a new constitution drawn up following the ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. With security tight, Tuesday's voting was reported to be broadly peaceful. However, nine people died in clashes involving Morsi supporters. (BBC)
UN says South Sudan army, rebels stealing humanitarian aid
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday accused South Sudan's army and rebels led by former Vice President Riek Machar of stealing food aid and vehicles used to deliver humanitarian relief as the country teeters on the brink of civil war. (Reuters)
Religious conflict in global rise - report
Violence and discrimination against religious groups by governments and rival faiths have reached new highs in all regions of the world except the Americas, according to a new report by the Pew Research Centre. As some restrictive countries such as China, Indonesia, Russia and Egypt also have large populations, Pew estimated that 76 percent of the total global population faces some sort of official or informal restriction on their faith. (Telegraph)
London skulls reveal gruesome evidence of Roman head hunters
Scores of skulls excavated in the heart of London have provided the first gruesome evidence of Roman head hunters operating in Britain, gathering up the heads of executed enemies or fallen gladiators from the nearby amphitheatre, and exposing them for years in open pits."It is not a pretty picture," Rebecca Redfern, from the centre for human bioarchaeology at the museum of London, said. (Guardian)
