MUMBAI, INDIA, September 12, 2004: Keen on reducing water pollution due to immersion of Ganesh icons in sea/river waters, a city-based religious trust has embarked on a novel project to spread awareness about “environment-friendly” Ganesh icon. Instead of icons made of Plaster of Paris, which offer longevity and convenience but are the very material contributing to the pollution - the group has put forth an idea of icons made of “water-soluble” paper pulp to draw attention of the masses towards the major cause. City-based Shri Satguru Aniruddha Upasana Trust, which runs several projects of direct relevance to society, has taken the initiative albeit on an experimental basis to bring home a chemical free lord Ganesh icon. The organization has a 13-point program guidelines for which have been drawn by their guru Bapu. “One successful program of this 13-point scheme is recycling of paper. We already make various items like toys and alphabet blocks from “papier mache.” So this year when Bapu asked us to try out something on similar lines for the Ganesh icon, we came out with an icon made entirely from paper pulp,” Vilas Muley of the trust said. The traditional icons are made of shaduchi mati (clay). But, because the icons made of it are not commercially viable, the murtikaars (icon-makers) these days use Plaster of Paris, which is cheap and easy to manufacture in bulk, he said, adding, “Plaster of Paris is the main culprit.”

BANGKOK, THAILAND, September 12, 2004: The Thai government says it is writing a book on national etiquette to try to tackle the problem of culturally insensitive foreigners. It was prompted to act after posters for a US film picturing a man sitting on the head of a Buddha statue caused public outrage. Thailand is an overwhelmingly Buddhist country, and disrespecting the Buddha’s image is taken seriously. Some officials called for “malicious” foreigners to be banned from Thailand. But a government minister denied reports that it was preparing a blacklist to ban foreigners who had offended Thai culture. “It is up to them if they will believe and follow what we’ve suggested,” Vice-Minister for Culture Weerasak Kowsurat told Reuters news agency. Religion is deeply respected in Thai culture, as is the royal family, and insulting either of them is considered extremely rude. The US film that caused offence, Hollywood Buddha, is the story of a struggling film producer who turns to the Buddhist faith to help boost his career. Empowered by the support of his new-found religion, the producer starts to turn things around. The film’s writer and director Philippe Caland has agreed to withdraw the poster. He also apologized for “this inadvertent insult and disrespect”.

ARGENTINA, September 15, 2004: The Universidad Abierta Interamericana offers courses on several levels, including for medical professionals. Click “source” to visit their Spanish-language website.

VATICAN, September 12, 2004: (HPI note: This report is from the Vatican’s official news agency, Zenit.) The arrest of a member of the nationalist Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party for the Aug. 28 murder of a priest hasn’t satisfied Church officials who suspect a cover-up. Father Job Chittilappilly, who for 45 years carried out his pastoral work in the Catholic community of the Syro-Malabar rite, was found dead in the residence of Our Lady of Grace Parish, in the Diocese of Trichur, in the state of Kerala. The priest had been praying the rosary before Mass when he was stabbed to death. “The first time a priest is killed in cold blood in Kerala,” is how Archbishop Jacob Thoomkuzhy of Trichur described it. Nothing was touched or taken from Father Chittilappilly’s residence. The Missionary Service News Agency reported Friday that the man arrested in the case, Reghu Kamar, 25, has apparently confessed to the crime. Preliminary investigations indicate that Kamar murdered the priest because he feared Father Chittilappilly would convert Hindus to Christianity. The suspect also wanted to revive a Hindu temple, next to Our Lady of Grace in Thuruthiparambu, which has been closed for some 20 years. It is alleged that the temple priest was killed some 25 years ago. Based on a local belief, the temple could be revived only by offering the blood of another priest. On learning the news of the arrest of Kamar, the parish’s faithful surrounded the police for five hours, shouting slogans and accusing them of “attempting to cover up a conspiracy behind the crime and minimizing the situation by arresting only one individual.” The Archdiocese of Trichur organized a protest rally Saturday against Father Chittilappilly’s murder and the authorities’ indifference.