Source: Ann Arbor News

http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-13/111686283989110.xml

On May 23, 2005 the Ann Arbor News reported, "They chanted Buddha's name, then they did the hokey pokey. It was serious fun at the Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor Saturday morning as about 80 children and their parents kicked off a weekend celebration of Buddha's birthday with a Peace and Happiness parade. Leading the parade, which included a...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/politics/11719504.

On May 23, 2005 The Associated Press reported, "the first 100 students to complete undergraduate study at the Buddhist Soka University of America have received their diplomas. In a commencement ceremony Sunday, 100 of the school's first 120 students wore caps, gowns and stoles identifying them as the 'first graduating class of 2005.' The school is...

Source: The New Straits Times

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/Frontpage/20050523082532/Article/indexb_html

On May 22, 2005 The New Straits Times reported, "Thousands of Buddhists went to temples throughout the country today to celebrate Wesak Day. Addressing devotees at the Kwan Inn Teng Vihara in Petaling Jaya this morning, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said it was important for...

Source: China Economic Net

Source: Macleans

http://www.macleans.ca/culture/news/shownews.jsp?content=e051821A

On May 18, 2005 Macleans reported, "Photos of bikini-clad Miss Universe contestants posing in front of a revered Buddhist temple have been removed from the pagaent's website after the Thai government complained that the pictures were offensive. The controversial images will also be edited out of a film to be shown during the globally televised final of the competition on...

Source: Yahoo! News

Wire Service: AP

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050517/ap_on_re_as/sri_lanka_monk_abuse

On May 17, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "A monk drank poison and later died after becoming the first Buddhist clergyman to be convicted of the sexual abuse of a child in Sri Lanka, court officials and police said.

Monk Bellana Panniyaloka was found guilty of grave sexual abuse of a 16-year-...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4551425.stm

On May 16, 2005 BBC News reported, "A decade ago, a six-year-old boy was named by the Dalai Lama as a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was nominated as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama - the second-most important figure in Tibetan religion, culture and politics after the Dalai Lama himself. But China disagreed with the choice and arrested the boy a few days later....

Source: MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7857555/

On May 14, 2005 MSNBC reported, "In celebration of Buddha's birthday, the Bathing of the Buddha ceremony took place at Guam's Fo Guan Shan Temple in Barrigada. Many turned out to witness the practices of humanistic Buddhism. The ceremony is the most important of Buddhist festivals and is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month calendar, which this year is May 15. Buddha's birthday is a time to remember the story of how...

Source: The Independent

http://independent-bangladesh.com/news/may/11/11052005ap.htm#A4

On May 10, 2005 The Independent reported, "Four more people have been killed in the ongoing unrest in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, where a separatist insurgency has raged since early last year, police said Tuesday.

Villager Bueraheng Kla, 26, was shot early Tuesday in the Ra-ngae district of Narathiwat province by an unknown number of gunmen, dying later...

Source: The Harvard Crimson

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=507637

On May 5, 2005 The Harvard Crimson reported, "people of faith are often challenged to reconcile religious traditionalism with a desire for progressive action and modernism: Catholics who disagree with the encyclicals of the pope or Muslims who reject fundamentalist action are currently among the more prominent examples. To this end, at the opening of 'Acting on Faith: Women and the New...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/4515767.stm

On May 5, 2005 BBC News reported, "Arson and vandalism have forced a group of Buddhists to give up a project to convert a derelict house into a temple. An old school caretaker's house in Colyer Road, Northfleet, Kent was handed over to the Buddhists last year. Repairs to the building have been hampered by relentless attacks. Last week a monk was stoned in what the group has said...

Source: CommonDreams.org/Buddhist Peace Fellowship

http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0502-09.htm

On May 2, 2005 a Buddhist Peace Fellowship press release reported, "As Pope Benedict XVI begins his incumbency by building bridges to Christian, Jewish, and Islamic communities, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF) is taking the initiative to extend sincere and respectful greeting in the form of a letter -- remarkable not only for what it says but for it doesn't say, and thus...

Source: The Scotsman

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=444592005

On April 29, 2005 The Scotsman reported, "Religious leaders in Sri Lanka have fiercely opposed handing over tsunami aid to rebel fighters. A political party led by several of the country’s powerful Buddhist monks has opposed a government move to give partial control of foreign tsunami aid to the Tamil Tiger rebels. The rebels have continued to target those opposed to them and cannot...