The International Humanist and Ethical Union has joined with its member organization One Law for All to hold a Rally for Free Expression in London on 11 February. The rally was organized to respond to the recent spate of attacks on free speech in the UK, including threats and censorship directed at Humanist student groups at the University of London (see IHEU stories at  http://www.iheu.org/humanists-condemn-another-attack-atheist-expression-london-university and at http://www.iheu.org/threats-violence-force-cancellation-university-talk-sharia-law).

An excellent opportunity for an experienced Communications Officer has arisen within the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), the world union of Humanist and other non-religious organizations.

Yet another Humanist student group in London is being threatened with censorship for talking about Islam. The London School of Economics (LSE) Student Union has instructed the LSE Student Union Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society (LSESU ASH) to remove cartoons featuring Jesus and Mohammed from their Facebook page. It is the third instance this month of free speech being threatened at a London college.

A meeting at the University of London had to be cancelled yesterday after threats of religious  violence. The talk on ‘Sharia Law and Human Rights’ was organized by the Atheism, Secularism and Humanism Society at Queens College.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has welcomed the British government’s decision to not fund schools that teach creationism or are run by creationist groups. The Department of Education issued a new revision of the model funding agreement for Free Schools in order to preclude "the teaching, as an evidence-based view or theory, of any view or theory that is contrary to established scientific and/or historical evidence and explanations"  The change follows the BHA coordinating the ‘Teach evolution, not creationism!’ campaign, which called for this precise change.

Two court decisions announced this week have received contrasting responses from American Humanists. A decision ordering the removal of a religious banner from a state school in Rhode Island was applauded by Humanists, whereas a Supreme Court decision to exempt religious groups from laws against employment discrimination was strongly criticized.

In March, Nigeria's notorious witch hunter, Helen Ukpabio, is organising a “Deliverance Session” in the United States, according to infomation posted on the web site of the Liberty Gospel Church. The event is slated for March 14-25 at Liberty Gospel Church in Houston, Texas. The program is said to be “12 days of battling with the spirit for freedom.”

The outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens died Thursday, December 15, at the age of 63, after battling esophageal cancer. Humanist groups and atheist activists around the world are paying tribute to the life and work of the prolific writer.