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Vatican City (AFP) – The Vatican's first accord with the Palestinians — an agreement that Israel has attacked as counter-productive to the Middle East peace process — has come into force, the Holy See announced Saturday. The accord was signed in June, just over two years after the Roman Catholic Church recognised the Palestinian territories as a sovereign state in …

By Mathew Rodriguez Very often, when faced with injustice, people will take a stand. Well, one woman decided to make a stand. In a Facebook post, Mona Haydar described her decision to step out of her comfort zone and into the public. Armed with a box of doughnuts and coffee, Haydar constructed a stand outside a library in Cambridge, Massachusetts, …

Donald Trump wants Muslims banned from entering the US – but without them the country would be a much poorer place What have Muslims ever done for America? If your sole source of information were Donald Trump, you’d think that the answer was not much – apart from murdering its citizens and trying to destroy its values. The Republican presidential …

Israeli hardliner calls for Christmas ban, saying Christians need to be thrown out so they don't 'drink our blood'. The leader of a right-wing Jewish group has called for a ban on Christmas in Israel and the expulsion of Christians, describing followers of the religion as "blood-sucking vampires". Benzi Gopstein – leader of the group Lahava, or Flame in Hebrew …

'I always try not to be prejudiced myself but apparently I already am.' By Rachel Dicker With new evidence surfacing that the San Bernardino shooters may have been connected to the Islamic State group, the distinction between radical terrorist ideology and peaceful religion is more important to draw than ever before. Dutch YouTubers Dit is Normaal sought to draw attention …

In the aftermath of the collapse of  the former Soviet Union in 1979, and the emergence of the United States as the most powerful military power in known human history, people worldwide dreamt that democracy would flourish and the world would be a war-free and peaceful place. However, their hopes were dashed as forces such as powerful and ruthless lobbies …