Dario Salvi

November 2019 protesters of fuel hikes among pardoned. Analysts define the release of such a large number of detainees for crimes against the state "very rare". The new Silk Road unites Tehran and Beijing in an anti-American key.

Over a thousand faithful attended the procession to the Mount of Olives with the Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa. A sign of "the need to return to normality, meetings, real life". The future of pilgrimages "with a gradual recovery" and of the school "with online lessons that works up to a certain point". The Pope's “courageous” trip to Iraq. For an involvement of the Jewish world "that takes time".

The container ship is again a float thanks to a high tide and the excavation of the embankments in recent days. The goal is to open a space in the canal to facilitate the transit of other vehicles. At least 400 ships have been blocked in recent days. During the operations, dozens of tugs and dredgers were mobilized to vacuum the sand.

Two former police chiefs and two other former senior officials of the Interior Ministry sentenced. The Armenian community says the sentence fails to do justice to the victim. RSF: "Partial justice" 14 years after his death. Friends of Hrant Dink Group: the mechanisms and connections that led to the assassination are still unknown.

The cardinal invited the interim premier to re-launch institutional dialogue. The request for a new team of ministers and for consultations between the parties in a spirit of "unity and sincerity". But the rift between Hariri and President Aoun remains. The Feast of the Annunciation is an opportunity to strengthen the dialogue between Christians and Muslims.

The mammoth ship is 400 meters long, 60 meters wide and holds up to 20,000 containers. On 23 March the MV Ever Given ran aground south of the strait and it could take "weeks" to remove it. 12% of world trade circulates in the area and the circumnavigation of Africa takes 12 days and 2,500 miles longer than the traditional route.

The Apostolic Journey constitutes a legacy of exchanges and experiences that can bring the country back “to the international arena”. Card Sako suggests ways to revive tourism, dialogue, unity and interfaith dialogue. Tourism can play a role in the economic recovery while highlighting the country’s Christian, Muslim, Yazidi, Sabaean and Jewish heritage.

More than 75 per cent of recyclable plastics in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines are discarded. For the World Bank, this is a “significant untapped business opportunity”. Waste pollutes waterways and seas. Every year up to 13 million tonnes of waste end up in oceans, Asia is responsible for more than 80 per cent.

Riot police units forcibly interrupted demonstrations in Amman and other cities across the country. Citizens and organized groups took to the streets for the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring. Demands include an end to emergency laws introduced to combat the new coronavirus pandemic.

After Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy, Washington and Tehran struggle to reconnect. The economy lost almost 5 percentage points in 2020. Billions of oil dollars are stuck in Chinese, Iraqi and South Korean banks. Unemployment is at 12.4 per cent while the fiscal deficit is rising.

Likud is expected to win 31 seats but fails to gain the quota of 61, required for a Knesset majority. Abstention weighs heavily at 67.2%, down 5% compared to last March. Yair Lapid, with the centrist party Yesh Atid, is expected to win between 16 and 18 seats.

The Saudis are calling for a ceasefire under the auspices of the United Nations. The (partial) reopening of air and sea connections is also expected, together with the start of political negotiations. For the pro-Iranian militias, the proposal is "insufficient": first they demand an "end to the aggression" and the "complete removal of the blockade".