An Iranian lesbian who fled to Britain after her girlfriend was arrested and sentenced to death faces being forcibly returned after losing the latest round in her battle to be granted asylum. The case of Pegah Emambakhsh, 40, comes a day after The Independent reported on the growing public outcry over the plight of a gay Iranian teenager who fears he will be executed if he is deported to Iran.

After an acrimonious debate in which the bogeyman of secularism was repeatedly invoked, on Wednesday March 5th 2008 the House of Lords accepted the amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill that abolishes the common law of blasphemy and blasphemous libel. The amendment had originally been introduced by Lib Dem MP Dr Evan Harris in the House of Commons, but the Government had persuaded him to withdraw it after promising to introduce its own amendment later in the Lords.

An article from the latest Humanist Network News. You can subscribe via the Institute for Humanist Studies website. Throughout history, women with independent minds who have made significant contributions to our body of knowledge, have been mocked, censored or even killed for their perceived outspokenness. Hypatia of Alexandria, was a gifted female philosopher, astronomer and mathematician who flourished in Roman Egypt during Arcadius’ reign. IHS :: HNN :: Women in History: Hypatia.

The concept of blasphemy seemed for some decades to be in decline in the West, but not any more. It may be useful to look back at some recent cases of militantly religious outrage… Rated by: Vulgarity –the piece shocked through its conflation of the sacred and the profane Criminality –the piece contravened laws in a given country Religious impact –the work caused outrage from religious leaders Political impact –speeches were made by governments, laws were created or changed.

A talk by Raymond Tallis, 10th April 2008, 6pm – 8pm J Z Young Lecture Theatre, The Anatomy Building, University College London, Gower Street, London. Admission is free but tickets must be booked in advance. Call 020 7079 3580 or email info@humanism.org.uk. British Humanist Association. Tags: Voltaire+Lecture, Raymond+Tallis, BHA, London

If the UN were to order us to ‘respect all political beliefs’, conservatives would say they weren’t prepared to respect communists, leftists would say they weren’t prepared to respect fascists and everyone else would burst out laughing. Yet the UN Human Rights Council is proposing in all seriousness to protect religion by doctoring its universal defence of freedom of expression. Nick Cohen: The awful squeal of fundamentalism | Comment is free | The Observer.

Damning new evidence that faith schools are siphoning off middle-class pupils can be revealed today, as research shows they are failing to take children from the poorest backgrounds nationwide. Even when they are situated in deprived inner-city areas, religious schools have fewer poor children than local authority secondary schools. New figures show that religious schools, in England, admit 10 per cent fewer poor pupils than is representative of the local area.

Back in April 2007 we reported on the stage play Re:Design, a dramatisation based upon the correspondence between Charles Darwin and Harvard Professor of Botany Asa Gray, and performed at the Cambridge Science Festival. The full performance is now available via the MIT website – you’ll need RealPlayer to see it. Charles Darwin’s birthday is 12 February, now more commonly referred to as Darwin Day.

The abolition of the blasphemy laws took a decisive step forward this week with the tabling of a government amendment to do so in the House of Lords. The Bill is scheduled to be debated on Wednesday (5 March 2008). National Secular Society – Stop press: Blasphemy abolition moves closer. If you have digital TV on Freeview or otherwise, you may be able to watch the debate on BBC Parliament.

Humanist Network News podcasts have been praised in The Independent. Now you can listen via our website. There are interviews with Philip Pullman, Salman Rushdie, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens and the late Arthur Miller, and topics include Camp Quest and Darwin Day. Tags: Podcasts, Institute+for+Humanist+Studies, IHS, Humanist+Network+News, Interviews