Despite a ban under Islamic law and doctrine, amulets and exorcism performed by mullahs or shaman are widespread in Tajikistan. According to a well-known legend, 40 inseparable spirits rule the world, believed to be able to ward off all human misfortunes.
Today's news: Cambodia seeks UN conciliation process on its maritime borders with Thailand. In Los Angeles, vandals damage a museum dedicated to the horrors of the Tiananmen massacre. Philippine Senator Estrada was arrested in a billion-dollar corruption scandal. The founder of an online protest movement in India that mocks the ruling party has called for mass action. In Iran, prison authorities continue to deny medical care to a jailed Iranian Christian convert.
Leo XIV met in the Vatican with the heads of mission societies from more than a hundred countries, brought together by the Dicastery for Evangelisation for their assembly in the year of the centenary of World Mission Day. “In a world increasingly marked by division, war and conflict among nations and peoples,” let us proclaim “the Prince of Peace and the incarnate revelation of Divine Love for humanity,” Leo said.
Many projects are in the southeast of the country, an area home to sizable religious minorities. This is the case of the G25 Solar Power Plant near the Chaldean village of Aynwardo. For the Turkish government, the project is of "public interest" and must be backed. Christian MP George Aryo has already raised the issue (in vain) in parliament.
Over the past five months, Nepal has reported new outbreaks in nine districts, at least 300 cases since the outbreak began. The government has launched a vaccination campaign with 200,000 doses, but shortages, past natural disasters, and the difficulty of reaching rural communities are weighing heavily.
The case of Pallegama Hemarathana Thero, 71, one of the most influential Buddhist monks, has shaken the country. Arrested on 9 May and later released, he was suspended from all his functions until the end of legal proceedings. Protests have taken place in several districts with participants demanding equal law for all, a thorough investigation, and protection for the victim. Sri Lanka’s child protection authority has reported that some 300 monks have been accused of abuse over the past three years.
