Dario Salvi

In the detention centres housing jihadists' families in north-east Syria, stories of exploitation of the very young boys, little more than children, emerge. The mission is to provide new recruits for the 'caliphate'. For critics, this is a pretext used by the Kurdish authorities to separate children from their mothers. But there are testimonies that confirm a 'hidden phenomenon'.

Today's headlines: hackers linked to North Korea stole 720 million in cryptocurrency from Japan; Cambodia's electoral commission has excluded the only opposition party; Foxconn invests half a billion dollars in Telangana; After years of legal battles villagers in Aceh reach an agreement with oil giant ExxonMobil; Putin ordered the transfer of Rublev's Trinity to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu will face off in a second round on 28 May. Despite losses, the ruling coalition holds on to a parliamentary majority. The president hangs onto power thanks to self-interest and clientelism. Up to a million voters may have been unable to vote in areas hit in last February’s earthquake.

Today's headlines: elections in Turkey, the challenge between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu on the ballot; In Thailand clear assertion of opposition movements; Record CO2 emissions from China in the first quarter of 2023; Manila placed buoys in the EEZ around the Spratlys; First polio case of the year in Afghanistan;. In Russia there is psychosis over possible drone attacks.

At Regina Caeli, the pontiff condemned violence in the Holy Land with "innocent victims, including women and children." The remembrance of Mother's Day and the invocation to Our Lady that she may alleviate the suffering of "the martyred Ukraine and all nations at war." Yesterday the pope's meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky. The Holy Spirit, Paraclete, "Comforter and Advocate."

Accused of "subversion" for promoting a website critical of the Beijing leadership. On the World Forum for Constitutional Democracy, the dissident published articles considered "inflammatory". His sister spoke of a "shameful" sentence because it hit those fighting against "injustice".

A year ago, the Palestinian-American Christian journalist was killed by an Israeli soldier in a raid in Jenin. Despite a climate of impunity, her family's struggle for justice and truth goes on. “We have decided to keep her memory alive,” her brother Anton told AsiaNews. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill an Islamic Jihad leader, and several civilians, including three children.

The aim is to complete the programme and make it operational by 2030 thanks to high-resolution images. An 'ambitious and significant' plan to study distant celestial bodies in space. The economic and military challenge with the United States. Zhurong's Mars mission and the launch of the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou 6.

A report by Lookout Threat Lab researchers shows the extensive use of spyware to monitor dialogues, movements and activities. A repression that has intensified with the protests over the killing of Mahsa Amini. Hundreds of people were targeted, but the numbers are underestimated. On 8 May, two men were executed in Arak prison.

On 14 May, the country will go to the polls for parliamentary and presidential elections (with a possible runoff on the 28th) for a round characterised by great uncertainty. Voting abroad began at the end of April and closes today. Great uncertainty among expatriates, fights at the polling stations in France between pro-government and opposition groups. The electorate on its first vote, tired of the sultan's promises.

Over the weekend, the UAE signed agreements with Chinese nuclear companies, boosting partnerships after the South Koreans built a plant in Barakah. Last week, Turkey’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant was inaugurated at a ceremony that saw the participation of Erdogan and Putin via videolink. Saudi Arabia’s nuclear ambitions rival those of its regional allies.

This is the finding of the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom in the World Report 2023. Experts speak of "systematic and egregious violations," in line with the crackdown on demonstrations for rights and freedoms after the death of Mahsa Amini. The Islamic Republic is a "nation of particular concern."