A separate administration similar to Tirupati model should be formed in Sabarimala, recommended Devaswom Commissioner K Jayakumar to the state government. The functioning of Sabarimala should be put under an authority which in turn will function under the devasom board.

The law secretary recommended that the state government can take over the age old Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple. The government has sought the advice after a dispute arose over the administration of the temple. The temple is at present controlled by the Travancore royal family.

Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday he was "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that stained the Catholic church and will work to make sure pedophiles don't become priests. Benedict was answering questions that were submitted in advance by reporters aboard a special Alitalia airliner as he was flying from Rome to Washington to begin his first papal pilgrimage to the United States.

60-year old Hashim Akhtar Naqvi, an architect by profession and calligrapher by interest, the inclination became a life-long devotion when he took upon the task of writing the first verse of the Holy Quran in as many stylised forms as possible.

Lali, a one-month-old girl with four eyes, two mouths and two noses on her two faces, has been proclaimed a goddess in Saini village in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh here. Every day, people queue outside Vinod Singh's house to see his unique daughter who was born March 11.

The arattu ceremony, one of the important rituals of the ten-day festival at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple began under the leadership of tantri Kandararu Maheswararu at 11.30 am.

After the ritual, the siveli idol will be kept at the nadapandal in front of the Lord Ganapathy Temple for darshan and for offering 'para'. At 3 pm, the arattu procession will leave Pampa for Sannidhanam.

With day-long prayers, fasting and penance, Christians in the state observed Good Friday today, recalling the sufferings and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Shunning all earthly pleasures, the faithful spent the day in churches and homes praying, meditating and reading passages from the Bible relating to the final hours of Christ.

With solemn prayers, Christians in the state today observed Holy Thursday, commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with his disciples, a day ahead of crucifixion.Bishops and senior priests performed the Washing of the Feet ceremony in churches, followed by special prayers and readings passages from the Gospels relating to the Last Supper.

A fascinating study in Britain has suggested that those inclined towards religion tend to be happier than atheists or agnostics.
A study presented at the Royal Economic Society's annual conference in Coventry, Britain, suggested that religion can act as an "insurance policy" against distress.