SCOOP.CO.NZ archive pages provide PLAIN FULL TEXT search access to the Scoop archives divided into CATEGORIES. The database indexes approximately 4 months of Scoop items and is updated each night. You can search Scoop's complete 8 years of data at Knowledge Basket.
The country’s leading retailing district is supporting the Auckland Chamber of Commerce’s call today for Parliament to fix the annual Easter trading circus once and for all. Reignited calls from Auckland’s Chamber of Commerce and the Newmarket ... More >>
In 1987, the conservative author Midge Decter described her association with Israel and those willing to place it above conventional judgment. ‘We know ourselves to be bound by ties so deep, so essential, so unconditional, that they are beyond daylight ... More >>
A group of about 40 people gathered at the Ponsonby Mosque to celebrate the launch of the Charter for Compassion on 15 November. The meeting was organised by Aarif Rasheed representing the Rasheed Memorial Trust and Dave Moskovitz representing the ... More >>
Rotorua MP Todd McClay has said that he is delighted his Easter Trading Bill has been drawn from the Members Ballot in Parliament today. "On the day of our one year anniversary of the National Government, this is fantastic news" he said. Mr McClay ... More >>
A Muslim family sits across of me in café, in a largely Muslim Asia country. An older woman shyly hunches over and desperately trying to avoid eye contact with the giant plasma screen TV, blazing loud music on the popular music video channel, MTV. ... More >>
Port Chalmers mother of four, Nicky Chapman, is angry about climate change. So angry she’s launched a formal petition to Parliament, and within a few days has already gathered hundreds of signatures. “Climate change is hard to imagine. It’s not ... More >>
A new resource produced by Plunket and Barnardos and written by Rev Nove Vailaau, "A Theology of Children" which provides guidance to Pacific parents within a biblical context, is a fantastic resource and deserves to be read widely, Labour’s Pacific ... More >>
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today cautioned against the erosion of diversity and rise of discrimination as the forces of globalization and technology bring disparate communities across the world closer together, in a message marking the International ... More >>
In a remarkable interfaith gesture, clergy belonging to various religions and denominations participated in the installation ceremony of new Jewish Rabbi Teri Appleby of Temple Sinai in Reno (Nevada, USA) on November 13 evening. More >>
This means that no war has broken out, no suicide bomb has exploded, no Qassam rocket has been launched at Sderot. Ahmadinejad has not test-fired a new missile that can reach Tel Aviv. Just another murder. Not that Israel is the world’s murder capital. ... More >>
The dead man living next door cut down the three finest trees on the block soon after moving in. It’s difficult to fathom, but the living have to fathom the dead, for they are destroying the earth and humanity. More >>
Jews, Christians and Muslims Join Together to Launch Charter for Compassion in NZ Media Release – Rasheed Memorial Dawah Trust More >>
The Dalai Lama Visit Trust New Zealand has issued an invitation to Auckland’s Mayors to attend the Dalai Lama’s public talk when His Holiness visits the city early next month. More >>
I had an aunt that was a nun in the Catholic Church. Even as a kid, I never saw her as religious person however. She was a career woman in a black habit, at a time when there were two choices for Catholic women: marry a man and have kids; or marry Jesus ... More >>
Virginia-born Major Nidal Malik Hasan, in a ten-minute orgy of killing at the Texas military base of Fort Hood last week, is now in custody recovering from his wounds. Thirteen people (twelve soldiers and a civilian) were killed, and thirty injured. ... More >>
The screening of unborn babies for Down syndrome with a new national screening programme is further manifestation of a culture of death. It is a search and destroy programme that has as its sole objective the termination of the lives of unborn children. More >>
Two men had plenty of time to 'repent' as they languished in a Police cell early this morning after being caught stealing metal spouting off a Hamilton church overnight. Constable Myles O'Donnell said officers were called to the scene on Pine Ave about ... More >>
New Zealanders love of the movies will make this year’s Christmas that much happier for some 9500 Kiwi families. More >>
A local Lutheran church, which is considered one of the more progressive faiths in this town and country, has an astounding declaration on its home page. More >>
A YEAR before the Oslo agreement, I had a meeting with Yasser Arafat in Tunis. He was full of curiosity about Yitzhak Rabin, who had just been elected Prime Minister. More >>
Last Friday in Perth, I proudly introduced Botany to the world stage as an example of a place where multi-ethnic and multi-faith communities exist in harmony. More >>
You had to hand it to John Key, said my colleague over dinner last week: he's very good. But some of the people around him, "not so much". I couldn't disagree-- the sometimes inarticulate and politically unworldly Leader of the Opposition has offered ... More >>
New Zealand has been praised as international leaders in social harmony at the fifth Asia-Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue in Perth, Australia. More >>
In one of Hollywood’s latest in the perennial series of TV cop shows (e.g. Hill Street Blues, CSI, Criminal Intent, and now “Criminal Minds”) there is a very telling and theological opening line. More >>
Amidst the terror and debauchery of the Old Testament are some passages of striking intrigue and beauty. Among these is Psalm 79 - a passage I was drawn to ponder during a recent visit to a ‘Miracle Faith Healing’ service held by one of our country’s ... More >>
