Members of Christian and Hindu communities clashed and indulged in vandalising public property in Batala on Saturday over publication of a picture of Jesus Christ in an allegedly objectionable manner, prompting authorities to clamp an indefinite curfew.

The communal-violence between Muslims and Christians escalated today in the Nigerian town of Jos as rioters set houses on fire and burned vehicles, forcing authorities to impose a 24-hour curfew in the region where at least 60 people have been killed.

The death toll from a clash between security forces and members of an Islamic sect in northern Nigeria has climbed to 40, even as the region limped back to normalcy.

Muslims and Christians clashed in southern Egypt on Saturday following an earlier murder of a Christian villager by attackers accusing his son of having an affair with a Muslim, according to witnesses.

The situation was slowly returning to normal after an all party meeting held in Mumbai on Tuesday at which a peace formula was worked out, official sources said.

When the matter came up for hearing in the court of Justice H N Devani she said, "not before me" and declined to hear the matter due to some personal reasons.

The bandh call given by a Hindu outfit to protest the attack on a BJP youth wing leader evoked a mixed response in Mysore on Saturday, even as tension continued in some areas in the wake of clashes sparked by the alleged desecration of a madrasa.

Conversion and re-conversion were among the major factors which led to the riots in Orissa's Kandhamal district last year, a judicial commission probing the violence has said.

Rapid Action Force on Friday staged a flag march in violence-hit areas here as three more persons were stabbed Thursday night in continuing communal clashes over alleged desecration of a madrasa.

Three persons, including a child, were killed and several injured on Thursday when a communal clash broke out over alleged desecration of a madrasa in Mysore.

The Home Minister, who is on a two-day visit to Orissa, met the victims living in relief camps set up after a series of communal clashes following the killing of 85-year-old VHP leader Swami Laxmananda Saraswati in August last year.

The hilly Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency, which was unheard of during previous elections, has come to the fore this time in the backdrop of the anti-Christian riots that hit the headlines even abroad.

A magisterial probe has been ordered into the communal violence that rocked the city on Holi leaving two people dead, even as police has registered cases against 500 unknown people for indulging in rioting.

Prohibitory orders were Thursday imposed in the city where tension prevailed in the wake of the clash between people of two communities and subsequent police firing that left two dead.

One person was killed in firing and nearly 17 others, including six policemen, were injured on Tuesday as members of two communities clashed in Mahidpur town where the authorities clamped indefinite curfew.

A 40-year-old Christian man has been found murdered in Orissa's Kandhamal district, police said on Saturday. At least 38 people, mostly Christians, were killed in the district in communal riots last year.

India faces a "real risk" of riots like the one Gujarat witnessed in 2002 unless political exploitation of communal distinction is effectively prevented, UN Special Rapporteur on religious freedom Asma Jahangir has warned.

The recent flareup in Kandhamal district was fuelled by caste certificates obtained fraudulently and the Orissa government was investigating allegations that mostly non-tribal Christians had availed of them, official sources claimed on Tuesday.

Orissa government said on Saturday that the situation in Kandhamal district would be reviewed before withdrawing central paramilitary forces from the riot-hit district.

With the Christian community in Orissa apprehending violence during Christmas, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday and assured him necessary assistance for protecting lives and property of the people.

With Christians in riot-hit Kandhamal afraid to perform midnight mass in churches located in remote areas on Christmas eve, Orissa government on Tuesday promised adequate security to ensure a peaceful festival this time, official sources said.

Orissa has earned the dubious distinction of having the highest number of cases of communal violence this year, recording a 12-time jump in such incidents compared to 2007, while Jammu and Kashmir earned laurels for not having a single such incident.

The bail prayer of four persons, including a hardcore Maoist, arrested for the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati, was on Monday rejected by a Kandhamal court which sent them to judicial custody for 14 days.

Seventy-five people, including six policemen, were killed in separate tribal clashes in south Darfur on Friday, security officials and tribal sources said.

Political analysts said the opposition is expected to make several attempts to highlight the government's failure during the winter session, which concludes on December 31, since the general and assembly polls are likely to be held early next year.