Boko Haram violence forces 1 million children out of school: UN
2015-12-22
The conflict has forced 2,000 schools to close, some for more than a year, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and NigerContinue Reading
Brunei bans Christmas celebrations in public
2015-12-21
Oil-rich Brunei has banned public celebrations of Christmas, including sending festive greetings and the wearing of Santa Claus hats. Muslims seen celebrating Christmas and non-Muslims found to be organising celebrations could face up to five years jail. However the country’s non-Muslims, who comprise 32 per cent of the 420,000 population,Continue Reading
NASA predicts a rare full moon on Christmas
2015-12-18
A full moon will light up the skies this Christmas, a rare event which has not occurred since 1977 and will not happen again till 2034Continue Reading
Canadian premier demands Pope’s apology
2015-12-18
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau plans to ask Pope Francis to apologize to Canadian aboriginal peopleContinue Reading
Pope warns against Holy Year fraudsters
2015-12-16
By passing through a holy door of a church, which remains closed except during a Holy Year, Catholics symbolically pass from sin to graceContinue Reading
Thailand cremates late supreme patriarch, years after his death
2015-12-16
Bangkok: Thailand today cremated the kingdom’s top Buddhist leader more than two years after he died, in a long and elaborate ceremony attended by the Crown Prince. The funeral pyre was lit by Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 63, who rarely makes public appearances but has recently been more in the publicContinue Reading
Vatican money-laundering investigations ‘must show results’
2015-12-15
The Vatican must “deliver real results” from its investigations into money-laundering, the Council of Europe’s financial agency has said. In its latest report, Moneyval said the Vatican had improved its financial management and its bank had shut down almost 5,000 suspicious accounts. Vatican prosecutors had frozen about €11m ($12m;£8m) andContinue Reading
Pope Francis urges countries to review laws on refugees, migrants
2015-12-15
Laws on migration should “reflect a readiness to welcome migrants and to facilitate their integration,” according to the Argentine pontiff. He was speaking as thousands seek entry to the EU, many via Italy. In a call for compassion for the poor and vulnerable, on Tuesday urged countries to review immigrationContinue Reading
Thousands flee as Typhoon Melor slams Philippines
2015-12-15
Manila: About 725,000 people fled their homes and communities braced for heavy rain and coastal floods of up to 13 feet as Typhoon Melor slammed Monday into the eastern Philippines, officials said. Classes, flights and ferry trips were suspended. The government’s weather bureau said the typhoon was packing winds ofContinue Reading
Gurudwara vandalized in US
2015-12-09
It is just 80 km from California shooting sceneContinue Reading