Hundreds of thousands take a dip in India’s Ganges river during Hindu festival

Hindus dip in icy Ganges during festival

HARIDWAR, India — Hundreds of thousands of devotees took a dip in the icy waters of the Ganges river in one of northern India’s holiest cities Thursday, marking the start of a monthslong Hindu festival expected to attract more than 10 million people.

Combating climate change, with help from Lord Ram

SONBHADRA/LUCKNOW - Ram, Ramayana and global warming - the association may sound odd, until you realise how the religious context helped an NGO in Uttar Pradesh combat the ill effects of climate change.

First ritual bath at Mahakumbh Mela begins

HARIDWAR - To the resonating sound of Vedic hymns, conch shells, cymbals and temple bells, the first ’snan’, or holy dip, of the Mahakumbh Mela at Haridwar began in the early hours of Jan 14, the day when India celebrated the Makara Sankranti.

Lawyers’ office in ‘Allah’ ban case broken into, ransacked after church attacks in Malaysia

Lawyers’ office in Malaysia ‘Allah’ case ransacked

After quibbles over Christmas, civil rights figures, Texas debates how history will be taught

Texas debates the way history will be taught

Religious groups oppose legislation to expand and tax gambling in Alabama

Religious groups oppose Alabama gambling expansion

‘Lohri divaddaiyan’, says Cherie Blair to India

NEW DELHI - Cherie Blair, wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, couldn’t have marked the end of winter (Lohri) back home the way she did here Wednesday evening during her visit to Delhi.

US Sen. Levin calls major shortage of trainers for Afghan security forces ‘unacceptable’

US senator: More trainers needed for Afghan troops

Sea of humanity floods Haridwar for Maha Kumbh (Second Lead)

HARIDWAR - An estimated five million people have thronged the Hindu holy city of Haridwar for a dip in the Ganga Thursday in a ritual bathing supposed to cleanse them of their sins and to herald the Maha Kumbh, a religious fair that occurs once in 12 years.

Blasphemous cartoons in Oslo daily irk Pakistan parliament

ISLAMABAD - The National Assembly, the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament, Wednesday passed a resolution condemning the re-emergence of blasphemous cartoons in a Norwegian newspaper.

Lohri celebrated in Delhi with drum beats and bonfires

NEW DELHI - Braving the chill, thousands of residents of the capital Wednesday danced to the beats of the drum, lit bonfires and offered prayers to celebrate Lohri, a festival that marks the beginning of the harvesting season in north India.

Sea of humanity in Haridwar for Maha Kumbh Jan 14

HARIDWAR - An estimated five million people have thronged the Hindu holy city of Haridwar for a dip in the holy Ganga Thursday in a ritual bathing supposed to cleanse them of their sins and to herald the Maha Kumbh, a religious fair that occurs once in 12 years and has few parallels.

Court allows only prayers at Hubli Idgah Maidan

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Wednesday allowed the Muslim community to hold mass prayers twice a year in the Idgah Maidan in Hubli in Karnataka, but ruled out allowing the construction of any structure there by the community.

Pope meets with woman who knocked him down at Christmas Eve Mass and forgives her

Pope meets, forgives woman who knocked him down

Vatican says pope met with woman who knocked him down at Christmas Eve Mass and forgave her

Pope sees woman who knocked him down, forgives her

Projects worth Rs.545.97 cr sanctioned for Kumbh Mela

HARDWAR - The hill state of Uttarakhand is promoting the temple towns of Hardwar and Rishikesh as the biggest urban spiritual tourism destinations in the world on the strength of the Kumbh Mela. The government has sanctioned infrastructure and town planning projects worth Rs.545.97 crore for the mela, which begins Jan 14.

Lohri Festival Pictures, SMS, Greetings And Messages

Bangladesh PM prays at Ajmer shrine

JAIPUR - Amid tight security, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday offered prayers at Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti’s shrine in Ajmer.

Anti-Islam Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders tries to avoid hate speech charges

Dutch lawmaker tries to avoid hate speech charges