The Nowgam barracks in Srinagar has been devastated. According to the authorities, it was an accident. But the incident comes amid an already tense climate following the attacks on the Red Fort in Delhi and Islamabad. And recent operations against militant cells in Jammu and Kashmir.
While President Marcos himself is implicated in corruption allegations by a former deputy, the country's bishops warn against solutions that would destabilise the country. Cardinal David: “The Filipino people deserve truth, not rumours; responsibility, not manipulation”. Bishop Villegas: “Peace is the fruit of justice and dialogue, not unbridled ambition or force”.
Today's headlines: UN Security Council to vote on Trump's plan for Gaza on Monday; Indonesia prepares 20,000 soldiers for health and reconstruction tasks; The state of Karnataka is the first in India to offer paid menstrual leave; Trump says Thailand and Cambodia “will be fine” after new border tensions; Pakistan's Supreme Court denounces attack on the Constitution after amendment limiting its powers.
Believing in Russia does not automatically mean believing in God and religious dogmas, belonging to the Orthodox Church does not necessarily mean attending liturgical celebrations, and supporting “traditional values” does not automatically translate into accepting the dictates of the catechism.
In prison for a year along with a local shop owner, the former "official" head of a diocese in Zhejiang province has denied corruption charges, maintaining that he acted as a priest. Pressure has ben put on Catholics who wanted to be in court to support him. Some argue that his real 'fault' lies in a pilgrimage to Rome or the failure to support the nomination of a bishop imposed by the Communist Party.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance won a landslide victory in the Bihar elections, largely outperforming the opposition Mahagathbandhan bloc. The Modi government’s cash transfer programmes for women and youth played a decisive role. Voter turnout among women exceeded that of men for the first time.
