Tag - religion

 
 

RELIGION

Japan Times
WORLD
May 27, 2017
Egypt launches airstrikes in Libya after Christians killed
Egyptian fighter jets carried out strikes on Friday directed at camps in Libya which Cairo says have been training militants who killed dozens of Christians earlier in the day.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 27, 2017
Tillerson declines to host Ramadan event at State Department
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has declined a request to host an event to mark Islam's holy month of Ramadan, two U.S. officials said, apparently breaking with a bipartisan tradition in place with few exceptions for nearly 20 years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 26, 2017
Vietnam's spirit mediums revive ritual once forbidden by ruling Communist Party
Dressed in the bright silk garments of a woman and dancing with candles between his fingers, Nguyen Duy Nam leads a temple of worshippers in a ceremony honoring mystical goddesses of forest, water and heaven.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 25, 2017
Ariana Grande cancels tour dates after Manchester attack
Ariana Grande has called off two London concerts and five in Europe after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at her performance in Manchester, England, the U.S. pop singer's representatives said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 23, 2017
Trump sets out Mideast vision: backing Arab strongmen against Iran
The images from the same night broadcast around the Middle East speak as loudly as the words. On the one hand: the young people of Iran, dancing in the streets to mark the re-election of a pragmatist, men and women together.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
May 21, 2017
Pope will add five new cardinals to church ranks next month
Pope Francis said Sunday he will elevate five Roman Catholic prelates to the rank of cardinal, the elite group of churchmen who are his closest advisers and can enter an eventual conclave to choose his successor.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 20, 2017
The slippery slope of appeasement in Bangladesh
Unelected religious hard-liners are pressuring Bangladesh's elected government to embrace Islamic values as they define them, resorting to street protests and inciting violence to achieve their aims.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 9, 2017
U.S. anti-Muslim bias incidents increased in 2016, group says
When the Masjid Al-Kareem mosque in Providence, Rhode Island, received a threatening letter in November calling Muslims a "vile and filthy people," its members were frightened enough they asked for and got extra police protection.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 6, 2017
Escalating threats to secularism in Bangladesh
Islamists have ignited contemporary identity wars in Bangladesh because they can't abide secularism, with hard-line clerics inciting violence to overturn constitutional principles and the rule of law.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 5, 2017
As Trump cozies up to China's Xi, Dalai Lama has to wait on the sidelines
When Donald Trump was elected in November, the Dalai Lama said he was keen to meet the incoming U.S. president, but since then Trump has cozied up to China's leader Xi Jinping, making it less likely the man Beijing deems a separatist will get an invite to the White House anytime soon.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2017
Even a horrific killing isn't enough to shake Pakistan's blasphemy laws
The murder of Mashal Khan is the latest tragedy connected to blasphemy accusations in Pakistan. His death won't be the last.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2017
Nervous China ramps up religious persecution
If Beijing continues its repressive course against religious believers, it will make political upheaval and the collapse of communist rule more likely.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2017
Behind Malaysia's recent rape controversy
Malaysia has increasingly seen its image as a moderate, tolerant and secular society tainted as hard-line Islamists try to impose their own brand of Shariah law on the country.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 9, 2017
Bomb attacks on Egyptian churches by Islamic militants kill at least 36 people
In the latest assault on Egypt's religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants, at least 36 people were killed and more than 100 injured in bomb attacks on two Coptic churches on Palm Sunday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 7, 2017
Wave of small explosions hit southern Thailand after king signs new charter
Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step toward ending military rule.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 6, 2017
The enemy within: Russia faces changing Islamist threat with metro bombing
Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, the man suspected of blowing up a Russian metro train, represents a new wave of radical Islamists who blend into local society away from existing jihadi movements — making it harder for security forces to stop their attacks.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 29, 2017
Iran steps up support for Shiite ally in Yemen proxy war
Iran is sending advanced weapons and military advisers to Yemen's rebel Houthi movement, stepping up support for its Shiite ally in a civil war whose outcome could sway the balance of power in the Middle East, regional and Western sources say.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2017
Hard-line priest's elevation a sign Modi is putting India on path toward becoming a Hindu nation
A saffron-robed Hindu holy man was sworn in Sunday to lead India's most populous state, sealing what appears to be a shift in course by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that could redefine the world's largest democracy as a Hindu nation.
WORLD
Mar 16, 2017
Cameroon says regional forces have freed 5,000 from Boko Haram-held villages
West African forces have freed 5,000 people being held in villages by Boko Haram in an operation that killed more than 60 fighters and destroyed the Islamist group's hideout along the Nigeria-Cameroon border, Cameroon said on Wednesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2017
U.S. hate crimes, up 20% in 2016, fueled by election campaign, report says
Hate crimes in nine U.S. metropolitan areas rose more than 20 percent last year, fueled by inflamed passions during the presidential campaign and more willingness for victims to step forward, a leading hate crimes researcher said on Monday.

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Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years