This statement is in response to TV3’s Campbell Live item on Thursday 29th October 2009 featuring Destiny Church. The item centered around commentary by an ‘unidentified’ individual and hidden-camera footage obtained by that person whilst at a public men’s ... More >>
Te Runanganui, the biggest regular event in the life of Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa, the Maori Anglican Church, kicks off in Auckland this afternoon. Te Runanganui, which is held every two years, is, in effect, the parliament of Te Pihopatanga. It’s ... More >>
If you are looking for a family friendly alternative to ‘Trick or Treating’ on Saturday, the Family Fun Night at Nelson Cathedral is the answer. This is the sixth year the cathedral has offered this event, with numbers building up to several hundred. ... More >>
Sunday, November 8 is the 91st commemoration of the end of WWI. Lest the cost of war fade from our collective memories, we will remember those who have served our country on war-torn battlefields and will celebrate those who are fighting for peace ... More >>
This statement is released in response to media enquiries relating to the annual Labour Weekend Destiny Church Conference and the 700-man ‘covenant’ initiative. Celebrating 11 years as a movement, Destiny Church hosted Manukau’s Mayor Len Brown ... More >>
The bombing of a kosher café; a protest over reports that the Quran had been desecrated at an American prison camp; a bomb explosion outside a mosque; a tight security cordon to facilitate a Hindu festival: a snapshot of world news today. More >>
Pope Benedict XVI is nothing if not wily. The Catholic Church issued a call last week stating that it would enable Anglicans to convert to Roman Catholicism, thereby undermining an already conflicted Church amounting to 77 million followers. Disaffected ... More >>
The Archbishops of the Anglican Church here are relaxed about the Vatican’s moves to ease the way for some traditionalist Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church. More >>
A Muslim writer begins an article with, “who says the campaign for animal rights was started in the West ..” She goes on to argue that Islam provided the original treatise on the humane treatment of animals. Her case was poorly constructed, inadequately ... More >>
American peace activist, author, lecturer and 2008 Nobel Prize nominee John Dear will be in New Zealand for a week from 28 October to speak at public lectures throughout the country. He will also meet with members of the group who caused an estimated ... More >>
Hindus are encouraging Hollywood divas Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson to spend some time in an ashram (hermitage) in India for solace and reinventing themselves. More >>
Church bells will toll up and down New Zealand on Saturday, October 24 – but not to signal a civil defence emergency. They’ll be ringing support for ‘350 Day’ – a global pointer to the need to cut carbon dioxide concentration in our atmosphere ... More >>
Victoria University of Wellington and the Wellington Council of Christians and Jews Present a Public Seminar More >>
"No Dreadlocks No Cry" 2nd Angus Gillies Book On Ruatoria Rastafarians Published Press release Angus Gillies More >>
Nowhere in the world is Shariah more contested ( yet seldom debated) than in war-weary Somalia where each of the entities competing for power claims to have embraced it while condemning its detractor, or rather, its enemy, as a dangerous imposter. More >>
Hindus have welcomed Grammy winner American singer-rapper-musician-producer Kanye West’s reported decision to escape to a Hindu ashram (hermitage) in India for about a month to seek spiritual guidance. More >>
Deepawali (Festival of Lights) is a well known Hindu festival celebrated by Indian community all over the world. More >>
YESTERDAY, OUR table celebrated with Ada Yonath. This “table” just had its 50th anniversary. It started by accident in “ California ”, the Café established at the time by Abie Nathan, who later became famous as the Peace Pilot. Afterwards, ... More >>
Expressing concern at the forthcoming blockbuster Hollywood movie “Avatar”, Hindus have urged its famed director James Cameron to be careful when handling Hindu concepts and terminology. More >>
Artist Lai Chung demonstrates how a torus-shaped balloon can imitate the body forms of flowers and animals as part of a serious new theory of the origin of life and evolution. Animations are presented showing the path from the egg to the human baby. More >>
IN the midst of so many disasters this month TEAR Fund is urging Kiwis not to forget about southern India which has been affected by heavy rains with a death toll of more than 250 and a displaced population of 2.5 million. In terms of the scale of ... More >>
Grant Norsworthy, a former member of the popular Paul Coleman trio who wowed audiences earlier this decade, is touring the North Island with a series of free concerts from October 9 to 18 in support of TEAR Fund. A Grammy nominated, and Dove award-winning ... More >>
As Israel’s democratic posture becomes more questioned, its mystique becomes more exaggerated. To prove the validity of its actions, Israel’s supporters focus on three components of Israel’s drive to an accomplished nation: More >>
Some people never learn. The arrogance of empire? Ignorance of history? Political opportunism? Or cowardice to confront the global challenges we face? They probably all contribute to the incredible situation in which the United States is now debating ... More >>
On Saturday 10th October at the Hamilton Gardens Victorian Glass House, a unique documentary film will be made by a Wintec post -graduate film student. Sri Lankan Honours student Chinthaka Senadeera. Graduated from the Loyola College, Hyderabad, ... More >>
