Paolo Fossati

Observers point to the months of unrest in the former British colony as the main cause of the change. The new director Xia Baolong and his deputy are "president’s men". During his term as Secretary of the Zhejiang Party, Xia launched a campaign to destroy crosses and churches.

The sharp increase in cases has important political consequences: the party leader in the province is removed and replaced. At the national level, the infections reach 59,883 and the dead are 1,368. In the rest of the world, 490 people are infected and only one person has died.

British police publish provisional autopsy results. Prosecutors make two more arrests. The truck of the tragedy had entered the United Kingdom on board a ferry from Belgium. "Anyone who was aware of the trafficking has crucial information to help the investigation."

The police had accused them and 28 other people of conspiring to overthrow the government. For the Justice Department, there is no evidence to substantiate them. Meanwhile, two priests and nine other people are still going to trial. For the bishop of Bayombong, “we will never stop expressing our opinions on matters of faith, human rights, the protection of life.”

The rescue teams rescued 70 people. The fishing vessel the were onboard traveled with a boat of which there are no traces. The victims were fleeing the overcrowded camps of Cox’s Bazar. Border guard commander: "The Rohingya lured by traffickers". Since last year, authorities have stopped the departure of over 500 refugees.

The former archbishop is the new prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Before leaving for Rome, the cardinal greeted the faithful: "It was an honor and a blessing to have known you and to have collaborated with you".

President Joko Widodo agreed to the project. the Istiqlal mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, is undergoing renovation. Indonesia’s founder Sukarno wanted it to be front of the Church of the Assumption as a symbol of unity, religious harmony and tolerance.

The government is aiming for a dam that can produce 1,460 megawatts of electricity for export to Thailand and Vietnam. Construction is expected to begin in late 2020 or early 2021. Critics want data on its economic, environmental and social impact.

As a result of internal strife, 106,305 people have lived in IDP camps since 2011. Caritas is currently boosting its actions to prevent the spread of the virus to the facilities. For its national director, “the country’s Catholic community is ready to mobilise” in case of need.

A visibly distressed woman, Suzethe Margareth, entered the Al-Munawaroh mosque with a dog and without removing her shoes. She was convinced that her husband was getting married to another woman. The prosecution asked for eight months in prison. The court ruled that the defendant had committed an offence but could not be held responsible for it.

The Auxiliary Bishop of Manila releases a message on the global health emergency. “All through history,” he writes, “we have seen that plagues have been stopped not only through medical means but also through prayers and great acts of charity.”

The number of cases in China now stands at 24,363 with 491 deaths, 74 per cent in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei and epicentre of the epidemic. Here the infection-related death rate is 4.9 per cent against 2.1 per cent nation-wide. The Communist Party acknowledges “shortcomings and deficiencies" in responding to the outbreak.