Latest Religion and politics News
Religious and cultural mentions removed from names of China's Xinjiang villages, rights groups say
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Authorities in China’s western Xinjiang region have been systematically replacing the names of villages inhabited by Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities to reflect the ruling Communist Party’s ideology, as part of an attack on their cultural identity, a report released...
Dutch candidate Cabinet ministers are questioned by official working to build coalition government
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Candidate Cabinet ministers in the Netherlands' incoming far-right-led government underwent questioning Monday to establish their suitability for office, as the monthslong process of forming a new administration neared its end. Anti-Islam lawmaker...
Maine opens contest to design a new state flag based on an old classic
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Mainers are going to decide in November whether to adopt a new flag, but the state needs to settle on a design first. Anyone can submit a design proposal as long as it's based on the state's original flag, which featured a simple pine tree and blue star...
Southern Baptists expel Virginia church for believing women can serve as pastors
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Even as they prepare to vote on a formal ban on churches with women pastors, delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to boot one such church from its ranks. Messengers, as voting representatives are known, voted...
House Democrats step up to try to stop Project 2025 plans for a Trump White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — Warning about the far-right Project 2025 agenda for a Donald Trump White House, a group of House Democrats has launched a task force to start fighting the proposal and stop it from taking hold if the Republican former president returns to power. Democratic Rep....
Indian PM Modi names Cabinet for coalition government after his party lost majority
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's Narendra Modi, newly sworn in for a third straight term, named a Cabinet on Monday that retained his top ministers in crucial portfolios despite his Hindu nationalist party losing their majority in a shock election result. There was no change in the top...
Relying on coalition partners, Modi is sworn in for a rare third term as India's prime minister
NEW DELHI (AP) — Narendra Modi was sworn in Sunday for a rare third consecutive term as India’s prime minister, relying on his coalition partners after his party failed to win a parliamentary majority in a surprise outcome. Modi and his Cabinet ministers took the oath of office,...
Narendra Modi's third term as India's prime minister may prove the most challenging
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office for a third consecutive term on Sunday, but it may hold more challenges for the popular-but-polarizing leader than his past decade in power. His Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which won by landslides in...
India's Modi elected as leader of coalition and set to form new government
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday was formally elected leader of the National Democratic Alliance coalition, which won the most seats in the national election after his political party failed to win a majority on its own. The 73-year-old leader, who...
India’s opposition, written off as too weak, makes a stunning comeback to slow Modi's juggernaut
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s bruised and battered opposition was largely written off in the lead-up to the national election as too weak and fragmented to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his powerful Hindu nationalist governing party. It scored a stunning comeback, slowing...
