Brunei was widely criticised after it announced its interpretation of Islamic laws, or sharia, early last month, which involve punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with death, including by stoning.

The sultan now says a moratorium on the death penalty would be extended to the Syariah Penal Code Order (SPCO).

Clooney has promised to keep up pressure on Brunei, where gay sex remains illegal and is punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

He says the moratorium on executions is a "huge step forward after a giant leap backwards", but that "the law to stone their citizens is still in place".

"For my family and me, we simply can't walk away until this draconian law is no longer on the books."

The law's implementation, which the United Nations condemned, prompted celebrities and rights groups to seek a boycott on hotels owned by the sultan, including the Dorchester in London and the Beverley Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

George Clooney led the boycott action, while celebrities including Elton John and Ellen DeGeneres joined in the outcry. At the same time, the UK's Health and Safety Executive and the Police Federation of England and Wales suspended links with the country.

Several multinational companies have also banned staff from using the sultan's hotels, while some travel companies have stopped promoting Brunei as a tourist destination.

Source

• The Telegraph
• The Guardian
• Image: The Japan Times

Brunei, which is a tiny nation on the island of Borneo, has adopted a more conservative form of Islam in recent years.

In 2013 it announced its intention to introduce sharia law, the Islamic legal system that imposes strict corporal punishments.

The first stage of the law included fines or jail for offences such as pregnancy out of wedlock or failing to pray on Friday.

Human rights group Amnesty International says the new stoning and amputation penalties, which also apply to children, are provided for in new sections under Brunei's Sharia Penal Code.

They will come into effect tomorrow.

The legal changes were announced "in a discreet notice" on the attorney general's website, Amnesty says.

"To legalize such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself," Rachel Chhoa-Howard, who works for Amnesty International.

She says some of the potential offences "should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender.

"Brunei must immediately halt its plans to implement these vicious punishments and revise its penal code in compliance with its human rights obligations," Chhoa-Howard says.

"The international community must urgently condemn Brunei's move to put these cruel penalties into practice."

Both Elton John and George Clooney have spoken out against the new law, promising to boycott Brunei-owned luxury hotels.

Clooney notes the Sultan of Brunei owns a handful of luxury hotels, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Dorchester in London and the Plaza Athenee in Paris.

Speaking in support of Clooney's stance, Elton John says he won't be visiting any of these hotels in future.

"Discrimination on the basis of sexuality is plain wrong and has no place in any society.

"That's why I commend my friend, George Clooney, for taking a stand and calling out the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry now being enshrined in law in the nation of Brunei, a place where gay people are brutalised or worse," Elton John says.

Brunei's sultan instituted the Sharia Penal Code in 2014 to bolster the influence of Islam in the tiny, oil-rich monarchy, which has long been known for conservative policies such as banning the public sale of liquor.

Source

• Rolling Stone
• Huffington Post
• The Guardian
• iNews

The magazine features the Pope on the cover of its latest issue and says he has done enough in his first 100 days in office to be put at the top of the list of world leaders who make history.

The cover has the title "Francesco Papa Coraggio" (Francis Pope Courage), and a quote from his appeal for the forgotten immigrants who lost their lives trying to reach the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

In one of five accompanying tributes from celebrities, Sir Elton writes: "Francis is a miracle of humility in an era of vanity."

He adds that he hopes the Pope will be able to bring his message "to the most marginalised in society, to those communities which, at this time of their lives, they desperately need your love".

Sir Elton calls on the Catholic Church to turn back to "the ancient values of Christ" and reach out to the many children, women and men who are suffering from HIV and Aids — "often alone, and hidden by the silence, his beacon of hope will bring more light than any advancement of science, because no drug has the power of love".

Sir Elton's support for the Pope is unexpected since he has been in a civil partnership since 2005 and has previously clashed with the Church over issues such as gay marriage and contraception in Africa.

Vanity Fair described the words and actions of Pope Francis as "heavier than boulders".

It said the Pope showed what he meant when he said "be shepherds who have the smell of their sheep" by visiting Lampedusa, and illustrated his message with powerful words and gestures.

Sources:

Vatican Insider

Christian Post

The Telegraph

Image: Metaltube