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RELIGION May 23, 2017

5 killed, 286 held in Bahrain raid on Shiite cleric's town

Bahrain police say they've launched an operation targeting a town where a sit-in has been going on for months supporting a prominent Shiite cleric who had his citizenship stripped by the government.

RELIGION May 23, 2017

Yemen minister says 60 percent of population in dire poverty

Yemen's planning minister says 60 percent of the country's population is in dire poverty more than two years since the Shiite rebels forced the country's internationally recognized government and president out of the capital.

GLOBAL ECONOMY May 23, 2017

Monitoring group offers mixed review of rights in Pakistan

An independent group on Wednesday offered a mixed report card in its annual look at the state of human rights in Pakistan, welcoming the enactment of new laws to protect women but decrying an uptick in religiously motivated vigilantism.

Europe May 23, 2017

Fatima mystery blends visions, miracles and supernatural

When Pope Francis travels to the Portuguese town of Fatima this weekend, he will be lending his blessing to a religious phenomenon that has captivated Catholics for a century: It involves visions of the Virgin Mary, supernatural meteorological events and apocalyptic prophesies of hell, Soviet communism and the death of a pope.

Europe May 23, 2017

Pope to canonize 2 Fatima children a century after visions

Three shepherd children in Portugal were jailed and threatened with being boiled alive in olive oil when they claimed the Virgin Mary appeared to them 100 years ago.

RELIGION May 23, 2017

Prosecutors seek caning for gay couple in Indonesia's Aceh

Shariah prosecutors in Indonesia's Aceh province say two men accused of having gay sex should each receive 80 lashes.

RELIGION May 23, 2017

US reps, Dalai Lama take aim at China sore spot Tibet

A group from the U.S. House of Representatives has taken aim at one of China's sore spots — Tibet — during a gathering in India with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader.

Europe May 23, 2017

Syrian Kurdish official praises US decision to provide arms

A top Syrian Kurdish official says the U.S. decision to arm Kurdish fighters with heavier weapons will help legitimize the force, which is denounced as a terrorist organization by Turkey.

RELIGION May 23, 2017

Myanmar police fire warning shots amid religious tension

Police in Myanmar's main city fired have warning shots to break up a confrontation between Buddhists and Muslims that left at least one person injured.

RELIGION May 23, 2017

Pastor, 4 congregants get 30 years in exorcism death

A Nicaraguan judge has sentenced an evangelical pastor and four members of his congregation to a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for the February killing of a 25-year-old woman who was thrown into a fire to drive "demons" from her body.