The religiously unaffiliated people make up the third largest group around the world after Christians and Muslims. This group estimates roughly 16 % of the world’s population and is heavily concentrated in Asia and the Pacific.

According to a report conducted by ‘The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life’ the largest religious group is represented by Christians with 2.2 billion people (32% of the world’s population), second largest – Muslims with 1.6 billion people (23%), placing the religiously unaffiliated group in third place with 1.1 billion ( 16%) , followed by 1 billion Hindus (15%), nearly 500 million Buddhists (7%) and 14 million Jews (0.2%). The figures relate to 2010.

People who practice folk or traditional religions are estimated at 400 million ( 6%) , while approximately 58 million people ( 1%) belong to other religions, such as the Baha’i faith, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism.

The geographical distribution of groups varies. Christians are dispersed all over the world, the Muslims mostly populate the Asia-Pacific region, Middle East and Africa and the Hindu group is concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region.

More than three-quarters of the religiously unaffiliated reside in Asia, the majority in China with more than six-in-ten (62%) of all religiously unaffiliated people, and more than one-in-six people in Europe (18%) and North America (17%).

The study reveals that Czech Republic is the first in the list of countries where the religiously unaffiliated make up the majority of the population, followed by North Korea, Estonia, Japan, Hong Kong and China.

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The Huffington Post is being sued by a Panamanian man who says the website falsely credited him with an article that may have influenced a rash of killings in Pakistan targeting health workers who offer polio vaccinations.

Attorney Juan Noriega of Panama City filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, DC against the Huffington Post, accusing the news aggregation site with defamation and invasion of privacy.

Noriega says Huffington Post listed him as the author of an August 2012 blog post that accused the US Central Intelligence Agency of running a bogus vaccination campaign in Pakistan in order to obtain information on the whereabouts of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

“[T]housands of innocent children all over Pakistan may be crippled for life with polio, and thousands of others may die from hepatitis, because the CIA ran a fake vaccination scheme,” the article titled ‘The primacy of the rule of law’ reads.

While the CIA did indeed rely on Pakistani physician Dr. Shakeel Afridi to obtain intelligence on bin Laden by way of an immunization scam, the plaintiff in the federal lawsuit is upset over how he is portrayed as the author of the article despite having no affiliation with the website.

“By maliciously and negligently allowing, approving, and assisting with the publishing of this article, defendant defamed plaintiff by making it appear that he blames the United States government and the CIA for running a fake vaccination campaign in Pakistan,” the complaint reads.

According to Noreiga’s attorney, it’s “unconscionable that the Huffington Post would not have done a modicum of due diligence before putting out an article on a subject like this, or any subject, without verifying the author.”

The suit claims that because in part of the article he’s attributed with, Taliban militants have killed innocent physicians attempting to tame Pakistan’s out-of-control polio epidemic.

The article, claims Noriega, “has caused Pakistani parents not to inoculate their children, and caused the death of doctors by the Taliban in retaliation to the scam.”

On Tuesday, five Pakistani women and a man were killed in separate attacks on health workers attempting to immune people against the debilitating illness, the New York Times reports. In response to the assaults, the health minister for southern Sindh Province has ordered 24,000 aid workers assisting with the effort to stop immediately.

“There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Taliban insurgents have repeatedly vowed to target anti-polio workers, accusing them of being spies,” reports the Times.

“The primacy of the rule law,”

Four journalists from NBC News have escaped safely after being held in captivity in Syria for five days.

NBC News confirmed early Tuesday that chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and three other crew members are free nearly a week after being captured while on assignment overseas.

According to the organization, Engel and his colleagues were detained on Thursday while trying to move into Syria from Turkey. During the botched entry, kidnappers reportedly blindfolded the journalists and tossed them into the back of a truck.

There was “no claim of responsibility, no contact with the captors and no request for ransom during the time the crew was missing,” NBC reports, although Mr. Engel recalled being held by Shiite militants that were “talking openly about their loyalty to the government” of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Five days after being caught, Engel says the crew managed to escape while being moved from one location to another. The journalists were being transferred Monday evening “when their captors ran into a checkpoint manned by members of the Ahrar al-Sham brigade, a Syrian rebel group,” NBC reports. “There was a confrontation and a firefight ensued. Two of the captors were killed, while an unknown number of others escaped.”

Engel reported live from Turkey Tuesday morning to appear on NBC’s “Today” show.

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The complete Holiday Parade Photo-shoot 300+ photos, enjoy.This year’s parade featured 68 entries, three high school bands from Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs and Hemet, honored guests including Congressman Raul Ruiz, Assemblyman Manuel Perez and Supervisor John Benoit and special guest 2012 Olympian Sarah Robles and radio celebrity David Wilson of KNEWS as this year’s Parade Grand Marshall. All photos in high-resolutions by Max Liebermann for DHStoday and Desert Local News.

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Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative member of the National Rifle Association who has voted in support of many pro-gun laws, has emphasized the need to talk about new regulations on assault weapons.

After the mass shooting at an Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut left 26 dead, many have called for a serious discussion on gun control – including the notoriously pro-gun senator.  Manchin, a conservative Democrat representing West Virginia, became infamous after releasing during his election campaign a video ad showing him brandishing a rifle, promising to protect the Second Amendment and shooting a gun at a copy of the Cap and Trade bill. But after the Newtown tragedy the senator criticized the ease at which Americans can purchase assault weapons that can kill dozens of people in just a few minutes.

“I’m a proud outdoors-man and huntsman, like many Americans, and I like shooting, but this doesn’t make sense,” he said on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’. “I don’t know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle. I don’t know anybody that needs 30 rounds in a clip to go hunting. I mean, these are things that need to be talked about.”

Gun rights advocates have often avoided the conversation, claiming that a ban on assault weapons would lead to further gun control laws that could eventually repeal the Second Amendment. But Manchin said the Second Amendment should not protect the right to own weapons designed for combat.

Manchin was endorsed by the National Rifle Association for his recent reelection, and is an A-rated member of the NRA. The group considers itself “America’s foremost defender of Second Amendment rights”, but Manchin believes he can mobilize its members into a discussion on gun control.

“I want to call all our friends at the NRA and sit down,” he said. “They have to be at the table. This is a time for all of us to sit down and move in a responsible manner. I think they will.”

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The 19th annual Palm Springs Celebrity golf Classic was held on Dec. 6th thru the 9th. The celebrity Host for 2012 was Major General Howard J. “Mitch” Michell, USAF <Retired>. The Host golf course was Desert Dunes and the Host Hotel was the Saguaro in Palm Springs. There were over 30 film, sports and entertainment celebrities.

There was a reception party hosted by Crazy Mel’s Bar and Grill on Thursday night. Friday night was the Pairings Party and Saturday night was the big Gala. Golf was played at the Desert Dunes course on Saturday and Sunday. An Awards ceremony was held on Sunday after golf with a cocktail party at Desert Dunes clubhouse. Prizes were awarded to the first and second place teams, Longest drive, Closest to the pin and longest putt.

A special Guest Team was the Navy Seals. Founder Tony Aguilar said this event is 4 days of fun. Entertainment at the gala included singers Carol Connors and Jessie Davis . The event is a fund raiser for Palm Springs Youth Charities.