SourceWASHINGTON, U.S.A., December 19, 2003: The U.S. State Department released its fifth annual report on international religious freedom on Thursday, December 18. The executive summary is at “source” above, and the complete report can be reached through related links. Six countries, Burma, China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam were named as countries that have “totalitarian and authoritarian attempts to…
SourceCHATSWORTH, SOUTH AFRICA, December 21, 2003: A Chatsworth family who are hooked on fishing have landed a “divine” catch in Durban Harbour. Seema Pillay, 26, husband Vellen, 30, and son Kyle, 7, were on their weekly fishing trip when they stumbled upon statues of Hindu deities in the water at Maydon Wharf. “We had been looking for a good fishing…
SourceDHAKA, BANGLADESH, December 21, 2003: Local residents foiled an attempt by suspected Islamic militants to demolish a 200-year old Hindu temple in the port city of Chittagong in southern Bangladesh, officials said today. At least six Hindu residents of the temple were injured in the overnight attack carried out by an unidentified group of militants armed with shovels and crowbars.…
SourceDAMBATENE, SRI LANKA, December 20, 2003: Like their ancestors who worked for the British tea baron Sir Thomas Lipton, the 200 workers at the Dambatene tea plantation have spent their lives toiling in the lush fields that sprawl over this tropical island off the southern tip of India. And like the tea workers — nearly all Hindus — for centuries…
Religion News ServiceUSA, December 24, 2003: This interesting piece on the origins of Christmas appeared in the Religion News Service and is written by Yvonne Betowt: Did you know Alabama was the first state to declare Christmas an official holiday? That happened in 1836, 71 years before the last state — Oklahoma — followed suit in 1907. Christmas is the…
SourceSRI LANKA, December 15, 2003: Tamils in several parts of the northeast observed the 181st birth anniversary of the Saiva-Tamil revivalist Sri Arumugam Navalar on Sunday. Sri Arumugan Navalar is chiefly remembered for his work to revive Saivism in Jaffna and South India. He is also considered one of the important pioneers of Tamil revival in the 19th century. Though…
SourceCOLUMBIA, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES, December 19, 2003: Some things cannot be explained! Million in the United States claim to have near-death experience. They were actually declared clinically dead – but then, they regained consciousness. Their accounts of what happened during that event are strikingly similar. William Taylor, 61, who had a near-death experience. “In 1979 I had a cardiac arrest…
SourceTAMIL NADU, INDIA, December 3, 2003: Located one mile off the Nagapattinam coast of Tamil Nadu, a submerged city believed to be 7,000 – 17,000 years old has been discovered. Interest in the submerged city was first sparked by English marine archaeologist Graham Hancock who explored the Poompuhar site in 2001 and declared that the city was older than Sumeria…
SourceSEVILLE, SPAIN, December 18, 2003: More than 40 religious leaders from around the globe met in the southern Spanish city of Seville on Monday. Leaders representing Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism launched a new collaborative board, and discussed hostility and hospitality between the different faiths. While the media highlight religious conflict, “many important initiatives” are also being taken to…
The Trinidad GuardianMARTINIQUE, FRANCE, December 19, 2001, Nicole Etiene, 50, of Fort de France, Martinique, will receive the Upanayan Sanskar (sacred thread) at the Munroe Road, Chaguanas temple of Pundit Samsundar Ramdeen today. He is among five people who will be ordained as pundits in the ceremony. Etiene, whose native language is French, said yesterday that he was following in…