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Mourners place flowers at a makeshift memorial at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
Australia

Bondi Beach shooting likely motivated by ‘Islamic State ideology’, PM says

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Sajid Akram and his son Naveed had been radicalised before committing ‘mass murder’.

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Malaysia

Malaysian religious authorities probe viral claim of woman having ‘2 husbands’

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Australia

Video | Bystander tackles, disarms gunman in Australia

Australia

World leaders express horror at Bondi Beach attack as vigils held for victims

Israel’s Herzog condemned the ‘cruel attack on Jews’ by ‘terrorists’; Trump branded the shooting that killed 15 people ‘purely antisemitic’.

People hold a vigil outside the Australian High Commission in central London, Britain on Sunday following a terrorist attack on a Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Photo: PA Wire / dpa
Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu accuses Australia’s PM of inaction in tackling antisemitism

After the Bondi Beach shooting, the Israeli PM said he warned Albanese months ago that Australia’s policy was ‘encouraging antisemitism’.

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Britain

‘Make Christmas Great Again’: hundreds join far-right Robinson’s London rally

UK bishops express grave concern over the use of Christian symbols to ‘justify racism and anti-migrant rhetoric’.

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Malaysia

Malaysian religious leaders urged to provide evidence of South Korean ‘cult’

Perlis state’s senior Islamic scholar alleged Muslim political elites were linked to the ‘deviant’ cult movement.

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Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, the state’s most senior Islamic scholar, claimed a mysterious South Korean Christian “cult movement” has been attempting to spread its teachings among Malaysian Muslims. Photo: Facebook / Dr MAZA Channel
South Korea

South Korea’s threat to dissolve corrupt religious groups risks blowback

President Lee’s move comes as a widening Unification Church bribery scandal implicates lawmakers from both major parties.

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Japan

Can Japan find space for Muslim burials? Not if right-wing rhetoric prevails

A viral video showing a Sanseito MP telling foreign residents to cremate their dead or ship them home spotlights discomfort with diversity.

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United States

‘If Jesus were born in America now’: church’s nativity challenges ICE policy

Mother Mary in a gas mask, Baby Jesus zip-tied by ICE agents. A Chicago church’s nativity scene sparks debate by mirroring immigrant detention.

A nativity scene in suburban Chicago features Baby Jesus bound with zip ties and wrapped in an aluminum foil-like blanket. Photo: Facebook/Lake Street Church of Evanston
Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Hong Kong’s religious communities unite in prayer to mourn Tai Po fire victims

Muslims and other faith groups express solidarity and sorrow for victims of deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court.

The Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong held a special prayer session at Kowloon Mosque in Tsim Sha Tsui to pay respect to the victims of the Tai Po fire. Photo: Dickson Lee
Religion in China

On This Day | The pope visits Hong Kong for 3 hours in 1970 – SCMP archive

Fifty-five years ago on December 4, 1970, throngs of Hongkongers greeted Pope Paul VI during his historic three-hour trip.

South Korea

Unification Church leader denies knowing about gifts for Kim Keon-hee

South Korean prosecutors reject the claim, saying Han Hak-ja is an ‘absolute power holder’ and no funds can be used without her approval.

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Turkey

Pope warns ‘piecemeal’ third world war ‘threatening’ humanity

In Ankara, Pope Leo urged for global peace amid rising conflicts and geopolitical tensions during his first trip outside Italy.

Pope Leo speaks at the National Library of the Presidential Palace, during his first apostolic journey, in Ankara, Turkey on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
Singapore

Singapore tells TikTok, Meta to block accounts of man fanning racial tension

Singapore said Zulfikar ‘repeatedly continued to stir up discontent within the local Malay/Muslim community against the Chinese community’.

Singapore skyline. The city state has accused an Australian citizen of inciting racial disharmony. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Jakarta bans dog and cat meat sales to curb rabies, in win for animal rights

Indonesia’s capital prohibits meat consumption of the animals, challenging a cultural delicacy and cheap protein source for some.

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Malaysia

Anger mounts over missing Malaysian girl linked to religious conversion

The long-standing custody row has reignited after her mother staged a march demanding that police enforce a court order to find the girl.

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Colombia

Colombia raids hotel hosting Jewish sect members, rescues 17 children

Intervention was prompted by local tips and Interpol yellow notices issued for some of the missing children.

Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France. Photo: AP
Africa

Dozens kidnapped from Catholic school in Nigeria escape captors

Hundreds of children and staff remain held by gunmen amid a spate of school attacks in the West African country.

Africa

315 kidnapped in Nigeria school attacks as security crisis deepens

Gunmen attacked a school in Niger state on Friday after abducting 25 girls from a Kebbi state secondary school on Monday.

Tourism

Interactive museum dedicated to the Shroud of Turin opens in the US

US$5 million museum features 360-degree projection rooms, Shroud of Turin replicas, interactive kiosks and a life-size sculpture of Christ.

Nora Creech, director of Othonia North America, points to a replica of the Shroud of Turin at a new interactive museum in California dedicated to the shroud. Photo: AP
Africa

Gunmen kidnap students from Nigerian Catholic school, second attack in a week

The attacks come weeks after US President Trump threatened military action over what he said were targeted killings of Nigeria’s Christians.

Nigerian government officials and police officers inspect a school compound after gunmen attacked a government girls’ boarding school on Monday. Photo: Africa Independent Television/Reuters
Good Schools Guide

Do faith-based school curricula contribute to academic excellence?

Nurturing compassionate individuals is a key tenet of such schools, from Anfield to Carmel Hong Kong – but how well do they prepare students for life beyond the classroom?

Indonesia

Preacher misconduct prompts Indonesia rethink on religious vetting

The controversy has boosted calls for a certification programme to increase the quality of Muslim preachers and prevent inappropriate conduct.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, US and Canada, ‘online hoaxes’ fuel measles deaths

With over 3,400 confirmed cases and more than 20 child deaths, Indonesia’s outbreaks reflect immunisation gaps and growing vaccine hesitancy.

A healthcare worker administers a measles vaccine to a junior school student in Jakarta on August 4. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Isis-linked group used video games to radicalise Indonesian children: police

Over 110 children have been targeted by terrorist recruiters this year alone, a ‘massive’ spike from 17 between 2011 and 2017, police say.

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Members of a police bomb squad inspect the wreckage of a motorbike used to carry out a suicide attack in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, on March 29, 2021. Photo: AP
Malaysia

Malaysia pulls US children’s show off the air over LGBTQ kiss

State broadcaster RTM pulled ‘Santiago of the Seas’ after viewers claimed two animated mermaids had shared a same-sex kiss on the cheek.

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Sexual harassment and assault

Danny Masterson alleges anti-Scientology bias in bid to overturn rape conviction

That ‘70s Show actor Masterson, jailed in 2023, claims a police investigation was biased against his faith and led to a wrongful conviction.

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