He replaces Cui Maohu, who was recently removed after being placed under investigation for alleged corruption. Chen has also served as deputy director of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party. Born in Shandong, he has government experience in Wuhan and Qinghai province.
Today is World Day for the fight against a disease that still causes 100 deaths a day in Bangladesh. The testimony of a Missionary of the Immaculate, a doctor, active for 12 years in Khulna on this frontier: "Many still do not know TB and arrive when they are already serious. By treating them I am a sign of Jesus' love for all".
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I supports the creation of a new ecclesiastical jurisdiction on Lithuanian soil. It will give autonomy to the Lithuanian Orthodox who no longer want to depend on the Moscow Patriarchate. Analogy with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church founded in 2018. A response to Patriarch Kirill's support for the Putin war against Ukraine.
The German broadcaster Deutsche Welle shut down its Turkey office after losing its operating licence, primarily because of the close race ahead of the 14 May elections. Government pressure has intensified after the 6 February earthquake. Turkey ranks 149th out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom. In the 2018 elections, Erdogan got 181 hours of coverage on state television; his main rival, 16.
Francis urged the delegates of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) to pursue this goal. The latter elected an Italian, Bishop Mariano Crociata, as its new president. It is possible to have “unity in diversity,” the pope said, “if there is strong inspiration: otherwise, apparatus prevails, the technocratic paradigm prevails, but it is not fruitful because it does not enthuse people”.
The four civilians, who had lit a fire to celebrate Nowruz, were shot at by a splinter group supported by Ankara. The incident has increased tensions between factions, in an area long disputed by Kurds, anti-Assad groups, and pro-Turkish militias. For Human Rights Watch, the area has seen “over five years of unaddressed human rights abuses”.
