GO TO SOURCE KATRA, INDIA, June 29, 2001: While several thousand pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi outside Jammu fume and fret, a majority of the porters and ponywalas remain on strike, protesting the pre-paid fare system. Representatives of the Shrine Board, the Notified Area Committee and the pony contractor regulate the fare system. The prepaid system was introduced recently…
GO TO SOURCE KATHMANDU, NEPAL, July 3, 2001: Four senior security officials at the Nepalese royal palace have been fired for negligence of duty after last month’s massacre in which the king, queen and seven other family members were murdered. Some of those dismissed were personal bodyguards responsible for the safety of the late king, queen and the crown prince.…
GO TO SOURCE BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, July 6, 2001: An Indian appeals court has upheld the death sentences of four people convicted of killing a 7-year-old boy as a religious sacrifice. Ranjit Mohanty was kidnapped from his parents’ home near the Orissa state capital of Bhubaneshwar, and murdered in 1997. His killers allegedly confessed during questioning by police. “This type of…
GO TO SOURCE MONSEY, NEW YORK, July 8, 2001: In case you are worried about the recent development of Christian “bhajana” (Hindu-style devotional songs) or the Catholic mass conducted much like a Hindu temple ceremony, check out this site. The Jews are faced with an entire movement called “Messianic Synagogues.” Writes Rabbi Tovia Singer at this web site, “Such congregations…
GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, USA, July 3, 2001: About one to two percent percent of Americans have vitilego, a loss of pigment causing white patches to appear on the skin. While the condition is not contagious, painful, itchy or dangerous, the disfigurement it can be — especially for dark-skinned people — profoundly damaging socially, professionally and psychologically. In India,…
GO TO SOURCE STRASBOURG, FRANCE, July 4, 2001: The Council of Europe said yesterday it was deeply concerned about racism and anti-semitism in Germany, slamming a broad political atmosphere of intolerance and apathy toward racist attacks in the country. Its latest report on racism and intolerance notes that the causes of racist attacks include open and latent racism and anti-semitism…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, July 3, 2001: The trial of a man accused of murdering a well-known Hindu priest has begun at Nottingham Crown Court. Harish Purohit, a high-profile member of Leicester’s Hindu community, bled to death after being stabbed 16 times in October last year. Dean Riddell, 26, admits killing Harish Purohit by stabbing him in the neck,…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, July 1, 2001: Despite the fact that more than 30,000 people have been killed in Kashmir since 1989 due to the state’s Muslim majority protesting being part of Hindu India, religious fervor by Hindus is still predominant. It is expected that over 100,000 Hindu pilgrims will make the journey from Jammu to the Amarnath Cave.…
Source: BBC JAMMU, KASHMIR, July 6, 2001: The authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir say a gunbattle between militants and security forces on the Jammu-Srinagar highway has delayed a convoy of Hindu pilgrims going to Amarnath. At least three Indian security personnel and a militant were killed. A pro-Pakistani group, Lashkar-e-Toiba, said it was involved in the clash. Some 4,000 pilgrims later…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, USA, July 6, 2001: The US government’s Agriculture Department denies allegations by Burger King Corp. that government inspectors are failing to enforce humane-handling standards in slaughterhouses. In a recent letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Burger King chief executive John Dasburg said the department’s enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act was unacceptable. The law requires that…