Harish Rana, 32, has been in a vegetative state for more than 10 years after falling from a building. The court ruling follows his parents' request to end essential life-sustaining treatment. For Archbishop Thakur, the word euthanasia is not used, but the ruling opens the door to the “right to die”.
According to the latest report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, international arms transfers increased by 9.2 per cent between 2021 and 2025. Excluding the war in Ukraine, Asia remains the main source of global demand, driven by the rivalry between India and Pakistan and tensions with China. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait are in the top.
During today’s general audience in St Peter's Square before some 15,000 faithful, Leo XIV remembered the Maronite priest killed in an Israeli attack. He “was a true shepherd,” said the pope, who called on everyone to pray for peace in Iran and the Middle East, and for all the civilian victims, especially the children. In his catechesis on Lumen Gentium, he stressed that, “the Church is one but includes everyone.”
The unusual ‘exchange’ between the prelates of the two episcopal sees is linked to certain accusations (which proved unfounded) that in the summer of 2024 led to the appointment of an apostolic administrator in the Archdiocese of Punjab. The faithful hope that this decision will help to revive the life of the local Church, encouraging everyone to participate.
Regulations dating back to the 1950s in Sri Lanka prevent the importation of high-quality seeds and more resistant and productive varieties available in Southeast Asia. The restrictions were introduced to prevent plant diseases from Latin America. Now they force farmers to use low-yield seeds, with more fertilisers and pesticides.
In the north-western region of Pskov, the governor is sanctifying the “special military operation” with two icons commissioned for a historic cathedral, depicting two local soldiers who died in Ukraine at the feet of great Orthodox patrons. The iconographers justify themselves by saying that by not depicting them as saints, “the dogmatic canons are respected”. Former patriarchate spokesman Chapnin: “They look like images from Stalin's metro”.
