A large school district near Washington says it banned opt-outs from lessons based on books featuring gay and transgender characters because too many parents requested their children be excused from the lessons. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland banned opt-outs on March 23, after initially allowing some students to leave classrooms when the lessons…

At least 31 people were killed in an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in China’s northwest region of Ningxia, state-run media reported. Seven were injured, including one in critical condition, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The cause is “a leak of liquefied petroleum gas,” CCTV said. The blast happened during peak dining time on June…

A Quebec Superior Court judge has denied a request to suspend the province’s ban on prayer room spaces in public schools. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Council of Canadian Muslims have argued that the ban was causing irreparable harm to Muslim students. Justice Lukasz Granosik disagreed, ruling today that the groups did…

Commentary The Biden administration’s efforts to sustain a dialogue with Beijing must be questioned in light of the Chinese regime’s gross and consistent human rights violations against its own people. While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) consistently violates human rights and has done so since it came to power in 1949, the intense focus on…

The investigation into the attack on a transit bus in Surrey, B.C., over the weekend has been taken over by the RCMP national security police and is being treated as terrorism. Abdul Aziz Kawam was initially charged with attempted murder for allegedly slashing a victim’s throat with a knife on Saturday morning. But on Monday,…

One of Britain’s leading neurologists has urged the government to make nitrous oxide—sometimes known as “laughing gas”—a banned substance, but has warned of the danger of “criminalising” teenagers. In 2021 the Home Office asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to consider whether to make possession of nitrous oxide a crime, but they…

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine troops forged a ceasefire with Muslim guerrillas after 10 combatants were killed in clashes in a southern village and frantic efforts were made to prevent an escalation that could threaten a major peace accord, military commanders and the rebels said Friday. The sporadic clashes erupted Tuesday and Wednesday in Ulitan village on the…

Both the Indian and Pakistani governments have condemned the violence between the Hindu and Muslim communities in the English city of Leicester, but their statements presented very different versions of events. Leicester, known for its ethnic diversity, has seen serious incidents of disorder following India’s victory over Pakistan in an Asia Cup cricket match on…

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—An Afghan refugee charged in the slayings of two Muslim men is facing new charges in connection with the shooting death of another man in the parking lot of a refugee resettlement agency earlier this month. A grand jury indicted Muhammad Syed in the three killings Monday. He’s also a suspect in the shooting…

A government adviser on Islamophobia who encouraged Muslims to protest against a cinema company to cancel the showing of a movie about the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter, has been sacked by Michael Gove for encouraging “communal tensions” and “limiting free expression.” On Friday, it was reported that Imam Qari Asim, an independent adviser on Islamophobia to…