Pope Francis, during his visit to Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, urged political leaders to combat religious extremism. He expressed concern about the distortion of religious beliefs through deception and violence, emphasizing the need for interfaith dialogue and mutual respect. The Pope’s visit, part of a 12-day tour of Southeast Asia, highlights the Catholic Church’s commitment to fostering peace and understanding in a region with a diverse religious landscape.
Australian police arrested seven teenagers as part of a wave of anti-terror raids on Wednesday following the non-fatal stabbing of an Assyrian bishop last week. The network may have been plotting an attack and posed an “unacceptable risk” to the public, according to top officers. The offenders, all juveniles aged from 15 to 17, were part of a “wider network of associates and peers” sharing a “similar violent extremist ideology,” police said. Although police believed an attack was possible, they had so far failed to turn up any evidence “of specific locations, times or targets.”
