RELIGION

A church billboard which shows a shocked Virgin Mary holding a positive pregnancy test has caused controversy in New Zealand.

Indonesian sharia police are "morally rehabilitating" more than 60 young punk rock fans, who were holding a charity concert in Aceh province on Sumatra Island.

The new policy was announced following complaints from citizenship judges that it was difficult for them to ensure if burqa-clad people are actually reciting the oath.

A prominent Zionist rabbi is facing trial in Jerusalem's Magistrate's Court on charges of forcible sexual assault.

We show you how to have a great time this festive season without breaking the bank.

Khurram Masih, who stays in Majeed Park, Shahdara Town, Lahore, faces charges under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code for allegedly burning pages of the Koran.

The severely injured model has taken her first steps after near fatal propeller accident

Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav has accused his country of 'executing' him as he arrived at Maasiyahu prison near Tel Aviv on Tuesday to being a seven-year jail term for rape.

America has attempted to reinstate diplomatic ties with Iran for the first time in more than three decades by launching a "virtual" U.S. Embassy Tehran. The Iranian government has blocked internal access to the website.

Johnny Depp has come under fire for featuring on British band Bluebird's latest track, Jesus Stag Night Club.

An Australian has been sentenced to a year in prison and 500 lashes after being convicted of blasphemy in Saudi Arabia.

The embattled preacher has stepped down following a string of damaging allegations of sexual abuse

The current nude magazine controversy goes hand-in-hand with the new publicity shoots of the fourth season of television show "Swayamvar 4" featuring Veena Mailk in "Veena Ka Vivaah" (Veena Malik's marriage).

A suicide bomber has attacked a shrine in Afghan capital Kabul during the Shia holy day of Ashura.

The blast, which happened at 7.30 GMT, occurred at the Abul Fazel shrine in the Murad Khani area of the capital, a BBC report has said.

Dr Rowan Williams has linked the disorder spread cross England to the "massive economic hopelessness" and the prospect of record levels of youth unemployment.

The day of Ashura is marked by the entire Muslim community but for Shia Muslims it represents a major religious festival.

The Israeli government has dropped an advertising campaign by the Ministry of Absorption warning expatriate Israelis against assimilation into American society.

A pastor at a small Kentucky church that recently voted to exclude interracial couples has overturned the decision.

The Ikwro research, carried out between July and November, reveals the collective figures for the first time in the UK as gathered by 39 police forces for honour-based violence.

The Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church in Kentucky has allegedly voted to deny interracial couple from becoming members

An Iranian cleric has warned the EU and UN not to tie themselves to "the rotten rope of Britain" at a Friday prayer service in Tehran.

With "experts" now poo pooing the Mayan December, 2012 doomsday prophecy the IBTimes has chosen to celebrate the fact the world will keep-turning yet another year, offering you the lucky reader a breakdown of the top 10 most entertaining defunct doomsday prophecies.

With the Mayan's December end of the world prediction causing a few "special" people to sweat, experts have come forward to calm the populace, confirming the world will survive to see the 25th.

The U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has slammed a new campaign by Israel's Ministry of Absorption to entice expat Israelis to return home.

Five men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after illegal immigrants travelling from Libya to Italy were thrown overboard in a voodoo ritual.

The European Union agreed Thursday it would impose fresh sanctions on Iran as a response to the country's alleged nuclear programme.

Students at a Tunisian university demanded the right to wear the burka, a full body cloak, and establish a prayer room on campus.

A 32-year old man has been sentenced to one month imprisonment by an Abuja senior magistrates' court for wearing shoes into a mosque in Nigeria.