The upcoming annual Balikatan military exercise will include an area in the South China Sea that is claimed by China, as well as an area not far from Taiwan. The Philippines wants peace and development in the Indo-Pacific despite tensions fuelled by Beijing.

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.

According to the UN health agency, about 3,500 people die of viral hepatitis every day. The highest number is in China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Despite improvements in diagnostic testing, huge disparities still exist in access to drugs.

Bishop Indrias Rehmat chose Fr Abid Tanvir, former diocese vicar general, as parish priest. Two catechists were also appointed to work with him. Admired and visited by Muslims, the church named after Saint Anthony was inaugurated last year. The bishop urged the faithful “to make this beautiful church stronger in spirituality.”

At least 12 people are under investigation, six of whom are currently in jail. At the centre of the investigation is a cell based in Başakşehir and responsible for the attack on the Franciscan parish at the end of January. Other operations targeting the parliament, military barracks and police stations are under investigation. 

For the thirteenth year in a row, Japan has experienced a population decline. The childcare subsidies launched by the government almost a year ago do not seem to be enough. Demographer Minagawa: 'Conflict in work and family management and the pressure on motherhood in society also weigh heavily. Secularisation is also a factor: according to research by the Pew Research Center, Japanese people who pray are more likely to have children.