Due to the economic crisis, some of these establishments have become temporary shelters for the homeless and gig workers. In a small town in Guizhou, the owner has turned his café into a trendy place with live online broadcasts during which he raises funds to make up for the shortcomings of social services.
Today's news: in Gaza, a hospital again under attack; In Vietnam first hearing of maxi-trial for "gun attack" in Central Highlands; Indian migrant workers going to Israel will not be entitled to Delhi's social protections; Fourth spill of treated water from Fukushima in February; Istanbul, a fee for foreign visitors to enter Hagia Sophia.
Amid a crackdown against underground religious movements, Kan Xiaoyong, a former businessman who started his own Evangelical movement outside the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement, was given a harsh sentence. The Supreme People's Court openly tells lower courts to “adhere to the Party's position” and accept that “The judicial organ is first and foremost a political organ”.
Today's news: Two of the three hostages featured in the Hamas video dead; North Korean hackers share clandestine money laundering networks with fraudsters and traffickers in Southeast Asia; An Iranian court handed down an additional 15-month sentence to Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi; Tajikistan and Uzbekistan 'do not recognise' the outcome of the vote in Taiwan.
William Lai's victory, the electorate's clear stance for maintaining the "status quo," Beijing's increasingly insistent threats in Oceania today cashing in on Nauru's "rupture" of diplomatic relations with Taipei. Fears of escalating tensions with a leader willing to do anything for "reunification."
Today's news: Maldives calls for withdrawal of Indian troops from archipelago; New Pyongyang missile experiment, launches hypersonic solid-fuel medium range missile; First public appearance by Vietnamese Communist Party chief after days of health speculation; Work to restore the Baghdad-Kirkuk railway, closed for 20 years.
Outgoing vice-president William Lai is credited with over 40% of the vote. This is a clear advantage over the 33.4% and 26.5% of rivals Hou Yu-ih and Ko Wen-je (and 65% of the ballots counted). Weighing on the vote, however, is the unknown of the results in parliament, where there is more balance and the TPP votes will be decisive. High turnout at over 70%,
Some 19.5 million voters are called to choose Tsai Ing-wen’s successor in a three-way race that will also test relations between the island, Washington, and Beijing. The first results will be available already tomorrow evening. The race is much more uncertain than four years ago, when the Democratic Progressive Party achieved a clear victory. Voters will also cast their ballots for Taiwan’s parliament, the Legislative Yuan.
A spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed reports that ethnic militias and the Myanmar army agreed to a truce in the north of the country. Singapore fined an arms dealer trying to take more than US$ 20,000 out of the country earned from brokering sales to Myanmar’s military. Singapore remains cautious about taking more action.
In 1999, Beijing reinterpreted Hong Kong’s Basic Law to deny children born in mainland China to Hong Kong parents the right to reunite with their families. Since then, the PIME missionary has been fighting to resolve an issue that touches 60,000 people. The denial goes against what the Chinese government itself has said.
According to the ethnic armies that launched the offensive on the border region, the business is worth US$ 14 billion annually, controlled by four Chinese clans together with Myanmar’s military. China recently asked the ruling junta to shut down call centres where about 100,000 people are allegedly held in conditions of modern slavery.
Today's news: attacker who shot opposition leader in South Korea wanted to prevent him from becoming president; In Myanmar at least 34 people died in prison in 2023; Diplomatic dispute between the Maldives, India, and China continues; In Hong Kong a man wearing a T-shirt with pro-democracy slogans arrested.
The local government formally granted university status to the Caritas Institute of Higher Education, which has 2,500 students, a goal sought by the local diocese. It has been accredited for social sciences, business administration, and communications. The name is a reference to Saint Francis Xavier as well as Saint Francis of Assisi.
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