ALABAMA
He peacefully awaits the aliens' return
Extraterrestrials created life on Earth, says UAH lecturer who follows Raelian beliefs
The Huntsville Times
"A middle-aged white man wearing a raincoat came to the doorway of the downstairs conference room in the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library and peeked inside on a mid-March evening. 'What kind of meeting is this?' the lecture-shopper asked. The tall, serene man wearing a large, circular pendant told him, 'It is a seminar on the Raelian Movement.'"

GEORGIA
FBI: Dozens Molested by Sect Leader
The Associated Press
"MACON -- The leader of a religious group molested dozens of children, some as young as 4, at the sect's compound over the past nine years, an FBI agent testified at a bail hearing Monday."

TEXAS
Extradition up in air in elders' slayings
The Deseret News
"Robert Elmer Kleasen will return to a London courtroom Tuesday so attorneys can wrangle over whether he should be extradited to Texas to face murder charges in the slaying of two LDS missionaries 27 years ago."

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Supreme Court won't hear clergy liability case
The Associated Press
"Justices refused without comment to review an acrimonious case involving a priest, a divorced former governor and a secretly taped confrontation over the sexual infidelity of the governor's former wife."

WYOMING
Wyoming rep will oppose sale of federal land to Mormons
The Associated Press
"WASHINGTON - Wyoming's lone member of Congress said Monday she will vote against a House bill that directs the sale of a parcel of federal land to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

BRAZIL
Unification Church under siege in Brazil
WorldNetDaily.com
"RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church – which owns real estate and other assets in Brazil thought to be worth nearly $250 million – is facing a major investigation here for alleged money laundering, tax evasion and abetting illegal immigration."

CHINA
Chinese alert on Falun Gong day
BBC News
"Beijing was on alert on Monday as the banned spiritual group Falun Gong marked the 10th anniversary since it was introduced to the world. Chinese police checked bags amid heightened security in Tiananmen Square, where a single protester was detained within seconds of trying to unfurl a banner. Supporters of the group abroad said events were planned in Tokyo, Sydney and other cities."

Falun Gong Mother Chokes Daughter to Death in Northeast China
The People's Daily
"A Falun Gong devotee choked her nine- year-old daughter to death while trying to exorcise a 'demon' from the girl's body in Yichun, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province."
NOTE:
The People's Daily is a pro-communist China newspaper owned and operated by the Chinese government. China is hostile to Falun Gong.

French Falun Gong Protester Arrested
The Associated Press
"BEIJING- The French computer engineer sent a final e-mail to friends back home, then headed to Tiananmen Square. Seconds after pulling out a banner and shouting his support for the Falun Gong movement, police bundled him into a van."

EGYPT
Egypt's radicals cooling to religious arguments for violence
The Washington Post
"The early 1980s were heady days for Egypt's Islamic militants, and even from behind bars in Tora prison, Montasser Zayat and Ayman Zawahiri strategized about how to guide the burgeoning movement."

INDIA
Hindus set terms for Muslims' return to Gujarat villages
Reuters
"KADWAL -- First they saw their family members being raped, hacked and burnt to death. Now they are being asked to change their religion."

JAPAN
Aum members win ruling against city over residency
The Japan Times
"NAGOYA (Kyodo) The Nagoya Municipal Government received a court order Monday to pay 30,000 yen each to seven members of Aum Shinrikyo because the Naka Ward Office rejected their applications for residential status."

Statues in Iran challenge theories on Buddhism's spread
The Japan Times
"OSAKA -- A Japanese scholar said Monday he believes the discovery of 19 Buddha statues at an ancient site in Iran challenges current theories on the spread of Buddhism."

NIGERIA
"He is Evil, He is God"
Newswatch
"LAGOS -- He is a controversial man of God, loved and reviled at the same time. But what is the true nature of the founder of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, Olumba Olumba Obu?"

SOUTH AFRICA
17 years on, extradition application delayed - again
NEWS24.com
"JOHANNESBURG -- After 17 years, attempts are still being made to extradite South African Ann Phyllis McCarthy-Janks to the US to stand trial on an allegation of conspiring to murder the district attorney of Oregon."

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