GO TO SOURCE USA, Aug. 13, 2001: Researchers have asserted in studies over the last half decade that religion and good health go hand in hand. One study of 596 elderly hospitalized patients, mostly Christians, began in 1996. Each was was asked if they “wondered whether God had abandoned me,” “questioned God’s love for me” or “decided the devil made…
GO TO SOURCE VATICAN, August 14, 2001: An African archbishop of the Catholic Church, Emmanuel Milingo, 71, is reported by the Vatican to be “renouncing my living together with Maria Sung and my relationship with the Rev Moon,” according to a letter released by the Vatican. The announcement came after a meeting with the pope. Maria Sung, 43, is a…
GO TO SOURCE STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, August 13, 2001: Water experts are gathering in Sweden to discuss the pressure on the world’s water supplies. Delegates meeting in Stockholm will discuss a range of issues from how to recover and re-use waste water, to what part dams have to play in providing water supplies. Professor Frank Rijsberman, head of the International Water…
Source: The Hindu GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, August 10, 2001: With the backing of China, South Korea and some other countries, India frustrated the attempts of non-government organizations to get the issue of caste discrimination included on the agenda for the coming conference on racism. Despite consistent efforts by the Human Rights Watch and several NGOs, the issue of caste-based discrimination failed…
GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD, INDIA, August 10, 2001: Coming on the heels of a young couple being publicly hanged in Uttar Pradesh over caste differences, a young girl Bharti Barot, 19, committed suicide in the Hindu Mahasabha office here following pressure from one of its activists, Dasrath Soni, to desert her husband and reconvert to Hinduism. Bharti and Salim were…
GO TO SOURCE GANDHINAGAR, INDIA, August 11, 2001: The BJP-ruled Gujarat Government will soon pay monthly salaries to priests of Hindu temples in the State. In the first phase, one priest of the 354 Government-controlled “devasthans” temples would be entitled to a monthly salary of US$21.74 from September. When queried why Hindu priests were singled out for this provision, Minister…
GO TO SOURCE GOGAMADI, INDIA, August 11, 2001: Thousands of devotees flocked to one of the prominent fairs of Northern India, Gogamadi Fair, on Saturday evening. Devotees donning yellow clothes could be spotted separately in the rush of mela. They first of all had a bath in the sacred Gogana pond and then had a one-and-a-half kilometers round of the…
GO TO SOURCE PUNJAB, INDIA, August 11, 2001: Dozens of Sikh priests in the district of Fatehgarh Sahib in the northern Indian state of Punjab joined forces with aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations today, to start a campaign against the practice of aborting female foetuses. Clerics representing some 450 villages in the Fatehgarh Sahib district listened to health workers and…
Source: INDIA HERALD HOUSTON, TEXAS, August 4, 2001: At a gathering of over 1,000 Hindus, Hindu Dharma and culture were advocated by the formation of the “Hindu Sangam.” Representatives from Chinmaya Mission Houston and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were speakers at the inauguration. Coordinator of the RSS activities, Shankarrao Tattvavadi, expounded on several points. His remarks included the fact that…
Source: Sunday Leader SRI LANKA, August 5, 2001: In response to humanitarian disasters both natural and man-made, victims are usually resettled in their place of origin, or at least compensated for their loss. One project has created a furor, bringing to light divisions among religious communities in Mannar, Sri Lanka. The 300-320 families to be resettled under this project are…