SRM University in Chennai fired Lora Santhakumar for posting comments on her WhatsApp status critical of Operation Sindoor. First suspended on 8 May, she was fired a few days ago. Over this period, she was the target of online attacks and death threats from far-right groups.
Despite being an increasingly popular destination, the number of families living there permanently has fallen from 2,000 to 250. It takes three hours to reach the mainland on boats that transport fish. There is a lack of healthcare facilities, electricity and clean water. The difficult coexistence with tourist activities, which are fundamental to the economy but disrupt the life of the fishing community.
AsiaNews met the prelate in Awali, at the headquarters of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, during a reportage in the Gulf countries. There are many challenges for a Church that is ‘growing’, from the catacombs in Saudi Arabia to the repercussions of the war between Israel and Hamas in the region. The solidarity of the population, close to the suffering of the inhabitants of the Strip.
Today's headlines: Death toll rises to 10 in renewed clashes on the border between Thailand and Cambodia; 7.5 magnitude earthquake in the Hokkaido region of Japan: at least 34 dead; A 15-year-old girl from Myanmar is the first foreigner to lose her residence permit in Singapore for using etomidate in her e-cigarette; On the first anniversary of Assad's fall, President al Sharaa returns to promise a Syria without violence.
From standardised textbooks prepared directly by the ministry to uniforms, education in Georgia is returning to the practices of the former Soviet Union. Even the age of enrolment in the first year has been raised to 6, reducing the number of classes in the entire school cycle to 11. The promise: ‘In all schools there will be a single approach, a single standard, a single level of quality.’
Leo XIV recites the Angelus from the Apostolic Palace. ‘Let us express our joy, for the immaculate beauty of the Mother of God.’ Mary's “yes” is “wonderful” and can be emulated ‘in prayer and in concrete works, from the most extraordinary gestures to daily services.’
