01/29/2015JAPAN - SYRIA - ISLAM Anxious hours in Tokyo, as Islamic State ultimatum expires Terrorists still hold a Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto Jogo, and a Jordanian pilot, Lt Muath al-Kaseasbeh. Negotiations are set to expire at sunset (Syrian time). Terrorists want the release of failed suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi. Helpless, Tokyo leaves negotiations in Jordanian hands. Tokyo
(AsiaNews) - The Japanese government announced that it would consult with
Jordan over the hostages held by the Islamic State (IS). The terrorist
group holds Japanese reporter Kenji Goto Jogo and Jordanian pilot Muath
al-Kaseasbeh. This comes as IS's third ultimatum expired.
In...
01/29/2015ASIA The mission to the nations is in Asia by Piero Gheddo Francis' apostolic journeys to Korea, Sri Lanka and the Philippines indicate that the missionary choice is still of huge relevance. The Church must support and develop this aspect, and bring Christ's "Good News" to those peoples who still consider it as an emanation of Western colonialism. In this, PIME has a task to play.
01/29/2015VATICAN Pope: God saves everyone personally, but "as a people", not "just me" and "my group" "There is a danger of forgetting that He saved us individually, but as part of a people. A people. Always the Lord saves us as part of a people”. We must not "privatize" salvation, "I have to ask myself whether I speak and communicate the faith; whether I speak and communicate hope; whether I speak, do and communicate charity”.
01/29/2015NORTH KOREA North Korea, "suspicious activities" near Yongbyon atomic reactor Satellite images reveal source of great heat in the vicinity of reactor. After five month stop, reactivation raises fears it may provide plutonium for the atomic bomb. "Six-Party Talks" on the disarmament of the peninsula stalled since 2008.
01/28/2015KOREA Korean religious leaders in Pyongyang to pray for peace North Korea allows the Korean Conference of Religions for Peace to organise a meeting in its capital to mark the 70th anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule. In Seoul, Iranian religious from Iran take part in a conference to counter misunderstandings about Islam.
01/28/2015VATICAN Pope: the absence of a father, an evil that affects the family and society "At first, it was perceived as a liberation: liberation from the father-master figure, from the father as a representative of the law that is imposed from the outside". "Sometimes it seems fathers no longer know what place they should occupy in the family and how to educate children. So, when in doubt, they abstain, they withdraw and neglect their responsibilities, perhaps taking refuge in an unlikely relationship 'on par' with their children". Even the civil community neglects or badly exercises its responsibility towards young people, leaving them "orphans of safe streets to play in, orphans of teachers to trust, orphans of ideals”.
01/28/2015CHINA Shanghai government calls for more children or the city will collapse By the end of the year, a third of all residents will be 60 and over. Forgetting 35 years of the country's violent one-child policy, an official with the Family Development Bureau blames women who choose a career over family for the problem. The existing hukou system of family registration, which penalises migrant workers, comes in for criticism.
01/28/2015JAPAN - SYRIA - ISLAM Tokyo, leaders of all religions pray for hostages held by Islamic State About 80 Muslim, Christian and Buddhist religious gathered outside the office of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to condemn the kidnapping of Kenji Goto Jogo and terrorism by Muslims. A new video shows the Christian reporter and announces: "Less than 24 hours to save him and Jordanian Lieutenant Muath al-Kaseasbeh". Japanese official: "We are incompetent, all we can do is ask for help in Amman."
01/27/2015VATICAN Pope: Lent, a time of personal and communal renewal to defeat the globalization of indifference Lenten Message of Francis. In the communion of saints, in this sharing in holy things, no one possesses anything alone, but shares everything with others. " those places where the Church is present, especially our parishes and our communities, may become islands of mercy in the midst of the sea of indifference". "Anyone who wishes to be merciful must have a strong and steadfast heart, closed to the tempter but open to God. A heart which lets itself be pierced by the Spirit so as to bring love along the roads that lead to our brothers and sisters".
01/27/2015VATICAN Pope: "It is not easy" to do God’s will, for this we must pray to recognize it and follow it Even for Jesus it wasn’t easy when he faced temptations in the wilderness or in the Gardens of Olives. It wasn’t easy either for his disciples, some of whom left him because they did not understand what “doing the Father’s will” meant. And neither is it easy for us, when each day we are faced with a tray of so many different options".
01/27/2015CHINA Zhejiang, Hong Kong journalist arrested for investigating cross demolition The woman, Jiang Yannan, was released after a long interrogation: she had been followed and those she interviewed harassed. The authorities have knocked down over 400 Christian crosses in a government campaign of "rectification". Chinese journalists increasingly targeted: still no news of Zhang Miao and Xin Jian.
01/27/2015TIBET - CHINA Beijing sends a new flood of Han migrants to Lhasa: Tibetans risk disappearing The central government pushes 280 thousand citizens to move in the Tibetan capital to "support the advancement of the region". The government in exile: "With this excuse, they are in fact marginalizing the natives from every sphere of influence". Since the launch of migration policies to date, non-Tibetans living in the region have increased tenfold.
01/26/2015INDIA - UNITED STATES Obama and Modi reach nuclear deal without giving details After years of deadlock, the two powers take an "important step" to implement an earlier 2005 US decision to provide India reactor components. The US leader shortens his visit to fly to Saudi Arabia. China cast its shadow over the meeting.
01/26/2015CHINA In China, one third of all online products is fake (or hazardous to human health) According to official statistics, up to 350 million Chinese have shopped online. A government-backed study indicates a high risk for consumers, state TV reported. Bootleg products include a mobile phone with a fake circuit board, toys without proper safety certification, and ordinary soil sold as fertiliser.