Local and international delegates will gather in Auckland tomorrow for New Zealand pro-life and family conference Local and international delegates and speakers will gather in Auckland tomorrow and Sunday at the Family Life International Pro-Life ... More >>
Auckland's coolest cats and most debonair dogs will be making their way to the animals' social event of the year, this coming weekend. Rabbits, donkeys, sheep, chickens, goats, parakeets and members of a wide range of other species are thought likely ... More >>
Come and soak up the fantastic atmosphere of India's most popular and vibrant festival - Diwali - at the Viaduct Harbour on 10 and 11 October from noon to 10pm. More >>
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is contributing NZ$25,000 towards relief efforts in the Philippines following massive flooding and landslides in and around the capital Manila. Caritas Director Mike Smith says, “Our Caritas partner in the Philippines ... More >>
The stately precincts of the Church of St Matthew-In-The- City will echo once more with woofs, meows and a variety of other sounds, as creatures great and small come together for SPCA Auckland’s annual Blessing of the Animals service. Scheduled ... More >>
Fact or Fiction? That is always the question when thinking of a Dan Brown novel as there is no doubt that he writes his novels in the hazy twilight-zone in between. So, as a Freemason I was quite concerned at what this new book with our logo on the ... More >>
A UNESCO Confucius Literacy prize has been awarded to a literacy programme in Afghanistan which has been supported by Kiwis through TEAR Fund NZ. Warfare, strong cultural resistance to female education and lack of a writing system for the dialect being ... More >>
A Law Commission report issued today shows the law governing private schools needs to be brought up to date to ensure the schools meet accepted education standards, Labour’s education spokesman Trevor Mallard said today. More >>
Alturas Productions recording artist Jaime Thietten arrives in New Zealand next week to showcase at several events around the country. More >>
About 2:00 pm on 21 Sept 2009 police were called by staff at the St Heliers Presbyterian Church in St Heliers Bay Road, St Heliers. A person who is known to the staff at the church arrived there and showed them a knife and a hand gun. The staff then retreated ... More >>
Attached is a copy of a speech given in Wellington on 18 September by Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Lesley-Anne Knight to an audience of about 65 people. More >>
Famed British footballer Theo Walcott is the newest one to join “Sanskrit Tattoo Club”. On the inside of his right arm, a Sanskrit tattoo reportedly meaning "Beautiful, Blessed, Strong, Intelligent” is engraved. “Beautiful” is dedicated for his ... More >>
IS THERE no limit to the wiles of those dastardly anti-Semites? Now they have decided to slander the Jews with another blood libel. Not the old accusation of slaughtering Christian children to use their blood for baking Passover matzoth, as in the past, ... More >>
Moving to part-time paid employment seemed a natural step for long-term volunteer, and service user, Te Amo Roberts. For a long-time he’s supported Downtown Community Ministry by helping out in the food bank and the annual book fair. This year he officially ... More >>
In some places, the picture that's beginning to develop from Back to Church Sunday (held last Sunday, Sept 13) is more impressive still. Some snapshots: * St Barnabas, Fendalton - 100 more people, which is a 30% increase on the average congregation, ... More >>
After New York and Italy, Oscar winner Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) reportedly landed Thursday in Delhi (India) with cast and crew to shoot the next leg of “Eat, Pray, Love”. More >>
The anniversary of the infamous tragedy of 9/11, 2001, and the subsequent ramifications indeed induce, throughout the world, a plethora of feelings of sorrow. The 9/11 event should have never taken place. Regardless of the situation, targeting civilians is ... More >>
Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Hindu workers in NSW would like to be home on these days to celebrate the festivals with their families, friends, and the community. More >>
• UMR tested New Zealanders’ attitudes to a number of moral issues. More than two thirds of New Zealanders regard the following issues as morally acceptable: • Divorce (81% say this is acceptable). • Sex between an unmarried man and woman ... More >>
Left out of the options under consideration in "Obama's war" is the only one with any chance of success. Despite assurances to the contrary in Washington and a major policy speech in London, one need not quibble with the obvious fact that the situation ... More >>
By 2050, it is estimated 146,699 New Zealanders will have dementia. Currently, 40,746 New Zealanders have dementia. Every year, 12,333 new cases are reported. Worldwide, more than 30 million people have the debilitating disease, which affects memory, ... More >>
Mohammad Hannoun is twelve years old. He loves swimming and playing chess. He goes to school in Shuafat, East Jerusalem, where he studies English and Arabic. A rotund boy, he often smiles and makes jokes. At 5.30 a.m. on August 2, 2009, Israeli forces ... More >>
Decades of resolutions, arguments, and negotiations have maintained the Middle East struggle as a Middle East struggle. A major thrust attempts to resolve the crisis by negotiations leading to two independent states – a natural and conventional ... More >>
The story of Palestine is poorly represented in western media, generally taken out of context and generally - as a strong cohort to the lack of context - with a strong bias in favour of the Israeli perspective. That perspective in short is that of Arab ... More >>
