Dozens killed in stampede at religious event in India

More than 50 people have been killed in a crush at a religious gathering in northern India, officials have said.

Pakistan: At least 52 killed, dozens injured in Mastung blast

At least 52 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in an explosion in Pakistan.

Swedish embassy in Baghdad stormed, set alight over Quran burning

Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday morning and set it on fire, a source familiar with the matter and a Reuters witness said, in a protest against the expected burning of a Quran in Sweden.

US State Department condemns recognizing Navalny’s foundation as extremist - TASS

The US Department of State condemned the Moscow City Court’s ruling on recognizing the Anti-Corruption Foundation, the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation (the non-profit NGOs recognized in Russia as foreign agents) as well as the Navalny Headquarters public movement as extremist organizations on Wednesday, according to the statement by US State Department Spokesman Ned Price.

Dozens killed in Israel stampede at religious festival Lag BaOmer

Dozens of people were crushed to death in a crowd at a religious bonfire festival in Israel on Friday, medics said, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “heavy disaster.”

Christian migrants killed in religious clash on boat

Italian police have arrested 15 African men suspected of throwing about a dozen Christians from a migrant boat in the Mediterranean, as the crisis off southern Italy intensified.

Governor offers ‘apology’ to Turkey’s Chief Rabbi over synagogue controversy

The governor accused of inciting hatred toward Turkey’s Jewish community has offered an “apology” to the country’s Chief Rabbi, claiming that his proposal to turn a synagogue into a museum as a reprisal for Israel’s policies over Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque “had no connection” to the Turkish Jewish community.

ADL slams Turkish governor who wanted to turn synagogue into museum

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a statement on Sunday condemning the governor of Turkey's northwest Edirne Province who called for turning a local synagogue into a museum.

Tibetan Student Self-immolates in Protest Against China. -- (More than 130 Tibetans have burned themselves)

A Tibetan student has died after setting himself on fire in Tsoe City.

Lhamo Tashi set himself on fire last Wednesday while shouting slogans against the Chinese rule in Tibet in front of a police station.

Tashi's self-immolation is the first in more than five months.

Information on the death only emerged Sunday, as Chinese authorities usually clamp down on communication following such incidents.

Historic mass in Turkish-held north Cyprus ’like a miracle’

With a nighttime procession lit by the glimmer of devotional candles and the flash of smartphone cameras, a church in Turkish-held northern Cyprus hosted its first Easter mass in nearly 60 years.

Hundreds of Greek Cypriots crossed the Green Line to attend the ceremony at Famagusta’s church of St George Exorinos, in the part of the Mediterranean island occupied by Turkish forces since 1974.

Serbs denied visit to Djakovica on Good Friday. -The Serbs who were forced out of Djakovica were also denied a visit on Christmas Eve

BELGRADE - Serbs who were driven out of the region of Djakovica, southwestern Kosovo, issued on Thursday a protest to the authorities in Pristina not being allowed to visit their town and properties on Good Friday.

"The Serbs from the Djakovica region are resentful of the institution in Pristina, EULEX and KFOR for being unable to ensure safety for 120 Serbs who properly filed a request to visit their town on Good Friday," President of the Association of Djakovica Citizens Djokica Stanojevic said on Thursday.

Famagusta (known by Greek Cypriots as Varosha) Good Friday service sends symbolic message of reconciliation, says Androulla Vassiliou

European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 17 April 2013:

Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, has welcomed the decision to organise a Good Friday service at the Ayios Giorgos Exoronis church in Famagusta - the first such service since 1957. The Commissioner will be among an expected 4 000 worshippers at the event.

Italie: Obama vient "écouter la pensée précieuse" du pape / Obama meets 'inspiration' Pope to discuss inequality

"Je viens à Rome pour écouter le pape: sa pensée est précieuse pour comprendre comment remporter le défi contre la pauvreté", a déclaré le président américain Barack Obama dans une interview au journal Corriere della Sera dont des extraits ont été diffusés mercredi soir, peu après son arrivée en Italie.

"Le pape nous met au défi. Il nous implore de nous souvenir des gens, des familles, des pauvres", a poursuivi M. Obama, en soulignant que le pontife "nous invite à nous arrêter pour réfléchir à la dignité de l'homme".

