Ten trade unions call national strike to complain about high prices and unemployment. Shops, hospitals, banks and schools are closed, transport is blocked, and some buses have been attacked. A 57-year-old woman died in Karnataka. The labour action will be decisive for next May’s general elections.
Clerics slam indiscriminate use of Islamic edicts by radical ulema. The faithful of every religion or sect have the constitutional right to live in Pakistan. Nobody must be killed on the pretext of religion. Relations with Saudi Arabia should be placed under a magnifying glass.
The police arrested 750 people involved in recent clashes. Aswathy Rekha teaches yoga at the Ekalavya Ashram in Trivandrum. Over 100,000 devotees visit the Sabarimala temple every day. Changes in religion happen by evolution, not revolution.
Some 15 miners have been missing since 13 December. There is no information on their fate. India mines 95 minerals in over 1,500 official mines. No one knows how many illegal mines there are. Even children work underground.
Nationalists have called for a general strike across the state. Yesterday two women in their forties entered the Sabarimala temple. A protester died in clashes. For Catholic priest, “if a tradition is obsolete, people must be educated to accept change,” however “neither the government nor the courts have the authority to do that.”
The "wall" is 620 kilometers long. For the first time in the history of India, two women manage to enter the sancta sanctorum. Last September the Supreme Court eliminated the ban that prohibited access to the temple of Sabarimala to women of childbearing age. Solidarity from millions of women and men across the country.
Tomorrow Bangladeshis will pick 299 Members of Parliament. The ruling Awami League is favoured to win. The opposition coalition, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been weakened by arrests and killings. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seeks re-election to continue her government’s programme. Internet has been curtailed or slowed down in various cities.
The apostolic administrator, Mgr Jerzy Maculewicz, highlighted the events that marked the life of the Catholic community in 2018, as well as the challenges and hopes for the future. At Christmas Muslims also came to Mass to receive the blessing.
The Orthodox Cathedral of St. Thomas has collected 125 thousand euros, canceling "superfluous" events. Most faithful come from the Indian state. The church often launches charitable initiatives to support the weakest.
The law provides up to three years imprisonment for offenders. India is one of the few countries in the world where Islamic marriages are still in force. Muslim women complain of serious forms of discrimination.
Mongolia’s Catholic community got ready to relive "the great mystery of Incarnation" through a moment of retreat and reconciliation. Consumerism and untrained relationship to money are new dangers.
The Vimala Dermatological Centre in the Versova is home to 60 patients. A student dorm of some 83 students is associated with the centre. The nuns help leprosy patients "forgotten by everyone”.
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