Activists call this a "long-awaited step" that ends a process that began three years ago. The goal was to ensure that non-Muslim children could also study their own religious tradition in school. However, issues related to the practical application of the policy remain. Teacher recruitment, training, and budget allocations are among the "significant challenges”.
The decision came after days of unrest, which sometimes resulted in violence, in the industrial areas of Noida, home to Samsung factories. The measure comes in response to workers' demands, who complain about precarious working conditions and poor wages, but is also part of the broader process of implementing labour reforms.
A distinguished scholar of philosophy and a mentor to religious and lay leaders, he died in the Netherlands at the age of 87, having spent over 50 years serving the Church in Indonesia. Among his legacies is a foundation that cares for orphans in Jayapura.
From Beirut, Oumayma Farah describes a country at risk of being overwhelmed by the conflict. The displacement crisis is a priority, with only a small fraction of people being accommodated in shelters. Schools are being used as makeshift shelters, putting the education of thousands of students at risk. The Order’s mission: “To serve all without distinction of race, colour or religion, but focusing on needs and suffering”.
Today’s headlines: North Korea has conducted further missile tests; In Pakistan, diplomatic talks between the US and Iran are continuing despite the country’s instability; In Thailand, the Songkran celebrations have been marred by hundreds of road accidents; Philippine President Marcos jumps up and down to prove he is in good health.
The Russian republic of Tatarstan in the Urals is historically a region with strong autonomist tendencies, boasting its own highly active lobby group in Moscow. Although it must now contend with Putin’s centralism and has had to make some concessions on the language issue, it has nevertheless retained significant economic advantages which it has no intention of relinquishing.
