After President-elect Prabowo's visit to Beijing, China’s foreign minister travelled to Jakarta to discuss Chinese involvement in the infrastructure of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara, a project that follows the building of a high-speed train between Jakarta and Bandung.
A spokesperson for Papuan nationalist group, Sebby Sambom, claimed responsibility for the death of Second Lieutenant Oktovianus Sogorlay, who was ambushed along with a local village chief in Painai district. The killings follow a change by the Indonesian military towards pro-independence groups.
Under pressure from local businessmen, Parliament wants to relax stringent regulations on the protection of the sea and working conditions on fishing vessels, which are often linked to human trafficking. The current law had been passed in 2015 under pressure from the European Union, which threatened a ban on local fish products. But now, with industrial production in crisis, Thailand hopes to catch up by 'liberalising' the sector.
Archbishop Gallagher’s meetings in Hanoi brought to the fore the unique relationship between Vietnam’s Catholicism and the country’s rulers, a topic revisited a few weeks ago in Paris in an interesting conference by Prof Claire Tran at the headquarters of the MÉP. It all started with the “instructions” given by Pope Alexander VII in 1659 to the first apostolic vicar Pierre Lambert de la Motte.
The Holy See has officially announced the long journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. Card Goh of Singapore hopes the pope will bring to his predominantly Chinese city, “renewed fervour to all Catholics [. . .], especially in these most challenging of times”. It will also be the first time a pontiff visits Dili since independence. For Card Carmo da Silva, the Holy Father comes to “strengthen Timor-Leste’s Church in the faith and love of Christ.”
Two unidentified men stormed the church at 6 am and fired at least five shots, local sources report. Fr Paul Khwi Shane Aung, 40, was admitted to hospital in Moe Nyin, Kachin State, where he underwent emergency surgery.
