1. Vegan parents ‘starved toddler to death after feeding him only raw fruit and vegetables’
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2797180893702085
Location: Florida, USA
2. Man tries to rape woman in Noida park, strangers intervene, then they rape her
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2790934287660079
Location: Noida, India
3. Kanye West to Joel Osteen: “They Are Attempting To Take Prayer Out of Schools”
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2793562810730560
Location: Houston, USA
4. Chick-fil-A backtracks, won’t pledge to end donations to anti-LGBT charities
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2796135610473280
Location: Worldwide
5. Fired Australian Rugby Star Blames Deadly Bushfires on Gay Marriage and Abortion
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2793598860726955
Location: Australia
6. Atheists Sue TN School District for Constantly Pushing Christianity on Kids
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2795619133858261
Location: Tennessee, USA
7. Mom Sues Catholic Archdiocese After Priest Criticized Son's Suicide At Funeral
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2796016673818507
Location: Michigan, USA
8. Ayodhya ruling: Hindus win case over site disputed by Muslims
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2786282948125213
Location: Ayodhya, India
9. Altar boys say they were abused by priests at the Vatican
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2788792101207631
Location: Vatican
10. Parents win right to prayer-free alternative to religious assemblies
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2798292643590910
Location: Oxfordshire, England
1. Ryan O’Leary, 30, and Sheila O’Leary, 35, were arrested in Cape Coral, Florida after their 18-month-old son died on September 27 weighing only 17 pounds, which is the weight of an average seven-month-old. An autopsy found that the toddler died after suffering complications related to malnutrition, including dehydration, microsteatosis of liver and swelling of hands, feet and legs, Cape Coral police said in a statement. Sheila O’Leary told police that her family is vegan and only eats raw fruits and vegetables. She said that she also breast fed her toddler, adding that the toddler had not eaten solid food in a week and had only been breastfed. They charged with aggravated negligent manslaughter among other charges and are being held in jail until their arraignment on December 9. The NHS advises a vegan or vegetarian diet is suitable for babies and children but parents must ensure the child is receiving sufficient nutrients and calories.
2. A 21-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped and beaten by five men this week when she went to meet an acquaintance to explore a job opportunity. The incident took place around 8.30pm at a park in Sector 63 of Noida, barely 500 metres away from a police post in the area, the police said. Police have arrested four men, including the acquaintance who allegedly tried to sexually assault her, while two are still at large. A man took her to a nearby park, where he tried to rape her, the police said. The woman started screaming, following which two men approached them. The two started beating him up then he ran away. The two men then raped her and called three other men who took turns to rape her. All the five then fled. The victim approached the police at around 9.30 pm and lodged a police complaint. The police have announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for information that could lead to the arrest of each of the two men still at large.
3. Rapper Kanye West spoke at Joel Osteen‘s Lakewood Church in Houston. Osteen asked some leading questions and handed over the microphone. West said that God is speaking through him, and suggested he wants forced prayer back in public school. He said, "… The more and more this entire country follows Christ and sets the example that we are a Christian country — you know, they are attempting to take prayer out of schools. When you remove the fear and love of God, you create the fear and love of everything else… But let me break that down [not] in a negative way, but in a positive way. Reinstate the fear and love of God, and eliminate the fear and love of everything else."
4. The chicken chain, which has a long history of donations to lobbying groups that oppose LGBT+ rights, signalled on Monday that it would end donations to charities that discriminate against LGBT+ people, after a sustained international boycott. However, after a backlash from anti-LGBT conservatives and Republicans, the company appears to have quietly backtracked. n a statement to Vice, Chick-fil-A President and COO Tim Tassopoulos refused to confirm the company would not donate to groups that oppose LGBT+ rights. He said: “No organisation will be excluded from future consideration–faith-based or non-faith-based.”
5. Israel Folau, one of the most famous Australian rugby players as well as one of the country’s biggest Christian homophobes, is blaming recent wildfires in the country on abortion and gay marriage. Folau, channeling Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell after 9/11, told the crowd at the Truth of Jesus Christ Church Sydney that all of the recent disasters in the country could be linked to marriage equality and legalized abortion.
6. The ACLU and its Tennessee chapter are suing the Smith County School System in Nashville, Tennessee over its longstanding illegal promotion of Christianity. According to Kelly Butler (an Army veteran) and his two kids, and Sharona and Jason Carr and their three kids, the district has a habit of pushing religion on kids. That’s a problem for all of them since they’re all atheists (including the children who use that label to describe themselves). The lawsuit spells out in great detail what the families have encountered over the years. Like all the school-sponsored prayer.
7. A Michigan mom is suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit for the emotional distress she says she endured after a priest preached about the immorality of suicide during the funeral of her son, who killed himself last year. The Rev. Don LaCuesta’s decision to pose questions about the eternal fate of 18-year-old Maison Hullibarger during his funeral service last December caused his mother, Linda Hullibarger, “irreparable harm,” a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Michigan state court says. The lawsuit names the archdiocese, LaCuesta and his church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Temperance, as defendants.
8. India’s supreme court has ruled on the disputed religious site of Ayodhya – deciding the case in favour of Hindus, with alternate land to be provided for Muslims. The supreme court ruled that 5 acres of land will be alloted to the Muslim community. The disputed land will be given to a board of trustees for the construction of a temple for Hindu god Ram. The Ayodhya site has been one of the country’s most controversial religious grounds since the Babri mosque, which had been standing since the 16th century, was reduced to rubble by Hindu fundamentalists during a 1992 riot in which more than 2,000 people died.
9. Former altar boys have claimed they were molested by priests inside the Vatican, as a lingering scandal surrounding widespread abuse in the Catholic Church erupts at its headquarters once again. Several anonymous former altar boys at the Vatican’s youth seminary alleged at least two priests kissed and fondled three of them in the Nineties. The fresh cases come to light two months after the Vatican announced Father Gabriele Martinelli and Father Enrico Radice, who allegedly covered up his suspected crimes, would stand trial over claims made in the first TV programme. In one of the new cases, an alleged victim said a priest sat him on his lap and fondled his penis. In another case, an alleged victim marvelled how Le Iene had heard about things he had only told his confessor.
10. Two parents who challenged compulsory religious worship in school assembly have won the right for a secular alternative for their children. A Church of England multi-academy said it would allow the children to withdraw from the assembly and prayers, it was confirmed on Wednesday. The Oxford Diocesan schools trust said a small number of pupils would be provided with alternative materials overseen by a teacher, instead of having to take part in collective worship. Humanists UK, which backed the Harris family, said the decision marked a “significant win” in ensuring that schools did not force religious worship on children. The Harrises launched the case after discovering their children were being made to pray and watch re-enactments of Bible scenes, including the crucifixion, during assemblies at Burford, an academy with no religious character.
