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Religion

Religion
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Religion. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Monks who were slightly injured from a crash rest at Phu Manorom temple in Mukdahan province, Thailand, on Thursday. Photo: Phu Manorom temple via AP
Thailand

8 monks killed in Thailand after boy, 11, crashes truck into pilgrims

Five monks were killed at the roadside in Mukdahan province, while three others later died in hospital.

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Indonesia

Unmarried Indonesian couple get 21 lashes each over viral live stream kiss

Holy See

Vatican excommunicates 6 bishops from rebel Catholic group

Fifa World Cup 2026

Rima Edbouche – the anti-WAG? Meet Ousmane Dembélé’s modest hijabi wife

Ballon d’Or winner of 2025 and Paris Saint-Germain member Dembélé is repping France at the World Cup 2026 – supported by his low-key wife.

Ousmane Dembélé with his wife, Rima Edbouche, and daughter after his team Paris Saint-Germain’s victory at the UEFA Champions League Final last May. Photo: Getty Images
Singapore

Fewer children, more singles in Singapore, new data shows

The increase in proportion of singles was highest among women aged 25 to 29 and men aged 30 to 34.

Indonesia

Asian Angle | Liberal Islam in Indonesia is sliding into irrelevance

Political entanglements and ideological schisms have left the pioneering Liberal Islam Network in disarray.

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United States

Bible passages to be required reading in Texas public schools

Critics say such decisions are at odds with the Constitution’s ‘establishment clause’, ‌long understood as separating church and state.

A King James version of the Holy Bible opened up to the Gospel of John. Photo illustration: TNS
Malaysia

Marital duty, faith drive Malaysian women to give in to sex requests: survey

Only 44 per cent of Malay and Muslim women were able to refuse sex, compared with three-quarters of Chinese and Indian Malaysians.

United States

Rastafarian man can’t sue prison guards who shaved him bald: US Supreme Court

Damon Landor, whose religion forbids him from cutting his hair, had locks that reached below his knees after growing them for 20 years.

Italy

Pope exalts first US saint as a model for Christians for her care of migrants

Mother Frances Cabrini, patron saint of migrants, is known for caring for Italian immigrants in the US at the turn of the last century.

Pope Leo takes part in Eucharistic adoration in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Italy, the birthplace of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
Africa

Ethiopian PM’s party secures landslide win in national election

Ruling Prosperity Party secures nearly 90 per cent of contested parliamentary seats amid a fractured opposition and widespread security disruptions.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Photo: Ethiopia News Agency via Reuters
Spain

Pope Leo’s plane grounded, so Spain’s king gives him a ride

The pontiff flew back to Rome on the monarch’s private jet after the papal aircraft’s engine failed to start.

Malaysia

‘I regret it’: Malaysian mother begs for no jail time over attempted affair

Siti Iqbar and Hairul Mokhsin are accused of attempting to have unlawful sex outside marriage under Malaysia’s Islamic law.

Hong Kong society

Board backs proposal to give temple, mosque highest level of heritage protection

Hung Shing Temple in Wan Chai and Stanley Mosque should be classified as statutory monuments, Antiquities Advisory Board says.

Hung Shing Temple is believed to have been built between 1847 and 1852. Photo: Karma Lo
Spain

Pope Leo blesses new tower at Spain’s Sagrada Familia

Spain’s king, queen and prime minister joined thousands inside the world’s tallest church to celebrate mass with the pontiff.

Fireworks explode during the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Spain

Standing ovation: Pope warns Spain’s parliament of world’s ‘profound’ crisis

Weapons can impose a temporary silence but can never build lasting peace, he said, hours after Madrid mass for over one million people.

European Union

Pope Leo urges end to ‘polarising narratives’ on Spain visit

The pope says he hopes the week-long tour of Spain will set an example to the world about respecting ‘every human being’.

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Britain

UK Sikhs defend right to carry sacred dagger after student murder backlash

Critics of the religious practice claim that a ‘two-tier’ policing framework protects British ethnic minorities at the expense of others.

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People hold images of victim Henry Nowak as they take part in a protest in Southampton on Tuesday following the murder of Nowak by Vickrum Digwa. Photo: AFP
Japan

‘Harassment exploded out of nowhere’: Muslims face rising prejudice in Japan

Growing anti-Muslim discrimination fuelled by hate speech worries residents, who fear the hostility may escalate into violence.

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Crime

Life sentence for UK Sikh man who falsely claimed his dying victim racially abused him

Court sentences Vickrum Digwa to 21-year minimum for the murder of Henry Nowak, whose handcuffing by police sparked a fierce backlash.

Malaysia

Shotgun sacrifice: anger as Malaysian state leader shoots Eid cow

A viral 38-second clip of Perlis chief minister Abu Bakar Hamzah shooting a cow with a shotgun has sparked a police investigation.

A still from the 38-second clip showing Perlis chief minister Abu Bakar Hamzah shooting at a cow with a shotgun at an Eid ul-Adha event. Photo: X
Viral stories

Japan Buddhist monk bar has ‘heaven and hell’ drinks, offers beating service

Offbeat drinking venue provides everything from calligraphy to a ‘coffin’ experience in bid to popularise Buddhist culture.

A bar in Japan, run by Buddhist monks, serves drinks inspired by the concepts of heaven and hell. Photo: japaholic
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s top monk suspended over alleged child sex abuse

Police arrested the 71-year-old on May 9 over allegations that he had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl in 2022.

Malaysia

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s 3R catch-all risks turning every grievance into a threat

Conflating local governance concerns with racial and religious slights threatens pluralism and stifles legitimate public policy debate.

Malaysia

Beyond bans: why fringe Islamic movements still find followers in Malaysia

Observers say the appeal of alternative religious communities cannot be addressed by bans and rehabilitation classes alone.

Groups of Muslims recite the Quran on the first evening of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Putra Mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on February 18. Photo: Reuters
India

India orders new deportation centres days after BJP election victory

The Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has ordered detention centres for undocumented migrants in West Bengal state, sparking fear of arbitrary expulsions.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) congratulates newly elected Chief Minister of Assam state Himanta Biswa Sarma (centre), and elected minister Atul Bora after the oath taking ceremony in Guwahati, India, on May 12. Photo: AP
European Union

Pope calls for ‘disarming’ of AI, technology should be ‘human friendly’

Pope Leo called for the ‘disarming’ of artificial intelligence, and warned of ‘new forms of slavery’ behind its rise.

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Pakistan

UAE deports Pakistani Shiites: jobs lost and savings frozen amid Iran war

Over one hundred deported Pakistanis said they were unable to retrieve their luggage or savings before being placed ‌on deportation flights.

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