ALABAMA
Pastor Beaten After Blunt Eulogy
myCFnow.com
"LOXLEY -- Authorities in Loxley, Ala., are investigating the alleged beating of a preacher by funeral mourners who didn't like his blunt eulogy. Glynis Bethel told The Associated Press that her husband -- the Rev. Orlando Bethel -- was attacked during a June 14 funeral and dragged out of the church."

MASSACHUSETTS
Envy cited as motive in case of sect's starved baby
The Boston Globe
"She was a spectral presence at her brother's murder trial, allegedly the trigger of a little boy's slow death in the name of God. For two weeks, jurors heard tales of Michelle Mingo's holy visions and her Attleboro sect's religious beliefs, which members said drove two of their brethren to slowly starve to death their baby son."

UTAH
S.L. police put psychics on hold
Deseret News
"The future looks a bit dim for Utah's psychic community, which has been trying in vain to get Salt Lake police to pay attention to its visions and predictions in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case."

Religious Scholars Discuss Mormon Evolution
The Salt Lake Tribune
"PROVO -- When Italian religious scholar Massimo Introvigne announced a break in the opening session of an international conference of religious scholars at LDS Church-owned Brigham Young University on Friday, he lightheartedly educated participants on a particular aspect of Mormon faith."

Trading Cards Feature LDS Temples on Front, 'Stats' on Back
The Salt Lake Tribune
For Mormons who want a slightly more "spiritual" approach to trading cards, a Los Angeles manufacturer has just the thing: "Temple Traders."

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Head of Sept. 11 Probe Allegedly Obstructed Danforth's Waco Inquiry
Washington Post
"The official in charge of ferreting out information about the FBI for a joint congressional intelligence panel allegedly obstructed a Justice Department probe of the bureau two years ago."

Ruben Ecleo -- Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association PHILIPPINES Lawmen discover arms, marijuana in Ecleo mansion The Manila Times "Combined military and police operatives yesterday swooped down on the mansion of Ruben Ecleo Jr., self-styled “supreme leader” of the Christian Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) in Dinagat Island, Surigao del Norte and recovered a cache of high-powered firearms." Cult leader's suitcase yields 'shabu' Inquirer News Service "CEBU CITY - Cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. is in for more trouble. Three small packs containing shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) were found in his luggage after he was committed to the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC)." The Ecleos: Love story ends in tragedy Inquirer News Service "CEBU CITY - Alona Bacolod was a drum majorette when she first caught the attention of Ruben Ecleo Jr. At 14, she was more than half his age. But that did not stop Ecleo from pursuing the young lass who was then only a sophomore at the Don Ruben Ecleo Sr. Memorial National School (DRESMNS) on Dinagat island." Drug raps to be filed vs cult leader Ecleo Inquirer News Service "CEBU CITY -- At least 50 policemen will be deployed to secure cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. on Monday when he is brought to the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office for the filing of possession of illegal drugs charges against him." 'Reports about PBMA inflated' Sun Star Cebu "Up to 300 more visitors, some of them coming all the way from Dinagat Island, visited Ruben Ecleo Jr. yesterday to comfort him and defend him from allegations of drug abuse. The former San Jose, Dinagat mayor slept right after his last visitor left his cell." Guns cultists used vs. police missing Sun Star Cebu "Have the high-powered firearms of some Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) members, who engaged in a firefight with lawmen last week, been diverted to Negros Island? Police Regional Office (PRO) 13 Director Alberto Olario yesterday called on the PNP Central Visayas to closely monitor all local PBMA chapters." Bishop sees flock return to church Sun Star Cebu After 28 years of “all-out war” against the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) and the recent arrest of its supreme master, a decline of the cult and the return of Catholics to the Roman Catholic Church in Dinagat Island are anticipated. Dinagat gunbattle a sedition case Sun Star Cebu "Was the Dinagat gunbattle, which claimed at least 17 lives and left several others wounded, just a simple case of obstruction of justice, rebellion or a case of sedition? Three former prosecutors believe last Tuesday’s fight in Dinagat Island, Surigao del Norte falls within the definition of sedition."

AUSTRALIA
Rome ban rocks Little Pebble
news.com.au
"An odd Victorian doomsday cult, which police believe has stockpiled weapons in preparation for the end of civilisation, has been banned by the Vatican. Rome wants the cult's members to disassociate themselves with leader William Kamm, who calls himself the Little Pebble."

CHINA
Confucius Returns to Fill China's Moral Void
The Associated Press
XIWENGZHUANG -- The children sit ramrod straight at their desks, hands clasped behind their backs as, on teacher's cue, they bellow their lesson in unison: "A young man should serve his parents at home and be respectful to elders outside his home."

ISRAEL
THINK AGAIN: Neopaganism
The Jerusalem Post
"Three weeks ago, The Jerusalem Post Magazine profiled five Israeli Jews, each a follower of a different guru who has discovered the secrets of the universe within the past 50 years."

MEXICO
Islam taking root in southern Mexico
The Houston Chronicle
"SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS -- In recent years, Agustin Gomez Mendez and other Maya Indians in far southern Mexico have taken yet one more sharp turn in a long quest for redemption, deciding that Jesus Christ isn't their personal savior after all."

UGANDA
Bakuli Witch Almost Lynched Dead
New Vision
"KAMPALA -- A female herbalist was almost lynched to death by students at Elyvin Hostel in Bakuli last Saturday. Students said that this woman has been taking the herbs to students at the Hostel telling them that when used, it increases love from men."

UZBEKISTAN
Religious crackdowns intensify
Governments in Central Asia called repressive
Religion News Service
"TASHKENT -- Religious freedom experts and human rights monitors in Central Asia are warning that faith-based crackdowns in the volatile region are radicalizing an impoverished, mostly Muslim population."

ZIMBABWE
Mental Illness On the Increase
The Herald
"HARARE -- The number of people suffering from mental illness in Zimbabwe has been increasing due to the tough economic and social environment. Experts say one in every four people in Zimbabwe suffers from a mental disorder. There is, however, a difference of opinion on what causes mental illnesses, depending on whether one looks at the problem from the cultural perspective or from a scientific perspective."

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