In Saudi Arabia, Raif Badawi, editor of  the website “Free Saudi Liberals,” has been sentenced to 7 years in prison and 600 lashes for insulting Islam and for “parental disobedience,” according to Reuters and Human Rights Watch.

Mark Lawson at Guardian Books reviews a new book, “Pope Francis: Untying the Knots” by Paul Vallely.

Violence spreads from Burma to Indonesia: fighting breaks out between Rohingya asylum seekers and Buddhist fishermen in an Indonesian detention center, leaving 8 of the fishermen dead.

France reopens the debate over face-veil ban, riots ensue. (Women’s eNews)

The Pew Religion and Public Life Project reports that one in eight countries experienced an increase in restrictions on religious practice between 2003 and 2006, but those countries–China, Nigeria, Russia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Egypt and France–are among the most populous.