Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:
- Saudi Arabia passed new legislation that permits all citizens—women and men alike—to apply for a passport and travel freely, ending a longstanding guardianship policy that Saudi clerics had supported based on a Quran verse that states men are the protectors and maintainers of women.
- A new Dutch law took effect Thursday prohibiting the wearing of burqas, niqabs, and other face coverings on public transportation, in government buildings, and at health and education institutions.
- Authorities in Beijing have ordered halal restaurants and food stalls to remove from their signs Arabic scripts and symbols associated with Islam, part of an expanding effort to “Sinicize” the Muslim population.
- Former Australian rugby star Israel Folau, who was fired after writing on social media that “hell awaits” gay people, filed a lawsuit against Rugby Australia, claiming his contract was unlawfully terminated due to his Christian beliefs.
- A Massachusetts judge denied a preliminary injunction request from the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Preservation Society seeking to halt the razing of a ninety-one-year-old Catholic church.
- A nun has alleged that efforts are being carried out to “sabotage” evidence and shield rape-accused bishop Franco Mulakkal after a court in Pala, Kerala, found irregularities in copies of the cyber forensic report submitted by the police and laboratory.
- Police are investigating a package containing anti-Semitic and threatening objects that was delivered to Young Israel of Bal Harbour, a Florida synagogue.
- The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the superintendent of DeKalb County Schools (AL) complaining that Fyffe High School is violating the Establishment Clause by promoting a “Back to School Worship Service” in the school gymnasium.
- Planned Parenthood and the ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging Missouri’s controversial eight-week abortion ban, which is set to take effect August 28.