The last full rays of a setting sun stream over my left shoulder as I stand on the edge of town looking out over the fields toward the foothills. Over a mile away, something flashes in the sunlight. More >>
THE PEOPLE of Sodom, the Bible tells us, were very wicked indeed. They had a nasty habit of putting every passing stranger into one particular bed. If the stranger was too tall, his legs were shortened. If he was too short, his body was stretched ... More >>
Jehovah’s Witnesses had powerful reasons to rejoice regarding their 2009 “Keep on the Watch!” District Convention. They were delighted to note many in the community chose to attend sessions of their annual three-day event. The peak attendance of ... More >>
The Anglican Church in Auckland is calling on the Government to ensure direct Maori representation in structures for Auckland governance, otherwise law and the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are being ignored. The Bishop of Auckland, The Right Reverend ... More >>
The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) is pleased that the government is introducing new initiatives to protect our most vulnerable infants. The announcement of the “Never Shake a Baby” campaign and its associated first ... More >>
Auckland, 3 September 2009 – Parachute Band has just been announced as a finalist for the Vodafone NZ Music Awards next month. The worship band is a final contender in the Best Gospel/Christian Album category, for its sophomore album TECHNICOLOR. ... More >>
When former Lynfield College student Laurie Turner left school at age 17 to join the army, the last thing he thought he’d be doing with his life was learning a foreign language and working as a volunteer missionary in the hills of Thailand. ... More >>
New York, Sep 2 2009 10:10AM A senior United Nations official spoke out against today’s suicide bomb attack at a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, stressing that it is “indefensible” that such a blast occurred during the holy month of Ramadan. More >>
Jews and Hindus have urged the Texas State Board of Education to treat all the major religions and denominations evenly in its Social Studies curriculum, which is currently under revision. More >>
Michael Laws’ response to a group of school children who wrote to him expressing their views on the Whanganui/ Wanganui debate was defensive and over the top, says Labour’s Associate Maori and Education spokesperson Kelvin Davis. “During my ... More >>
As a result of their Bible research, Jehovah’s Witnesses anticipate global changes in the very near future. Key Bible texts explaining the meaning of what many people refer to as the end of the world will be discussed in the Witnesses’ upcoming three-day ... More >>
Hindus and Jews have urged entertainer Madonna to undertake the cause of apartheid of 15-million Roma people of Europe, after she was booed in Romania when she sympathized with them during her August 26 concert. More >>
The head of one of the world’s largest humanitarian networks is visiting Wellington, New Zealand on 18-19 September and available for media interviews. Lesley-Anne Knight is Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of 164 Catholic ... More >>
Recently a Fijian high chief and several senior ministers in the Methodist church were arrested and later released on bail. Casually informed readers outside Fiji would probably take this as further evidence of abuses of human rights by the Fijian ... More >>
When Jon Clarke was just a boy a crippling disease saw him trade dreams of football fame for a Bible and a 55-year mission watching out for an event that most people seem sceptical about. As a 13-year-old at New Plymouth Boys High Jon’s rugby skills ... More >>
Radio Adelaide: Manning & Godfrey discuss the National-Led Govt's dilemma over whether to include or exclude Maori from having direct representation on Auckland's new council. Also, PM John Key looks to be resisting pressure to have NZ's anti-smacking law repealed... More >>
The Human Rights Commission will launch Religion in New Zealand Schools: Questions and Concerns at the New Zealand Diversity Forum at Victoria University, Wellington today. (subs: 24 August) In an easy question and answer format the booklet provides ... More >>
Theron, 34 years old actress-director-producer-model, was participating in fast-paced photo-shoot for Dior’s fragrance named J’Adore. She reportedly depended on relaxing Indian chants to deal with the fast pace of the shooting and remain inspired. She ... More >>
The Dean of Auckland’s Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, The Very Reverend Ross Bay, has expressed concern at the attitude of some Christians that it is their God-given right to use corporal punishment in the discipline of their children. More >>
AUCKLAND - A vigorous campaign has been launched inviting the public to hear what the Bible says about the future at an annual conference in Manukau City this year. “Are you ready for the end of the world?” That’s the bold question being asked ... More >>
Former Indian Foreigner Minister and a front line politician Mr. Jaswant Singh has been sacked from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of India which he served more than 30 years after his retirement from the Indian Army. Mr. Singh’s misdeed was to ... More >>
The recent attacks on Christian communities in the village of Korian in the Toba Tek Singh District of the state of Punjab on July 30 and in nearby Gojra on August 1 are of grave concern to Interfaith Cooperation Forum (ICF), a regional network ... More >>
Reports of religious profiling in the US have given rise to many a raging controversy before. But this one is different. The latest instance has provoked a national outrage this time in a non-Islamic country - India. More >>
“We Are All Hindus Now”—headlines the article in the upcoming edition of prestigious newsmagazine “Newsweek”, saying “U.S. Views on God and Life Are Turning Hindu”. More >>
