The Hebrew Bible is possibly four centuries older than previously thought, following a significant pottery find in the Holy Land.
According to the University of Haifa, studies of a shard of pottery, uncovered during excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, near Israel's Elah valley last year, have revealed that the language etched onto it is a form of Hebrew. However, the find dates to the 10th Century BC, raising questions about the Hebrew Bible, long thought to date to the 6th Century and no earlier.
Professor Gershon Galil, of the Department of Biblical Studies at Haifa, who led the study into the pottery find said ''it indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th Century BCE (Before Common Era) and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research.''
According to Dr Galil, what seemed, at first, likely to be any other local dialect in the region as Hebrew, was eventually deciphered by reference to those words particular to Hebrew and the content, specific to Hebrew culture.
Decoded, the pottery text appears to be guidance on the treatment of slaves, widows and orphans.
''You shall not do it, but worship the Lord. Judge the slave and the widow, judge the orphan and the stranger. Plead for the infant, plead for the poor and the widow. Rehabilitate the poor at the hands of the king. Protect the poor and the slave. Support the stranger.''
Vatican
Pope Pius XII archives
Documents relating to the wartime pontificate of Pius XII will be fully organised in the Vatican archives by 2015, it has been announced.
Bishop Sergio Pagano, Prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives confirmed that work is underway to catalogue and organise some 16 million pages produced by the Holy See from 1939 - 1958, and that this, and not any ''political'' reasons lay behind the lack of access to documents.
He added that Pope Benedict is constantly updated on progress in relation to the archives, and he would make the final decision on any opening of the files to examination.
New Haiti stamp
The Vatican's Philatelic and Numismatic Office has issued a special stamp to raise funds for victims of the January earthquake in Haiti. The 900,000 stamps feature an image of Our Lady of Mentorello, whose 1,500 anniversary is marked in 2010. Of a cover price of 65 cent, 20 cent from each stamp will be directed towards aiding victims, raising €150,000 in total.
Italy
Crucifix decision to be appealed
The country has lodged an appeal against a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) finding on the display of crosses.
A spokesman confirmed the appeal and indicated that five judges will now examine the case towards grounds for proceeding. The original ECHR finding, in November, said that the displaying of crucifixes was a breach of the rights of non-Catholic families. The ruling by the body has no direct effect on European law.
United States
Stamp boycott call by atheists
An atheist group is calling for a boycott of a stamp featuring the face of Mother Teresa. The Freedom from Religion group is arguing that the use of the famous nun's image on a stamp, to be issued in August, is a breach of postal regulations.
''Mother Teresa is principally known as a religious figure who ran a religious institution,'' a spokesperson for the body said. ''You can't really separate her being a nun and being a Roman Catholic from everything she did.''
The postal service responded that ''Mother Teresa is not being honoured because of her religion; she's being honoured for her work with the poor and her acts of humanitarian relief.
''Her contribution to the world as a humanitarian speaks for itself and is unprecedented.''
Guilty of killing abortion doctor
A jury in the state of Kansas has convicted Scott Roeder of the May 2009 murder of abortion doctor, George Tiller, who provided late-term abortions in Wichita.
Roeder gunned Dr Tiller down at the Reformation Lutheran Church where the latter worked as an usher. Roeder admitted his guilt to police and then again to the jury at his trial, arguing that his action was necessary to protect unborn children. He faces life in prison.
Malaysia
'Allah' row continues
The ongoing acts of vandalism in the 'Allah' row are an attempt to provoke inter-community violence, a politician has warned.
Following random attacks on places of worship, sparked by a court ruling on use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims, Domestic Affairs Minister Seri Hishammuddin said: ''I suspect that the goal is to lead the country into chaos.
''They want to cause clashes between communities of different ethnicity and religion.''
Since the court ruling in favour of Christian use of 'Allah', vandals have targeted 11 churches, a Sikh temple, a mosque and two Muslim prayer rooms.
The latest incident involved unknown attackers dumping pigs' heads at two mosques. Originally, angry Muslims had claimed that a newspaper's use of the name 'Allah' in its reports risked luring Muslims from Islam.
