Islamabad, Sept 29: Ahead of Eid, to be celebrated on October 2, people in Pakistan are resorting to e-cards, SMSs, MMSs, and emails to send festival greetings to their near and dear ones. The ongoing inflationary trend hitting the common man has been cited as the major reason for the shift in habits of the people here.

Rafea Manan, a fine arts student in Islamabad, said that inflation had taken its toll and people could not afford buying flour, what to speak of greeting cards.

London, September 25: A body responsible for ensuring venues for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London is getting public conveniences at the Olympic Park specially designed so that Muslims will not have to face Mecca while in the toilet.
 
The Olympic Delivery Authority says that its aim is to make an ideal venue for people of all cultures, faiths, ages and abilities.

A spokesman for the agency has revealed that a "percentage of general toilets would not face Mecca" during the 2012 games.

The decision attains significance as the Islamic religion prohibits Muslims from facing the Kiblah, the direction of prayer, when they visit the lavatory.

Washington, Sept 22 : A new “International Religious Freedom Report” has said that though Pakistan took some steps to improve the treatment of religious minorities during 2007, serious problems, like the overall condition of women and minority communities, remained unresolved.

The report pointed out that there were forced conversions to Islam, especially in Sindh where 15-20 Hindu families were forced to convert.

Describing the general situation in the country in “pretty negative terms”, the report, released at the weekend, said that terrorist and extremist groups and individuals “continued to target religious congregations”, reported the Daily Times.

Lahore, Sep 20 : Approximately 315 Indian pilgrims have already arrived in Pakistan for the 469th death anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, while about 400 pilgrims will reach the Wagha border today by a special train to attend the three day Joti Jot Guruparab.

Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Deputy Administrator (Shrines) Fraz Abbas said that about 400 pilgrims would reach by special train today.

He said all Sikh pilgrims are scheduled to reach Pakistan by September 20, but half of them had already arrived by the Samjhauta Express.

Washington, Sept. 20: The Rajdhani Mandir (temple) in Virginia’s suburban Fairfax County, is in the eye of the storm, not because of religion, race or immigration, but parking.

The temple has attracted the negative attention of county zoning officials following complaints by people in the neighbourhood regarding parking problems caused by rituals performed twice a day from Monday to Saturday, and thrice on Sunday.

New Delhi, Sept 19: After issuing an advisory to Karnataka Government to bring the situation under control following attacks on churches and prayer halls, the Home Ministry on Friday put the state on alert and directed it to report to the Centre on the steps taken to deal with the situation.

Warning the state to put a stop to these attacks or face the consequences, Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said that the Home Ministry was closely monitoring the Karnataka situation and added that the State Government has been told to report back to the Centre on the steps to check these attacks.