Suddenly they were all over the place, arriving not as singles but in battalions. Many, like Maryland’s 5th District Rep. Steny Hoyer had been to Israel nearly a dozen times; career stalwarts once more showing fealty to Israel’s brutal occupation ... More >>
New Zealand has a special interest in the rape law that Hamid Karzai has reportedly sneaked into effect only days before the Afghan election on Thursday. The law will particularly affect the Hazara community that form the majority in Bamiyan province, ... More >>
THE ANCIENT port of Acre is now the object of a fierce battle. The Arab inhabitants of the town want the port to bear the name of an Arab hero, Issa al Awam, a general under Saladin, the Muslim leader who defeated the Crusaders. The municipality of ... More >>
pon learning that the Breast Cancer Foundation has declined to accept a donation of $5000 by the organizers of "Boobs on Bikes" and the Erotica Lifestyle Expo, Steve Crow has announced that he has withdrawn the pledge and will instead support Clitoraid, ... More >>
A gang of your relatives believe in "goblins, ghosts and demons". They believe you contain a "demon". No doubt the more you resist, the more they are convinced you have one. More >>
Returning New Zealand Born Artist Angel Exhibition excluded from Pirongia's annual Arts and Craft Day exhibition for being too spiritual. More >>
A selection of this week's news from www.newswire.co.nz - the Whitireia Journalism School Website: More >>
A Kerikeri site selected for a new Christian school has links to the missionary history of the nation. More >>
The Charities Commission is urging anyone thinking of volunteering or making a donation to a charity, to start by checking the information available on the Charities Register at www.charities.govt.nz More >>
WHILE shells exploded nearby, TEAR Fund’s Ian McInnes kept his cool, helping victims evacuated from Sri Lanka’s war zone, to reach medical attention. TEAR Fund is proud of the contributions its partners and the individuals who work for them make around ... More >>
In his attempt to improve relations with the Muslim world, President Obama has done what no other American president has ever done before. Starting with his inauguration speech in which he stressed on the importance of relaxing the defensive posture so ... More >>
Another member of the Ahmediyya community, Rana Ata-ul Karim (36) was killed on 6 August 2009 in Multan, Pakistan. He was murdered simply for being an Ahmedi, a minority sect of Islam. More >>
Government should take concrete action to amend or abolish the blasphemy laws within a year. As Pakistan marks Minorities Day, Amnesty International calls on the government to take meaningful action to protect religious minorities which have increasingly ... More >>
Oscar winner Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) reportedly will be in India in the third week of September to shoot “Eat, Pray, Love”, and Hindus are concerned about the authenticity of the depiction of sacred ashram (retreat) and other Hinduism objects ... More >>
New Zealand's two Anglican Archbishops today sent an open letter to the Prime Minister and his colleagues commending them for setting a target band for greenhouse gas emission reductions – and urging them to go for the highest possible cuts. Archbishops David ... More >>
The Florida-based St. Petersburg Times has released a follow-up to their most recent expose on the abusive nature of Scientology management, specifically focusing on Tom Cruise’s close friend and current leader of the Church of Scientology, David ... More >>
This is a rather oily work to deal with, operating under the pretence of academic objectivity that “does not flatter anyone’s prejudices.” And while Benny Morris obviously knows his historical facts, One State, Two States reveals more of a prejudice ... More >>
New York, Aug 9 2009 10:10AM A top United Nations official has strongly condemned the recent bombings that targeted worshipers in two of Iraq's major cities, leaving dozens of innocent civilians dead or injured. More >>
ON THE morrow of the Six-day War, Amos Kenan came to my editorial office. He was in a state of shock. As a reserve soldier, he had just witnessed the emptying of three villages in the Latrun area. Men and women, old people and children, had been ... More >>
All referendum voting papers have been delivered to voters, with over half a million votes cast so far. More >>
A certain note of fear of the outside world resonates with every message to the students of Newman College, which has been accommodating Catholics from the University of Melbourne since 1918. The Rector is much like a governor general, a titular head ... More >>
The Florida-based St. Petersburg Times has released a follow-up to their most recent expose on the abusive nature of Scientology management, specifically focusing on Tom Cruise's close friend and current leader of the Church of Scientology, David ... More >>
Hindus have applauded Pope Benedict for establishing connection between protecting the environment and promoting peace in his message for the 43rd World Day of Peace, which will be celebrated on January one next. More >>
Hindus have applauded United Nations (UN) for observing 2010 as “International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures” for promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace. More >>
Claudia Ciesla, 22 years old German actress-supermodel-singer, reportedly always carries an idol of Hindu Lord Ganesha presented by her Vedic astrologer, which she claimed brought her good luck. More >>
DEAR DOV YERMIYA, I have received the distressing letter that you recently sent to a limited number of friends. You paint the Israeli reality in dark – but true – colors, and end by cutting your ties with it. More >>
