RELIGION

Diwali – or Deepavali – is an important Hindu festival and is known as the festival of lights. It is famous for the stunning images of colour and celebrated by one billion Hindus in India and around the world.

It's Diwali time! The "Festival of lights" is back this year bringing fun, frolic and exciting promises. With more than one million British Indians residing in the UK, the festive spirit has always been upbeat. Meanwhile, acknowledging the contribution made by the British Hindus and the British Indian community, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron has extended Diwali wishes.

The Vatican has ordered an inquiry into a series of child abuse cases at a school in Ealing, west London.

A 14-day-old new born has miraculously survived after being trapped for 46hours in debris after the 7.2 earthquake hit Turkey on Sunday.

Adolf Hilter, the German Führer, claimed to have been blinded by a British mustard gas attack during WW I. However, new research now suggests that the dictator's loss of sight was likely caused by a mental disorder known as "hysterical madness".

Wang Yue, a two-year-old Chinese girl, succumbed to her injuries on Friday, after she was run over by two vehicles and left dying by ignorant 18 passing bystanders in Southern China last week, said state-run-media.

The Commonwealth leaders are planning to adopt changes to a 300-year-old historical law on succession by giving the royal daughters the same right as her brothers to ascend the throne, a minister said.

Ancient Egyptian mummies are no more a thing of the past. In a first-of-its-kind scientific study, British scientists will attempt to mummify the body of a recently deceased Devon taxi driver. The project, intended to test out knowledge of a chemical process used 3,000 years ago by the Egyptians, will be carried out on the body of Alan Billis, 61, from Torquay.

Father Laurence Soper, under investigation for child abuse, has jumped bail and may have fled to Italy, say police.

With India's population greater than that of the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan and Bangladesh combined, the Roman Catholic church has urged the devout to increase the numbers of Christians in the country.

The al-Assad dynasty ruling Syria can be compared to classic gangster trilogy The Godfather, according to David Lesch, the President's biographer.

The recent killing of two transsexuals by their relatives in Turkey raises questions as to whether transsexuals have become a new target for the country's notorious honour crimes.

Six men are due to appear in court today on terrorism charges, three of which have been charged with plotting a suicide bombing campaign in the UK.

A group of 30 scientists, including Sir David Attenborough and Richard Dawkins, are urging the government to toughen its guidance on the promotion of creationism in classrooms, saying it is sometimes portrayed as a scientific theory by "religious fundamentalists" working in publicly funded schools.

Pope Benedict XVI could end up at the Hague after human rights lawyers and victims of clergy sexual abuse filed a complaint Tuesday calling for the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate and prosecute the catholic cleric along with three other top Vatican officials for crimes against humanity and covering up and condoning the rape and sexual assault of children by priests.

As the National Transitional Council leaders still struggle to assert control over Libya, they have now pledged "moderate" Islamic rule, however without police patrolling the streets to provide security, the country still fighting Gaddafi loyalists, threats of internal divisions and rebels forces accused of war crimes, religion it seems should be downgraded to a lesser priority for the government.

The New York Observer has reported that the Church of Scientology has made a spoof magazine of the New Yorker and circulated it after a critical article about Scientology was published no less than six months ago

The Anglican Church is to set approve controversial guidelines allowing openly homosexual clergy to become bishops

BBC 2 will air 'Choosing to Die' at 9pm on Monday evening sparking widespread condemnation from officials and licence payers. The film 'Choosing to Die' is a documentary about Peter Swedley, a motor neurone suffer who is chosen to take his own life in Switzerland. The film shows the last breath of Peter Swedley before he passes away. The film is designed to highlight the suffering of people with terminal disease and to illustrate the tremendous heart break and strain such diseases pl...

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has launched a fierce criticism of the coalition government's education and health reforms as well as questioning whether the coalition government has a mandate to govern. The severity of the attack on the government took Prime Minster David Cameron and other senior ministers by surprise, with last summer's Conservative-Lib Dem coalition agreement coming under severe public scrutiny.