Hundreds of Rohingya were killed and tens of thousands forced to flee their homes in 2012 unrest in Rakhine state, and many continue to be confined to squalid camps there.

In the Quran, Mary is twice chosen: as the pious girl dwelling in the Temple, and as the mother of Jesus.

A few small but significant steps toward ending the suffering of Rohingya Muslims adrift on the Andaman Sea have been made in recent days Responding to broad international criticism of previous decisions to turn away boatloads of Rohingya landing on their shores Southeast Asian regional powers Mal

"Why don't they speak out?" Faced with the savage persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, that is a question one often hears as the atrocities of the so-called Islamic State continue in the name of Islam.

Eight years ago this Friday Sept 12 Pope Benedict XVI delivered a lecture at the University of Regensburg in Bavaria in which he seemed to diagnose Islam as a religion inherently flawed by fanaticism It was an undiplomatic assertion to say the least.