BRITISH Sikhs are preparing to launch a political party. The Sikh Federation (UK) will establish branches in towns with a sizeable Sikh population. Dabinderjit Singh, its spokesman, accused the Government of ignoring the concerns of Britain’s 700,000 Sikhs. “The Conservatives have been helpful and very willing to listen, more so than the Government,” he said.

BRITAIN’S most prominent Roman Catholic cathedral has an annual deficit of more than £250,000. Mark Langham, the administrator of Westminster Cathedral, said that the shortfall was a “besetting problem” for church authorities.

AN ANGLICAN cleric has forbidden a Haitian voodoo priest from conducting a meeting in a Dorset church hall. The Archdeacon of Bournemouth, the Ven Adrian Harbridge, said he acted after concerns were raised about the booking at St Ambrose’s church hall, Bournemouth.

THE Church of England has issued a guide to help children to cope with death and loss. The book, Children and Bereavement, was issued in response to September 11 and the Soham case.

THE Greek Orthodox Church has protested against plans to build a mosque near Athens airport for the 2004 Olympic Games. Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens, urged the Greek Government to build a church on the site instead, to show foreign visitors “the Greek Orthodox stamp of the nation”.

THE number of Jews in the United States has fallen by 5 per cent to 5.2 million in the past decade. The National Jewish Population Survey also found that the rate of intermarriage had increased from 43 per cent in 1990 to 47 per cent during the period 1996-2001.

A FILM recounting stories from the Mormon holy book opened at cinemas in the United States yesterday. The Book of Mormon Movie, produced and directed by Gary Rogers, may be shunned by Mormons because it has a PG13 rating. The film was given the rating for a violent scene where the hero Nephi kills Laban, the evil ruler of Jerusalem.

AN AMERICAN Baptist minister has defended his decision to advertise a sermon entitled Islam: America’s No1 enemy on a billboard outside his church. The Rev Marc Monte, of Faith Baptist Church in Avon, Indiana, said he hoped to “stir interest in Islam”. “It’s an invitation to learn,” he said.

PRESIDENT George W. Bush received the Dalai Lama at the White House this week. The exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader told reporters that visiting Mr Bush had been like meeting an old friend. The Chinese Government had urged the Bush Administration to block the Dalai Lama’s three-week visit to the United States.

THE Indian Government has announced plans to crackdown on muttah, (short-term marriage) among Muslims. The Government is concerned that Middle Eastern tourists are using the tradition to exploit young Indian women.

AN INDIAN Muslim boy has died saving the lives of two Hindu boys. The 14-year-old boy, known as Munavvar, pulled the two Hindu boys out of a lake in Gwalior, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, but drowned himself.

A SOUTH KOREAN firm has created a mobile phone aimed at Muslims. The LG Electronics phone contains an electronic compass showing the direction of Mecca.

SCIENTISTS in Israel have used carbon dating to determine when a tunnel described in the Bible was excavated. The tests on the Siloam Tunnel in Jerusalem found that it was constructed in 700BC. Dr Amos Frumpkin, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said: “It’s very rare to find things which are mentioned in the Bible that have been confirmed independently by dating.”

A NORWEGIAN pastor left a bride and groom standing at the altar for almost an hour after he forgot to turn up for their wedding. When the pastor, who has not been named, arrived at the church outside Oslo he found a replacement minister from a neighbouring parish conducting the ceremony.

A FORMER model who starred in a James Bond film will take part in a fashion show for Anglican clergy later this month. The Rev Shannon Ledbetter, who wore a £250,000 PVC dress in the 1997 Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, will participate in the Clergy on the Catwalk show in Manchester. The actress, who is a curate at St Mark’s Church, Knowsley, Liverpool, said: “I hope Clergy on the Catwalk will direct attention away from the superficial to the spiritual.”

SAUDI ARABIA’s religious police have deemed Barbie dolls to be a threat to morality. The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said the toys were offensive to Islam. “Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools, are a symbol of the decadence of the perverted West,” the committee’s website declared.

Compiled by Luke Coppen