Norwegian Minister of Culture Anniken Huitfeldt has responded to a long-standing request of the Norwegian Humanist Association (NHA) by appointing a commission whose mandate is to develop a more comprehensive Norwegian life stance policy. But even though the commission has a Humanist deputy leader, the NHA has criticized it for being dominated by Christians and lacking any human rights experts.

The August 2010 issue of International Humanist News has been published. This edition includes features on the State Funding of Religious Institution. We have:

A new British Medical Journal study has found that non-religious doctors are more likely to discuss end of life decisions with their patients. The study by Dr Clive Seale from the Centre for Health Sciences at Queen Mary University concludes that greater acknowledgement of the relationship between doctors’ values and clinical decision making would improve patient care.

An injunction by a federal judge has put federally funded stem cell research on hold across the US, compromising the progress of vital medical breakthroughs, the American Humanist Association (AHA) said today. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled on Monday that funding of stem cell research violates a federal ban on taxpayer dollars going towards the destruction of embryos.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) has condemned a planned public burning of the Quran by a Florida church on the 9th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks. IHEU is the world union of more than 100 Humanist, rationalist, secular, ethical culture, atheist and freethought organizations in more than 40 countries.

A new documentary by world-renowned atheist Richard Dawkins calls time on the growth of state-funded religious schools in Britain. Andrew Copson, vice president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) and chief executive officer of the British Humanist Association (BHA), is among a number of experts interviewed for ‘Faith School Menace?’. The show will premiere this Wednesday, 18 August, at 9pm on the UK channel More4.

Italian freethinkers have welcomed a court ruling that requires public schools to provide alternatives to Catholic classes on religion. The Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics (UAAR), an IHEU member organization, provided financial and legal support for the case brought by the parents of a child attending a state primary school in Padua.

IHEU has protested to the Nigerian government about the brutal persecution of Leo Igwe, IHEU Representative for West Africa, and his family. Igwe and members of his family have been subjected to a sustained campaign of harassment by Nigerian police, soldiers and criminals. The latest attack, on August 4, resulted in grievous injuries to Leo’s elderly father, who lost an eye as a result. The harassment is the result of the Igwes’ efforts to bring to justice a powerful local man accused of raping a ten year old girl.

At IHEU’s general assembly on August 6, 2010, IHEU president Sonja Eggerickx summarized the organization’s recent developments and future plans: