“Benefits tourism”: myth or reality?
Samira Shackle looks at the thinking behind one of the week's top stories.
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Rosetta comet-chaser phones home, and other stories – our morning round-up
Rosetta comet-chaser phones home Rosetta, Europe’s comet-chasing spacecraft, has woken from its slumber. A signal confirming its alert status was received by controllers in Darmstadt, Germany, at 18:17 GMT. Rosetta…
Facebook satire leads to blasphemy conviction in Greece
Last Friday, a Greek court sentenced Filippos Loizos to 10 months imprisonment for “malicious blasphemy”. Loizos was arrested in September 2012 for hosting a satirical Facebook page, which depicted a…
The return of garden cities
The Deputy Prime Minister is enthusiastic, but the Mayor of London is opposed. Are new towns mere folly, or do they offer a humanist solution to the housing crisis?
The Independent profiles Britain’s ex-Muslims
It was good to see an article in the Independent this weekend on the growing number of British atheists from Muslim backgrounds. In the piece, several ex-Muslims discuss their experiences…
UN invites Iran to Syria peace talks, and other stories – our morning round-up
UN invites Iran to Syria peace talks UN chief Ban Ki-moon has invited Iran to take part in preliminary Syrian peace talks this week in Switzerland, an offer Tehran has…
Why doesn’t Parliament care about right-to-die?
There are powerful arguments on both sides of the debate, but the reluctance of all three parties to talk about euthanasia means those seeking the right to die are forced…
What is it like to be an African-American atheist
A short documentary explores the experience of being an atheist in a society that equates blackness with being a believer
House of Lords to debate religious animal slaughter, and other stories – our morning round-up
House of Lords to debate religious animal slaughter The House of Lords will today debate the ethical, legal and religious factors that influence the way animals are slaughtered in the…
What Norwich City taught me about life
This piece is from the Winter 2013 edition of New Humanist. Subscribe here. Whenever I’m asked for a short biography, for a talk or a panel appearance, I always send…
The world’s most dangerous places to be atheist
After the UK granted asylum to an Afghan man on the ground of his atheism, Anna Vesterinen surveys the countries where a lack of belief can put your life at…
Vatican facing UN showdown on sex abuse record, and other stories – our morning round-up
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…
Nigeria’s gay community needs our help
How effective are western threats to withdraw aid, asks Samira Shackle
Atheist given religious asylum in UK, and other stories – our morning round-up
Atheist Afghan granted religious asylum in UK An Afghan citizen has been granted asylum in the UK for religious reasons – because he is an atheist. He was brought up…
Is there such a thing as a “Muslim birthrate”?
Some people are Muslim. Many of those people will have children. It’s possible to measure the rate of births among people who are Muslim and compare it to the rate…