The local government has agreed to the demands of young people in Pune, Nagpur and Nashik who, following the deaths of three girls, had been calling for improvements to hostels and schools and the abolition of the age limit for accessing these services. This comes against a backdrop of discontent over scandals involving forged certificates used to gain access to reserved quotas.
The pontiff picked Archbishop Cyril Vasil’ in order to end the crisis that has unfolded in the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, which has so far refused to adopt the "uniform" rite in force since the summer of 2021. After 11 years as secretary of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, the prelate served as apostolic administrator of the Eparchy of Košice, Slovakia.
Today's news: After weeks of speculation, Xi Jinping changes the leadership of China’s rocket forces. Vietnamese police arrests ethnic Khmer advocates. Iranian authorities suspend the license of an online insurance broker over female employees failing to comply with headscarf rules. Russia imported large quantities of sanctioned military-use microchips. Some Central Asian countries seek dialogue with the Taliban despite the Pashtun question.
The main opposition bloc wants the prime minister to report on the violence tearing apart the north-eastern state. Following a fact-finding visit, opposition MPs found the “complete breakdown of law and order". In a statement, Card Oswald Gracias describes the conflict as tribal, not religious, urging the local Church to work for harmony.
Today's news: Lao police arrest Chinese human rights lawyer who defended Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates. Suicide bombing in Pakistan kills at least 44 people and wounds another 200. Seven satellites made in Singapore were successfully launched from India. In Herat the Taliban torch musical instruments that “cause the youth to go astray.” At the Russia-Africa summit, Putin rewards the Zimbabwean president for his "loyalty".
The court ruled that the evidence against human rights activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira is insufficient to justify their detention on terrorism charges. The ruling also confirms the arbitrariness of Fr Swamy’s arrest. The 84-year-old Jesuit tribal rights advocate, who died in 2021 from COVID-19 after almost nine months in prison, saw his requests for release rejected several times.
Today's news: Japan restarts a nuclear power plant built 48 years ago. Putin forgives African debt and promises more grain to African countries. Syrian child worker dies at 13 in Ankara. Indian nuns are hard-pressed to provide care to elderly and sick sisters. In Vietnam archaeologists discover the oldest traces of curry outside India.
In March, India’s BJP-led government floated a tender to get MyGov, a government platform for citizen political engagement, to work with influencer marketing companies. Yet, content promoters are sometimes not disclosed, with conflict of interest. Other political parties are also using Internet celebrities to reach out to voters, especially first timers.
In 2022 alone, over 140 extreme events were reported. In the last 50 years, disaster-related deaths topped two million, mostly from earthquakes and storms, against 1.42 million in the rest of the world. In a recently released report, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific cites last year’s floods in Pakistan, heatwaves in India and drought in Afghanistan to highlight how the region’s poorest countries and South Asia are also the most vulnerable.
The 43-day-old baby died following clashes between jail staff and refugees. The latter have been on a hunger strike for months, demanding to be released after two years in prison. The case emerged after activists posted two videos online. Even though the UN granted Rohingya refugee status, India continues to treat them as illegal migrants.
As Chinese influence grows in the country, the link would give India access to the key ports of Trincomalee and Colombo. It remains an ambitious project and not without technical problems and socio-economic risks, but the step forward took place at a significant moment in a political key: the first official visit to New Delhi by the president of Sri Lanka.
Archbishop Andrews Thazhath visited the areas that have been the scene of sectarian clashes since the beginning of May. Caritas has pledged to donate aid for the reconstruction of churches and schools (razed to the ground by the violence) and for the displaced, around 60,000. According to commentators, the situation was favored by state policies against minorities. Seven men have been arrested so far for the rapes and harassment of women shown in a video circulated in recent days.
In Modi's electoral fiefdom, the buildings of the Sarva Seva Sangh were demolished, an informal school that gathered over 100 children closed, a study centre destroyed and a library with thousands of Mahatma's books left to rot in the rain. The name of the tycoon Adani circulates among the people as the sponsor of the operation. Fr Mathew (Indian Missionary Society): "An unprecedented cruel act on an area given in concession in 1960. They must tell the truth about what they want to build."
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