Month: October 2023

By MARIAM FAM Associated Press There’s the Tunisian woman who fasts during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, though not for God. The Iraqi woman who, until recently, wore a hijab. And a man whose Egyptian identity card identifies him as “Muslim,” despite his efforts to change it. Such are the ways that some of

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Nearly every Alaskan will receive a $1,312 check starting this week, their annual share from the earnings of the state’s nest-egg oil fund. Some use the money for extras like tropical vacations but others — particularly in high-cost rural Alaska where jobs and housing are limited

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press KANO, Nigeria (AP) — When the megaphone called out for the daily Islamic prayers, the nonbeliever grabbed his prayer beads and ambled through the streets to join others at the mosque in Kano, northern Nigeria’s largest city. Formerly a Muslim, he now identifies as an atheist but remains closeted, performing

By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press ISOLA DEL GRAN SASSO, Italy (AP) — Two children scribbled petitions to St. Gabriele dell’Addolorata in the vast sanctuary where the young saint is venerated in this central Italian mountain village. Andrea, 6, asked for blessings for his family and pets. Sofia, 9, gave thanks for winning a dance competition.

By WILL WEISSERT and BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Kevin McCarthy spent years raising mountains of Republican campaign cash, flying around the country to recruit top candidates in key districts and painstakingly building political relationships as he worked his way toward becoming speaker of the House. Now that he’s been ousted from the

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO and NATACHA PISARENKO Associated Press CAPILLA DEL MONTE, Argentina (AP) — In the pope’s homeland, there’s a woman who believes in angels and calls them aliens. Another proudly identifies as a witch. And there’s a spiritual guru so turned off by the Vatican’s opulence that he left the church to help

By PETER SMITH Associated Press Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning. “And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church,”

By PETER SMITH Associated Press Thirty percent of Americans don’t identify with a religious group — but not all of them are atheists or agnostics. In fact, 43% of the group known as the “nones” say they believe in God, even if they largely dislike organized religion. Those are among the findings of a new

By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press ISOLA DEL GRAN SASSO, Italy (AP) — In small towns like this mountain one a couple of hours east of Rome, and all across Italy, life has changed over the last generation as the Catholic faith loses relevance in people’s routines and choices. From cradle to casket — from buying

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO and NATACHA PISARENKO Associated Press MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — In Uruguay, a nation of some 3.3 million people, more than half identify as “nones” — atheist, agnostic or other religiously unaffiliated — the highest portion in Latin America. Uruguay has a long history of secularization. In the early 20th century, new

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says it has begun releasing a second batch of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea after the first round of discharges ended smoothly. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings says workers activated a pump on Thursday to dilute the treated

TOKYO (AP) — Japan issued a tsunami advisory after a strong earthquake struck near its outlying islands in the Pacific Ocean, but lifted it about two hours later. No damage was reported. The advisory, the second-lowest of a four-stage warning system, asked people on islands in the Izu chain, which stretches south from the Tokyo