Does South American politics move forward in constructing a new continental and global order based on democracy, human rights and mutual solidarity or will it fall pray to Israeli strategies that undermine the emancipation of Latin America and the ... More >>
According to Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights for Council of Europe, “Members of minorities are more often than others stopped by the police, asked for identity papers, questioned and searched. They are victims of “ethnic profiling”, ... More >>
According to Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights for Council of Europe, “Members of minorities are more often than others stopped by the police, asked for identity papers, questioned and searched. They are victims of “ethnic profiling”, ... More >>
Ravikumar Subramaniapillai, a software consultant of North Carolina (USA), has been nominated Vice President of renowned Universal Society of Hinduism. Thirtynine year old father of one, Ravi has volunteered for various Hindu organizations in India ... More >>
GENEVA, July 27, 2009 — UN Watch, a Geneva-based monitoring group, condemned the U.N.’s decision today to reject an international Christian charity as a non-governmental observer owing to its refusal to accede to Beijing’s demands that it disclose member ... More >>
It's easy enough to blame the spineless Congressional Dems for the failure of the health care plan. And it's not just the millions being spent by insurance companies and health care profiteers and the distortions put forward by the corporate media--those ... More >>
Points of interest: - Referendum sponsor only ever used “a light smack” on hand or bottom; thinks it only works for children aged 2-9 - Savill: Smacking in anger is “wrong” and should not be legal - McCoskrie: More parents being investigated ... More >>
Points of interest: - Simon Upton (the Minister that put us in the Kyoto Agreement) expects the government to commit to a “modest” emissions target - Upton: “anything we do will be costly” - Fitzsimons: new government report “simply not true” More >>
Labour Foreign Affairs spokesperson Chris Carter has condemned the arrest of Methodist church leaders in Fiji. “This is an attack on the freedom of Fijian people and will only further isolate the military rulers from the rest of the world and create ... More >>
Though New Zealand's main statutory holidays are closely tied in with our traditional religious days off, there is every reason to allow our workplaces the option of swapping them for holidays important to people of people of other religions. The idea was ... More >>
The annual Blessing of Nelson’s Fishing Fleet is scheduled for this Saturday (July 25), aiming to link the people of Nelson with fishing industry and pay tribute to those who have lost their lives at sea. More >>
New York, Jul 17 2009 1:10PM The creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its achievements to date are vital to ensuring justice for millions around the world, but much more work remains to be done to advance this noble ideal, according ... More >>
At the only sandy ‘beach’ in Lower Park, a big group of parents and children frolic in the water. It’s a lazy summer afternoon when the temperature reaches nearly 110 degrees. More >>
Nearly six months have passed since the Israeli army ceased pounding the tiny stretch of land that is the Gaza Strip. Since then, Gaza continues to appear on the news once in a while, as a recurring subject of human misery. More >>
I have been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. More >>
Family First NZ is welcoming comments from Hamilton West MP Tim Macindoe (Waikato Times 13 July) that he will be voting no in the upcoming Referendum and, like Family First, believes that the Chester Borrows amendment is the solution. “Tim Macindoe ... More >>
New York, Jul 13 2009 3:10PM The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today called for a redoubling of efforts to protect the country’s Christians, as well as its other minority communities, following a series of “orchestrated” bombings over the ... More >>
The regrettable events in the Xinjiang province in China, following severe riots between the native Muslim Uyghurs and the migrant Chinese Hans, is another proof that minorities continue to suffer under the yoke of the Beijing regime. As matter ... More >>
Perturbed over the continued maltreatment of European Roma and inaction by the concerned authorities, Hindus and Jews have asked for an urgent special session of European Parliament to discuss Roma apartheid issue. More >>
The TV autobiography of Greg Laurie, Lost Boy: The Documentary, is the story of well-known evangelist and teacher, Greg Laurie. Winner of the ‘Audience Favorite: Best Documentary’ at the 2009 Riverside International Film Festival, Lost Boy takes the viewer through ... More >>
EVERY GERMAN child knows the story of the Captain of Koepenick. The scene is 1908 Germany, with the Second Reich at the peak of its power, ruled by a Kaiser who is almost always decked out in a splendid military uniform. More >>
Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was important for Hindu families to celebrate Diwali day together at home with their children More >>
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has suggested Oscar winner Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow to change the tagline of her weekly newsletter “GOOP” from “nourish the inner aspect” to “nourish the outer aspect”. More >>
As the vultures in the Indian sky are missing, the Parsi people living in the country remained worried, of course for a religious reason. The Parsis, who fled Persia-the present-day Iran-centuries back after Islamic uprising practise the religion of Zoroastrianism. More >>
Amnesty International has called on the authorities in Urumqi to immediately launch an independent and impartial investigation into reports that 156 people were killed when a protest turned violent late on Sunday. More >>
