Latest from Religion and Beliefs

It's a 'burqa made of flesh'

Women who undergo plastic surgery are wearing a "burqa made of flesh", according to a Vatican document.

Michelle Obama's Saudi controversy

Saudi officials deny they blurred out US First Lady Michelle Obama, but her decision not to wear a headscarf, and don blue, not black at the late King's funeral, is controversial.

Survivors' plea: Never be bystander

For the dwindling band who still remember the horrors, it was possibly the last time they would gather to remind the world of their story.

Anglican Church ordains first female bishop

The first female Church of England bishop described her consecration service as an “occasion of prayer and of party”.

Inge Woolf: The rising global tide of anti-Semitism

In Europe and even parts of the United States, Jews report rising levels of the "oldest hatred". And we aren't immune from the subject here in New Zealand, writes Inge Woolf.

Women more likely to believe in God - study

Women are far more likely to believe in God than men, a major study of attitudes among middle-aged Britons has found.

Charlie Hebdo protesters die in Niger

At least 10 people have been killed in violent protests in the West African nation of Niger over the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo's depiction of the Prophet Muhammad.

The role of Isis women

The role of British female jihadists in inciting terrorism in the UK has been uncovered by the ICSR which has identified a group of around 30 female Britons based in northern

Victims of supermarket siege named

The first pictures of three of the four hostages killed in yesterday's kosher supermarket siege in Paris have emerged.

Boumeddiene believed to be in Syria

The wife of the Paris supermarket gunman may be in Syria, police sources have said.

Hostage texts police information

Police were fed intelligence about the Charlie Hebdo gunmen’s hideout in Dammartin-en-Goele by a graphic designer hiding under a sink.

NZ Jewish Council condemns attacks

The New Zealand Jewish Council released a statement in which it 'unequivocally condemned' the terrorist attacks in Paris.

France 'a war zone'

Two days of manhunts and sieges came to an abrupt and violent end in the space of just five minutes.

France's most wanted woman

Police are hunting the 'wife' of the Kosher supermarket hostage killer who is believed to be 'armed and dangerous' - and told officers she was radicalised by 'American's massacring innocents'.

Radical preacher jailed for life

The radical preacher was convicted of trying to set up al-Qaeda training camp

Probe into suspect's British links