Washington, Aug 19: Hindus have applauded Romania for her attempts at educational reforms and overhauling religious instruction, but stressed that minorities should be fairly treated when these planned reforms are finalized.

Acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American leader, Rajan Zed, in a statement today, said that considerable changes were reportedly needed in this overhaul. Every Romanian should feel welcome without any ethnic or religious discrimination.

Zed, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that in school curricula comparative religion could be offered as an alternative to religion and those who did not want to study either, should be offered a non-religious choice.

Amritsar, Aug. 5: Giani Gurbachan Singh was today named the acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht, a day after his predecessor, Joginder Singh Vedanti, resigned from the same post.

The Akal Takht is the highest temporal seat of the Sikh community. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) had asked for Vedanti's resignation on Monday night, and on Tuesday, it accepted it formally.

Earlier, Vedanti told reporters that SGPC General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur and Executive Member Rajinder Singh Mehta had asked for his resignation.

London, Aug 1: Jesus had a child by Mary Magdalene, aliens built the pyramids, Paul McCartney is dead - well these some of the top ten conspiracy theories based which have been revived by a British newspaper.

Times Online has compiled top ten conspiracy theories.

They are:

1) Jesus had a child by Mary Magdalene, who was the ancestor of the Merovingian kings

This theory has come from Dan Brown's famous novel 'The Da Vinci Code'. The book sold tens of millions of copies because many people believe that the Church has been lying to them for centuries.

2) Aliens built the pyramids

3) Paul McCartney is dead

Washington, Aug 1: Acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American leader, Rajan Zed, has applauded Pope's remarks at World Youth Day in Sydney where he called to build a new age free from greed.

In a statement issued at Nevada (USA) today, Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said, "Greed is a form of pollution and is a transgression of spiritual and moral law. Disappointment is certain if some act is done merely out of greed. Excessive greed blinds the mind. Do not be disillusioned by wants."

Bangkok - The United Nations Security Council will decide this week whether or not it will hold an emergency session to discuss an escalating border spat between Thailand and Cambodia over an ancient Hindu temple, a senior Thai diplomat confirmed Wednesday.

On Monday Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, claiming he feared an "imminent state of war," appealed to the 15-member UN Security Council to intervene in the Thai-Cambodian dispute over conflicting claims to territory adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple, perched on a cliff that partly defines the two neighbouring countries' common border.

Kantharalak (Thailand), July 21: Hundreds of Thai and Cambodian soldiers remained locked in a tense standoff at the ruins of an ancient Hindu temple here for a sixth straight day on Sunday, in a modern-day echo of the age-old clash of empires across Indochina.

The contentious 4.6-square-kilometre zone is in Si Sa Ket province, to the west of the ancient temple that Cambodia has successfully listed as a World Heritage site.

The centre of the dispute is the makeshift Wat Viharn temple that Cambodia built in the disputed area in 2001, despite opposition from Thailand.

Soldiers from both sides remain there on condition that all of them must be unarmed, the New York Times reported.