COLORADO
Atheist teacher sues school for too much prayer, seeking to end practice of prayer at graduation
The Associated Press
"DENVER -- A teacher upset that his seventh-grade daughter will have to sit through a prayer at graduation filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the practice. Sean Shields claims a student-led prayer set to be read at Plainview School graduation Saturday violates the First Amendment."

FLORIDA
Miss Cleo kept in state lawsuit against psychic hotline
Sun-Sentinel
"An attempt by Youree Dell Harris, known as Miss Cleo, to get removed from a state lawsuit against her and the Fort Lauderdale company that hired her to act in their psychic hotline infomercials was rejected on Wednesday."
Court TV has full coverage of Miss Cleo, including audio of Psychic phone line, legal documents, and Psychic script read to callers.

Judge overrules parents, says baby can have blood
Sun-Sentinel
"Over the parents' religious objections, a circuit judge told Florida Hospital doctors late Wednesday to give a premature baby girl a blood transfusion if needed to save her life."

Police: Missing Teen May Be In 'Devil Cult'
click10.com
"A 15-year-old has been missing for more than two weeks, and police fear she may be involved in a cult. Yansis Massiel Juarez reportedly left her home at 3401 S.W. 23 St. in Miami on May 5 and has not been seen by her family since."

Escambia school nonviolence rally rejected over religion fears
The Associated Press
"PENSACOLA -- Students will not be allowed to skip school for a nonviolence rally featuring boxing champion Roy Jones Jr., football star Derrick Brooks and other sports celebrities because of a fear they will discuss religion."

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Suit seeks ordination of women
The Associated Press
"CONCORD -- The Roman Catholic Church must ordain women as priests or forfeit its federal tax-exempt status, claims a lawsuit filed in US District Court yesterday. The church's refusal to ordain women amounts to sexual discrimination, asserts lawyer Susan Rockwell, who filed the suit on her own behalf, claiming the church's policy violates her right to free expression and religion."

NEW YORK
NY Kosher Law Ruled Unconstitutional
The Associated Press
"NEW YORK -- A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that struck down state statutes that set standards for kosher food on the grounds that the rules violate the First Amendment."

PENNSYLVANIA
Amish, Pennsylvania police fight in court over road safety
Sect refuses to use reflective triangles
Knight Ridder Newspapers
"EBENSBURG -- The traffic backed up for miles on the day the Swartzentruber Amish went to court, their slow-moving buggies clogging the twisty roads outside Ebensburg, the Cambria County seat."

AUSTRALIA
Howard defends Dalai Lama's Australian visit
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
"Prime Minister John Howard has sent a clear signal to China's ruling Communist Party, that Australia will not be bullied over politically sensitive issues."

CANADA
Student attends school with dagger
Canadian Press
"MONTREAL -- A 12-year-old Sikh boy quietly entered his elementary school Wednesday for the first time since a Quebec court ruled he could wear a ceremonial dagger."

CHINA
Article Exposes True Nature of Falun Gong Cult Leader's 'New Myths'
The People's Daily
"A signed article titled "Wild Words,Ungrateful Struggle" exposes the deceit practiced by Li Hongzhi, head of the notorious Falun Gong cult, to glorify himself in the so-called Falun Gong "scriptures" he published in North America earlier this year."
The People's Daily is a stste controlled news agency in communist China and is hostile to Falun Gong.

INDIA
Muslim sect leader killed in Kashmir
The Associated Press
"SRINAGAR -- Gunmen assassinated a leader of a Muslim separatist group in Kashmir during a memorial rally yesterday as India's prime minister headed to the divided Himalayan province at a time of rising tensions with Pakistan."

JAPAN
Japan lawyers defend cult leader over gas attacks
Reuters
"TOKYO -- Japanese defence lawyers launched their first round of arguments on Thursday for the leader of a doomsday cult charged with masterminding deadly sarin gas attacks on Tokyo subways seven years ago."
Other newspapers:
Aum guru innocent,disciples misunderstood his teaching: lawyers, AFP
Defense opens case in Aum leader's trial, Yomiuri Shimbun
AUM leader Shoko Asahara is innocent: lawyers, Mainichi Daily News
Asahara's counsel begins defense; Guru was misunderstood, didn't order crimes: lawyers, The Japan Times

Aum remains dangerous: Justice Ministry agency
The Japan Times
"Aum Shinrikyo remains dangerous and continued surveillance of the cult is needed, Yukio Kakiage, head of the Justice Ministry's Public Security Investigation Agency, said Wednesday."

Psychic therapist arrested for illegal practice
Mainichi Daily News
"MAEBARU, Fukuoka -- A woman who provided what she calls psychic therapy without a medical practitioner's license was arrested here Thursday, police said."

NIGERIA
Delsu Authorities Raise Alarm On Cult Groups
Vanguard
"LAGOS -- The authorities of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, yesterday raised an alarm that some secret cult groups were regrouping in the institution to unleash terror on the students and asked the law enforcement agents to quickly come to its aid."

PAKISTAN
Man dies in battle between Muslim sects in Pakistan
Reuters
"KARACHI -- Members of rival Islamic sects fought with guns and stones in the southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday, killing at least one man and injuring several other people, police said."

SOUTH AFRICA
Teen 'witch' attacked
NEWS24.com
"Polokwane (Pietersburg) - Pandemonium broke out at a senior secondary school in Limpopo (Northern Province) on Wednesday after pupils rampaged against a female pupil they accused of witchcraft."

THAILAND
Armed Monk Storms Thai Parliament
The Assiciated Press
"BANGKOK -- A young Buddhist monk dressed in a saffron yellow robe and wielding an AK-47 took 30 people hostage in Thailand's parliament, but was tackled and arrested an hour later by police posing as reporters."

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