• Death of 16-Yr-Old Pakistan Girl, Who Was Burnt Alive, Challenges the Propriety of Islam Parental Custom

  The death of the 16-year-old girl, who was drugged and burnt alive simply because she helped a couple elope, jolted every Pakistani, but as new evidence traced that it was a so-called "honor killing" with a "jirga"- an outlawed tribunal council - anger swept the country.

  

• Philippines Megachurch Iglesia ni Christo (INC) Endorses Candidate Rodrigo Duterte in May 9 Presidential Polls

  The election campaign in Philippines took a surprise when Christian group Iglesia ni Christo (INC) endorsed Rodrigo Duterte for president, and Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos for Vice President.

  

• Vatican Lightly Takes High Number of Suspicious Financial Disbursement Report For 2015

  Vatican received 544 reports of suspicious disbursement in 2015, nearly four times higher than the prior year, but the financial watchdog official was quick to interpret it as a result of the "new awareness" of reporting obligation, not as a crime.

  

• China Irked by U.S. Report of 'Severe' Religious Freedom Violations by US Commission

  China has lodged a diplomatic protest with the U.S government after an American bipartisan federal body reported that violations of religious freedom in China last year is "severe."

  

• ‘Burqa’ for Muslim Women Banned in Balkan Republic Town Due to Security Risk amid Influx of Muslim Refugees

  The suburban town of Pazardzhik in Bulgaria came out with its piece as the first ever to ban burqa among the Muslim women citing its risk to security and to safeguard trust between communities.