13 per cent rise in religiously motivated hate crime
Hate crime numbers in England and Wales for the year to March 2026, show a 13 per cent rise in religious hate crimes, with 11,419 recorded. Of these, there was a 15 per cent rise in hate crimes targeting Muslims, which spiked in September 2025 at the time of the Unite the Kingdom march. There was also a 10 per cent increase targeting Jewish people, spiking in October 2025 following the Heaton Park Synagogue attack in Manchester. The Telegraph reports that the rate of hate crimes against Jewish people was 116.5 per 10,000 people. For Muslims the rate was 13.3 per 10,000 people, meaning Jewish people are nine times more likely to be victims of hate crime. The more general picture in the Home Office figures supplied by the police, is that hate crime has risen by seven per cent in the year to March 2026, with more offences motivated by race and religion. The majority – 74 per cent – were racially motivated, and 8 per cent were motivated by religion.
US Catholic group says every execution is a failure
A US Catholic organisation has condemned every execution, whether successful or botched, as a failure because it is affront to human dignity. The Catholic Mobilizing Network issued the statement following Tennessee’s second botched execution in five months and the unprecedented survival of death-row prisoner Christa Pike. It will mark World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October, calling for an end to capital punishment. Executive director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy said executions neither make communities safer nor deter violence, but devalue human life. Anti-death penalty campaigner Sr Helen Prejean said the government should never have the power to decide that someone must die. The group said 27 US states have abolished or paused executions.
Former Buddhist monk and fundraiser jailed for embezzling millions of pounds
A former Buddhist monk and a fundraiser in Thailand, have been sentenced to 50 years in prison for embezzling millions of pounds of donations which were given to a centre for people with HIV / Aids. Alongkot Poonmook and an associate fundraiser, Seksan Sapsubbsakul, were both found guilty on multiple counts and their sentences totalled hundreds of years, but the legal maximum is 50 years. They were ordered to return more than 300 million baht (about $9 million) to the hospice which was established in 1992 and developed as a centre for other serious illnesses. Alongkot had served there as abbot.
Palestinian Christian tells Methodist young people of ‘difficult reality’ in the Holy Land
Daoud Nassar, whose family are winners of the World Methodist Peace Award and run the Tent of Nations, an educational and ecological family farm located south-west of Bethlehem, was a key speaker at the Methodist Church’s annual 3Generate Children and Youth Assembly gathering in Birmingham. Around 2,000 young people heard him tell the story of their daily lives. He said it was important to tell them what Christians face, but with a message of hope “that wherever you are, you can make a difference….It would be wonderful if we could have an event such as 3Generate in Palestine, in Bethlehem, but there is no freedom of movement there and they do not have that many opportunities.” 3Generate offered worship, prayer, sport, arts and discussions on issues including anxiety, neurodiversity and life in the West Bank. Youth President Gracie Silk said the event helped young Methodists overcome isolation and discover fellowship.
Former Methodist church in Cleethorpes becomes wedding and prom dress shop
Dunnington Methodist Church in Cleethorpes, which closed during the Covid pandemic and was put up for sale in 2025, is to become the Vavavoom Bridal Boutique, a wedding and prom dress shop. Display areas, fitting rooms and customer service spaces will be created inside and visits will be by appointment only. The BBC reports that council planning officers said the conversion would allow the historic church and its architectural features to be preserved and its future use would outweigh the loss of a former community facility.