Burger King Corporation has pulled the offensive advertisement poster in Spain showing Hindu goddess Lakshmi promoting a meat sandwich, which Hindu groups protested calling it repugnant, according to reports. More >>
The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) has released the first of an ongoing series of reports that focus on the economic and social hardship faced by many New Zealanders. The reports are a mix of government data and feedback from ... More >>
The apex body of Indian Muslims has come forward to condemn the brutality shown by the Chinese authority in the autonomous Xinjiang region in the last few days. More >>
Hindus have asked Burger King Corporation to publicly apologize and immediately withdraw a poster seen in Spain, which shows Hindu goddess Lakshmi promoting a meat sandwich, which they termed repugnant. More >>
If it seems like it was another century, that’s because it was: almost twelve years ago Promise Keepers – then the most visible and audacious of Christian men’s organization – brought nearly one million men to Washington. More >>
On the one hand, I wanted the Network of Spiritual Progressives to be included in a list of some of the most important religious forces in the US. I was honored that we had been invited to be among them. On the other hand, my requests that a stronger ... More >>
In his sermon, on 19 June, Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, accused the West, especially Britain, of meddling in the domestic affairs of Iran (whatever that means!) He was particularly hard on Britain. The sermon was still in process, ... More >>
Three new books by two Hamilton authors are being launched today (Wednesday). More >>
Chinese news agency Xinhuanet earlier reported that more that 156 people on Sunday had lost their lives in Urumqi, the capital of China’s autonomous province Xinjiang where ethnic violence erupted. More >>
New York, Jul 7 2009 10:10AM The top United Nations human rights official today expressed her alarm at the high number of casualties sustained during this weekend’s rioting in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xingiang Autonomous Region, calling on all people ... More >>
Catholic social justice agency Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand welcomes the Ministerial Review Panel’s Foreshore and Seabed Review report as a practical and pragmatic approach to one of the most divisive issues of recent years, which gives an opportunity ... More >>
From celebrity streaker Lisa Lewis, to God himself, the MySpace ‘Most Watched’ are the people capturing Kiwis’ eyeballs and imaginations More >>
When science fails, art takes over… Can we prove we’re more than animals? Science has been attempting to answer this for years, but we’re still confused. And if Darwin can’t solve it, you better believe Binge Culture can, because the makers ... More >>
Tickets for the Public Talk by the Dalai Lama at the Vector Arena, Auckland, in December this year will go on sale tomorrow, Tuesday July 7th. The Dalai Lama will speak on the topic of A Peaceful Mind at 2pm on Saturday December 5th and will give an additional ... More >>
Much can be said to explain, or even justify Hamas’ recent political concessions, where its top leaders in Gaza and Damascus agreed in principle with a political settlement on the basis of the two-state solution. More >>
PAKISTAN: Around 100 houses belonging to Christians damaged, and a young man beaten to death The violent attacks on the Christian community are continuing while the government claims that it is providing equal rights to religious minorities, including ... More >>
Three huge granite stones rest comfortably on the top of Midbar Sinai Street, in Givat Havatzim, Jerusalem’s northernmost district. Cut to specification, the imposing stones represent one of several preparations by the Temple Mount and Land of Israel ... More >>
Israeli jounalist Amnon Kapeliouk was my kind of Journalist and my kind of Jew. Sadly, he died the other day and was buried near his birth place in West Jerusalem. For more than 40 years Kapeliouk reported on Palestinian and Arab affairs for half a ... More >>
A public lecture to mark 100 years of formally organised Quakerism in Aotearoa New Zealand will take place on Thursday 9th July in the Illot Theatre at 5.30 p.m. More >>
Management of prisons should not be contracted out, Catholic social justice agency Caritas told Parliament’s Law and Order Select Committee today. More >>
Hindus and Jews have urged for separation of church and state in Denmark, where currently The Danish National Church is a state church. Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California ... More >>
New York, Jun 29 2009 5:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is one of the world’s most confidence-inspiring political leaders, according to a new survey made public today. More >>
New York, Jun 29 2009 2:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, condemning recent attacks in several Iraqi cities, called today on the people of the strife-torn nation to reject attempts to incite further violence. More >>
Vincent Fleury is a French scientist investigating origin of form with experiments involving cellular flow. He was recently featured in a PZ Myers Pharyngula blog -- where his work first caught my eye. More >>
Lila Rose, a 20-year-old UCLA student, is taking on Planned Parenthood with a phony story, video equipment, and support from a host of Christian Right media outlets and organizations. More >>
The Minister for Home and Ecclesiastical Affairs Hon. Peter Tom has assured the nation of the government’s commitment to support Christian churches in the country. In 2007, the ruling Coalition for National Unity and Rural Advancement (CNURA) Government ... More >>