Saudi Arabia to jail citizens who fight abroad

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia will jail for 3-20 years any citizen who fights in conflicts abroad, according to a royal decree released on Monday, in an apparent move to deter Saudis from joining rebels in Syria and then posing a security risk once they return home.
Saudi Arabia's Islamic religious authorities have previously spoken out against Saudis joining Islamist militants involved in Syria's civil war, but the Interior Ministry estimates that around 1,200 Saudis have gone there nonetheless.

Albanians stone Serb bus in front of church in Djakovica

DJAKOVICA - Chair of the interim Djakovica municipal administration Kosta Belosevic stated that Albanians stoned a bus transporting displaced Serbs in Djakovica on Monday and did not allow them to visit the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary.

Belosevic told Tanjug that no Serb was injured in the incident, but considerable material damage was inflicted to the bus.

After the incident, the displaced Serbs who wished to attend the Christmas Eve ceremony in their homeland were escorted back by the Kosovo police to the Visoki Decani Monastery.

London council highlights issue of cultural heritage destruction in occupied Cyprus. -Much has also been done by the organised Cypriot diaspora in the UK.

By Thanasis Gavos – London

It’s been very frequently in recent years that the issue of the destruction and desecration of the Greek Cypriot cultural/religious heritage in the occupied northern part of Cyprus has been discussed. International reports and the work by people such as Tasoula Hadjitofi from the ‘Walk of Truth’ organisation have highlighted concerns about the behaviour of the occupying force.

Much has also been done by the organised Cypriot diaspora in the UK, people residing in one of the guarantor powers with a say in what’s going on in the island. The latest initiative concerns the occupied Morphou and comes from its twinned London council of Barnet.

Serbian PM visiting Gracanica monastery in Kosovo. -Serbian PM is visiting Kosovo for religious purposes with the permit of government of Kosovo.

Ivica Dacic is welcomed with applause and chanting "Serbia, Serbia" in front of the monastery in Kosovo town Gracanica.

Serbian PM Ivica Dacic on Saturday arrived in monastery in Kosovo town Gracanica, welcomed by bishop Teodosije and hundreds of locals from central Kosovo.

In front of the monastery he was welcomed with applause and chanting "Serbia, Serbia".

Cypriots determined to protect their cultural heritage in the occupied north.

 The setting was an emotionally charged and unusually hot summer evening at the Theatro Technis facilities in north London. A number of UK Cypriots gathered in order to hear four distinguished speakers share their experiences and thoughts on the destruction or desecration of sites and monuments of Cyprus’s cultural heritage – mainly of religious importance – in the occupied north.
According to the latest reports 575 churches have been desecrated, 19 have been demolished and 41 have been turned into mosques or have been used in irreverent ways. But a group of dedicated Cypriots have tried to actively show that they don’t tolerate such contempt for a people’s history and tradition.

Outrage over Syrian rebels assaulting catholic monastery, killing hermit

 Syrian Turkmen rebels.(AFP Photo / Jm Lopez)

-

A revered Syrian monk and hermit, Father Franҫois Mourad, has been killed during an assault of the Franciscan monastery in a predominantly Christian village in the north near the Turkish border, Vatican Radio reported.
The circumstances surrounding Mourad’s death in the monastery of St. Anthony of Padua, about 70 miles from Syria’s largest city Aleppo, remain unclear.

Les vestiges d'un temple vieux de 2.750 ans découverts à Jérusalem

Les vestiges d'un temple datant du 9 ou du 10 siècle avant J.-C. ont été découverts dans l'ouest de Jérusalem, faisant la lumière sur les pratiques religieuses de la Judée d'alors, a annoncé mercredi le site Times of Israel, citant un communiqué de la Direction israélienne des antiquités[1].

Le temple découvert lors des fouilles archéologiques effectuées dans le quartier de Tel Motza fut bâti il y a 2.750 ans.

"L'édifice de culte de Tel Motza est une découverte surprenante et inattendue, car il n'existe pratiquement pas de lieux de culte datant de la période du Royaume de Juda", lit-on dans le communiqué.