South Asia

Card Malcolm Ranjith reiterated the right to protest peacefully, urging President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to follow his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and resign. Several cars and homes owned by politicians were set on fire. A curfew is in place across the country until 7am tomorrow.

Hindu nationalists target a community in a village in Dakshina Kannada district. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu's High Court will also discuss the issue of "forced conversions". Local Catholics protest: "Suicide of a young girl exploited for political ends."

Mahinda Rajapaksa, brother of President Gotabaya, resigned amid another horrific day for Sri Lanka. Violence reportedly broke out after his supporters attacked the headquarters of the protest movement. About 80 people have been wounded, with one death, an MP.

For the second time in a few weeks, the president uses an iron fist to stop protesters demanding the government’s resignation due to the country’s severe economic crisis. Yesterday, the mass strike brought the whole island nation to a standstill with more than a thousand trade union from all sectors joining in.

The Life Insurance Company recently made its initial public offering. A corporate giant that is as old as the modern Indian state, the company is worth more than US$ 500 billion but only 3 per cent of the Indian population has life insurance.

Solemnly inaugurated by Archbishop Joseph Arshad, the church is located in Rawalpindi district, home to many industries, near the archaeological site of ancient Sirkap. Before, “there was no church in Taxila,” said Fr Shamaun, the new parish priest. “It is a true miracle [. . .] after more than 25 years of battles”. The church will draw locals but also pilgrims.

Today's headlines: sandstorms in Iraq provoke a health emergency, one victim and 5,000 hospitalizations; the Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh receives the title of "friend of Buddhism"; Russia bombs Kiselevka destroying the historic Church of the Immaculate Conception; 53 official victims in the collapse of a squat in central China; in Israel the hunt for "terrorists" who killed three people yesterday, during Independence Day celebrations.

In 2021, Internet was shut or slowed down at least 182 times around the world, mostly in Asia. While the longest shutdown was reported in Pakistan, most were in India, particularly in Kashmir, followed by Myanmar. Governments sought to silence the opposition, but the economic loss was huge.

More than 400 delegates from every diocese met in Gujarat for the national conference of the Indian Catholic Youth Movement under the auspices of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India. Participants reiterated their commitment to social outreach on issues like the environment, the fight against poverty and addiction, and the prevention of communal tensions.

Three novices of the LHC Sisters professed their vows in St. Peter's Cathedral a few days ago. For the superior, the desire for consecrated life stems from daily relationships and detachment from the values of modernity and social networks. The return to the village of Sister Sumali Cecilia Tripura, welcomed with dances and flowers by the entire community.

Today's headlines: The ban on fertilizers and the Ukrainian war torpedo Sri Lanka tea exports; in Dandong hundreds of North Korean workers in China undergo mass testing for Covid-19; Manila, the Christian sect Iglesia ni Cristo supports the Marcos-Duterte candidacy; over the skies of Moscow in flight "Putin's plane" ahead of the May 9 parade; in Kazakhstan a law on cyber-bullying threatens to limit freedom of expression.

The incident occurred in Seoni, a district where the Gonds are the majority. According to a third man who survived the attack, ultranationalists incited the mob against them. Police have detained six people. Local tribal residents demand that the homes of the attackers be razed to the ground the way the Hindu nationalist dominated state government did with Muslims.