Welcoming reported forthcoming visit of Hollywood superstar Julia Roberts to India for a film shooting, Hindus have urged her to explore Hinduism further and visit some Hindu temples. More >>
Hindus have thrown their weight behind Beatle Sir Paul McCartney’s call for Meat-Free Monday movement, which aims at persuading public to go vegetarian once a week to slow global warming. More >>
New York, Jun 16 2009 5:10PM The United Nations today called for urgent action to protect more than one billion children living in areas of the world affected by armed conflict, some 300 million of whom are under the age of five. More >>
Could Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu become the Richard Nixon of the Middle East, as Barack Obama invited him to do? Could he break with his hard-line past and reach out to the Palestinians the way Nixon did with the Chinese? Or will ... More >>
(Toronto, May 30, 2009) – Author, Aaron David Gottfried will have a book launch for his first novel, The Psychiatrist Who Cured the Scientologist at Indigo Books and Music Ltd. (Yonge and Eglinton) on June 27 at 2 p.m. More >>
Worldwide - In this month of June 2009, Anonymous launches OPERATION CRUISE CONTROL, also christened as Sea Arrrgh II, an international event which brings attention to abuses in the Sea Org, the management structure of the Church of Scientology. Child ... More >>
Editor of Tikkun, the largest circulation liberal/progressive Jewish Magazine in the world, calls Netanyahu's speech "a self-contradictory ruse which will not advance the peace process." More >>
Netanyahu’s biggest problem is to make believe that the old is new. To make yesterday’s tired old clichés sound like the rallying call for tomorrow. But how to do that without using winks? More >>
“I will try to get you off the US Terrorism list if you can arrange a meeting for me with Hassan Nasrallah” More >>
Volunteer Awareness Week is an important event, and it highlights how we need to show volunteers each day throughout the year just how important and appreciated they are says the Right Rev Dr Graham Redding, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of ... More >>
Last weekend's stellar showing by Britain's National Party in local and European elections presents Conservative leader David Cameron with an opportunity to shed his anaemic me-too policies and lead like a Churchill, notes SOLO Principal Lindsay ... More >>
Iran goes to the polls on Friday, and will find an assortment of individuals to pick from who have been approved by the Islamic establishment in that country. The presidential incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces two reformist candidates in the form of former ... More >>
When I first moved to this northern California town over a decade ago, there were still areas along the creek just outside of town that were quite wild. I would sometimes cross paths with coyotes, long-eared rabbits, and rattlesnakes. An encounter with ... More >>
In the slightly less polluted suburbs of Jakarta and other big Indonesian cities, restaurants specialising in beef dishes are doing well, particularly those serving steaks from New Zealand and Australia. More >>
"George Tiller’s clinic will close in the wake of the Wichita abortion provider’s shooting death, lawyers for the Tiller family said today," the Wichita Eagle is reporting . "Lee Thompson and Dan Monnat, the family’s lawyers, said in ... More >>
For years, AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee) has helped to stonewall the Middle East peace process by building a solid wall around the Israeli government, protecting it from criticism in the US. Senators and representatives have feared ... More >>
Here in California, Silicon Valley types are still enamored with the idea that computers have brought humankind to “the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on Earth.” More >>
In the absence of a fossil in transitional form, Darwinism is rapidly getting obliterated from across world continents especially Europe its home front. The basic contention that everythihg came into being by chance is scientific is flawed. It is an evolution ... More >>
Hundreds of Muazzen called believers to Lebanon’s Mosques at 3:35 a.m. this morning for the Al Fajr (the Dawn) prayer. The haunting and beautiful strains of “ Allahu Akbar, (God is great) and Ash-‘hadu ana la elaha ella Allah (I bear witness that ... More >>
All over Wellington cans of food are being donated towards the ICan charity event to break the Guinness World Record for a can sculpture. The goal is 50,000 cans by the 26th of June. The next day they will be made into a huge sculpture in Civic Square ... More >>
Restorative Justice Services across the country are today mourning the passing of Reverend Michael Thawley. “Rev Thawley dedicated his life to the enhancement of people and communities of New Zealand”, says Lynne Pillay Labour Spokesperson for ... More >>
Among many major misconceptions pertaining to Arabs and Muslims is the common belief that they are a weak-willed, irrelevant collective, easily influenced and effortlessly manipulated. This mistaken assumption underscores the very ailment that has afflicted ... More >>
Who doesn’t want to blame all the problems Israel/Palestine is currently facing on newly appointed Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu? He refuses to endorse the internationally recognized two-state solution, he is far more combative on settlements ... More >>
Caritas resources prepared for the Day of Prayer for Refugees and Migrants (June 21) remind us that God has always walked alongside refugees and continues to do so today. The Day of Prayer was established by New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops to remember ... More >>
News Alerts
RSS
News Alerts
Submit News/Press Releases To Scoop
Join The Scoop Media Facebook Group
Follow Scoop Independent News on Twitter