INDIA
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a Christian celebration on Christmas Day, visiting the Cathedral of the Redeemer of the Church of Northern India in Delhi. The visit came amid a wave of violent acts by Hindu nationalists against Christmas celebrations, prompting the Indian Bishops' Conference to issue a strong statement of condemnation. And yesterday, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, highlighted the worrying contradiction between public gestures and the reality of the situation. ‘On the one hand,’ he told India Today, ‘we see Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving Church leaders and exchanging Christmas greetings. On the other hand, we hear reports of attacks against Christians engaged in Christmas celebrations. It is a discouraging situation. Despite the issues raised with those in power, when it comes to putting them into practice, they fail.’
PALESTINE-ISRAEL
A video that went viral on Christmas Day shows an Israeli settler with a rifle on his shoulder deliberately running over a Palestinian kneeling in prayer on the side of the road with a quad bike. The incident took place near the village of Deir Jarir, north of Ramallah, in the West Bank. This is yet another episode of violence by settlers against Palestinians living in the area. The Israeli army has confirmed that the man shown in the video is a reserve soldier who has been suspended from service. Initial investigations have revealed that he had also previously opened fire inside the village while wearing civilian clothes.
MALAYSIA
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been found guilty of abuse of power by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur in the lengthy trial relating to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad case. Najib, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was charged with four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving 2.2 billion ringgit ($544.6 million) allegedly embezzled from the state investment fund. The alleged offences were committed between 2011 and 2014.
TAIWAN
Taiwan's parliament has passed a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), arguing that he has undermined Taiwan's constitutional order and democracy. Members of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party and the smaller opposition Taiwan People's Party (TPP), which hold a numerical majority, won 60 votes to 51. Under the approved motion, a roll-call vote will be held in Parliament on 19 May, after various hearings have been held and Lai has had the opportunity to explain his position. The move came after Lai failed to enact a Parliament-approved amendment on 15 December that would have given local governments a larger share of public revenue.
SOUTH KOREA-NORTH KOREA
The Seoul government's Unification Ministry has said it will take administrative measures to allow the public easy access to Rodong Sinmun, the main newspaper of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party. In South Korea, public access to North Korean media and publications, including Rodong Sinmun, is still prohibited as they are classified as “special materials” due to fears that they contain content that praises and promotes North Korea.
RUSSIA-INDIA
The first group of migrant workers from India, 17 people aged between 19 and 43, has arrived in St Petersburg to work as refuse collectors in the Primorje suburb, wearing uniforms bearing the symbols of India and Russia and earning a monthly salary of 100,000 roubles (€1,000) from the Kolomjažskij company, which paid for their documents and tickets in agreement with the municipality, an experiment that could lead to many Indians working in Russia.
TAJIKISTAN-JAPAN
At the recent “Central Asia-Japan” summit in Tokyo, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon met with the president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Akihiko Tanaka, confirming joint projects for the expansion of transport networks and the development of the green economy as strategic areas of cooperation, agreeing on $8.6 million in funding to support these initiatives.
