India orders probe into Kumbh festival stampede that killed dozens
Prayagraj, India Reuters Indian authorities have ordered a probe into the stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela Hindu festival that killed dozens of devotees on Wednesday as millions gathered for a “holy dip” in sacred river waters as part of the six-week event, said officials. Police said 30 people were killed in the crush at […]
In the US, 119th Congress adds two Hindus, two nones, remains mostly Christian
United States RNS A new Pew Research Center report on the religious composition of the 119th session of Congress, convening on Friday for the first time, reveals that the majority of its members are Christian. The “Faith on the Hill” report draws on data gathered by CQ Roll Call, a publication that compiles congressional data […]
Bangladesh: Violence after Hasina’s ouster stirs fear within the country’s Hindu minority
KRUTIKA PATHI, AL EMRUN GARJON and SHONAL GANGULY, of Associated Press, report on violence targeting Indians in Bangladesh in the wake of the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina…
Nobel laureate Yunus takes charge of Bangladesh, hopes to heal strife-torn country
Dhaka, Bangladesh Reuters Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge of Bangladesh’s caretaker government on Thursday, hoping to help heal the country that was convulsed by weeks of violence, forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit and flee to neighbouring India. Known as the “banker to the poor”, Yunus is the pioneer of the global […]
India stampede killed 121 in wake of massive overcrowding, police say
Phulrai Mughal Garhi, India Reuters More than three times the permitted number of people attended a Hindu religious event in north India that culminated in a stampede, killing at least 121 people, authorities said on Wednesday, adding that most of the victims were women. About 250,000 people gathered for Tuesday’s event in the Hathras district […]
At least 116 people killed in stampede at Hindu religious event in India
Updated: 8am, 3rd July, 2024 New Delhi, India Reuters At least 116 people, many of them women and children, were killed in a stampede at a Hindu religious gathering in northern India on Tuesday, authorities said, in one of the country’s worst such tragedies in years. The stampede happened in a village in Hathras district […]
Indians vote in huge election dominated by jobs, Hindu pride and Modi
Kairana/Chennai, India Reuters The first of India’s almost one billion voters cast ballots on Friday in the country’s multi-day election, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a rare third term on the back of issues such as growth, welfare and Hindu nationalism. The vote pits Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of two […]
Gallup poll: More than half of Americans rarely go to church
United States RNS The most popular church in America might be St Mattress, followed by Bedside Baptist. Those two – euphemisms for sleeping in on Sundays – increasingly describe the attitude of many Americans toward attending churches or other houses of worship. Mark Galli kneels in prayer before Mass at St Michael Catholic Church, on […]
A third of Asian Americans say religion is very important in their lives – survey
United States RNS More Asian Americans identify as atheist, agnostic or nonreligious than before, according to a survey released Wednesday by Pew Research Center. But 40 per cent of those Pew surveyed, who included Americans of Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese backgrounds, said they feel close to a religion for reasons aside from […]
Muslims flee Indian business hub after religious clashes, attacks
Gurugram, India Reuters Over 3,000 poor Muslims have fled a business hub outside New Delhi this month, fearing for their lives after Hindu-Muslim clashes and sporadic attacks targeting them, residents, police and a community group said. Shops and shacks owned or run by Muslims and their houses in two large slum areas were padlocked when […]