Barcelona's Sagrada Família Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Família basilica has agreed to pay €36 million in back payments after going without a building permit for more than 130 years.
The church, designed by architect Antoni Gaudí, has been under construction since 1882, but without any official permit.
Until now, the building has only been marked on property registries as an empty plot belonging to the Archdiocese of Barcelona.
Barcelona mayor Ana Colau has been negotiating with the construction board to regulate the building since 2015.
South Africa Catholic youth give up phones
- Members of South Africa’s Young Christian Students (YCS) movement attending a workshop gave up using their mobile phones for three days to show solidarity with the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Wars in the DRC are fought to control mineral-rich areas, which include natural resources such as coltan and cobalt, used to make phones.
At the workshop, held at Christ the King church in Orlando East, Soweto, YCS organiser Fr Mokesh Morar recommended the film Mercy Congo by Paul Freedman on the DRC wars, and asked students to raise awareness among their peers.
Malaysia stops child marriage
- Child marriage, a recurring phenomenon in Malaysia that permits parents to marry their children with the consent of authorities, is no longer to be allowed under any circumstances, the government has ruled.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad [pictured] has issued a directive to all state authorities that the legal minimum marriage age is now set at 18 for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
It comes after a national outcry following the exposure of a marriage between a 41-year-old Malaysian Muslim man and an 11-year-old Thai girl in June.
Until now, the minimum legal marriage age for Muslims was 18 for men and 16 for women. For non-Muslims, it was 18 for both men and women.
Vietnam frees then exiles Catholic blogger
- Vietnam has freed a well-known Catholic blogger and rights activist jailed two years ago for posting anti-government material on social media, and then immediately forced her into exile in the US.
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known as ‘Mother Mushroom’, was driven from Prison Camp No.5 in Vietnam’s northern province of Thanh Hoa to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers said.
“Security officers only allowed Quynh to speak to officials from the US embassy in Hanoi at the airport for five minutes before putting her on a flight at noon,” the network said in a statement.
Nepal bans online pornography
- Nepal has introduced a ban on pornography as part of a government initiative to stem the country’s high rate of sexual assault.
By halfway through October, internet providers in Nepal had already blocked more than 25,000 pornographic websites. Unlike the country’s attempt to ban X-rated material in 2010, this ban will instil fines and prison sentences for violators.
Internet providers who do not comply with pornography ban could be fined up to €3,650 or lose their licenses. Under the ban, pornography cannot be broadcasted or publicised; violators could face one year in prison.
Nepal has 115 internet service providers, all of which have reportedly been contacted about law enforcement.