Danish Muslim leader regrets cartoon protests

A LEADER from the Islamic community in Denmark told the Associated Press this week that he regretted the violent protests caused by the publication of cartoon caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by a Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, in 2006 (  News, 10 February 2006). Ahmad Akkari said that he had been "totally wrong" to organise protests against the cartoons.

MU deplores treatment of asylum-seekers

THE President of MU Australia, part of the worldwide Mothers' Union, Canon Libbie Crossman, issued a statement on Tuesday criticising the "inhumane" treatment of asylum-seekers at an Australian-run detention centre on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Canon Crossman said that conditions at the detention centre did not meet acceptable standards, and said that asylum-seekers were treated in an "inhumane manner". She called on the Australian government "to ensure that asylum-seekers are housed in high-standard accommodation, and treated in a generally humanitarian and Christian manner".

Baby should be called Martin, not Messiah, says judge

A JUDGE in Tennessee has ordered that a baby's first name be changed from Messiah to Martin. The judge said that the name could "put him [the boy] at odds with a lot of people, and at this point he has no choice what his name is. . . The Messiah is a title, and it's a title that has only been earned by one person, and that person is Jesus Christ." The baby's mother said that she would appeal against the ruling.