Anthropic has documented the use of Claude to track Catholic and Tibetan Buddhist leaders, Christians in Taiwan, and the Falun Gong. A religious affairs intelligence unit that once employed many teams has been reduced to a single office, yet this is enough to produce thousands of investigations per month.
Mayor Oh Se-hoon has launched an urban planning programme that aims to increase the capital's global appeal on the model of European cities. Among the poles to be regenerated is Nodeul Island, home to the Hangang Bridge. But according to many Koreans it risks destroying an important part of the cultural heritage of the urban fabric.
Today's headlines: Myanmar junta has torched over 55,000 homes in two years; wind and solar power in China almost ready to cover all domestic energy needs; Damascus opens two more border crossings to facilitate aid entry; Caritas Philippines launches a fundraiser for Turkey and Syria; New governor for Japan's Central Bank.
Detained without grounds, there has been no news of him since spring 2021. The faithful of Xuanhua diocese miss their pastor. Government criticised for using coercive and inhuman means against sick clergymen. The authorities blindly adopt political and coercive pressure.
Today's headlines: Chinese expert calls for birth incentives to boost the economy; calls for the release of Afghan women's rights activist Parisa Mubariz, arrested by the Taliban; Burmese military regime facilitates the issuing of gun permits to citizens 'loyal' to the state; Russian Orthodox magazine calls for the excommunication of 300 priests who called for an end to the war in Ukraine.
Today's news: The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria now exceeds 24,000; Air India signs a mega-order to buy up to 500 planes from Airbus and Boeing; food prices continue to rise steeply in Japan; many Armenians view Turkey’s earthquake as “divine punishment”; Asia is the continent with the most Internet restrictions in 2022.
The US signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Micronesia offering economic assistance. This follows similar deals with the Marshall Islands and Palau. The Biden administration is strengthening ties with the region to counter Chinese activism.
Bishop Peter Lee Ki-Heon, chairman of the Commission for Reconciliation, led a delegation to the Diocese of Lang Son-Cao Bang. Some 350,000 South Korean soldiers fought alongside US troops in the Vietnam War. This week, a court in Seoul awarded compensation to a Vietnamese woman wounded in a 1968 operation in which 70 civilians were killed.
COVID-19 infections seem to have peaked. Lunar New Year holidays boost tourism and catering. The car and real estate sectors are in difficulty. One of Guangdong’s oldest plants closes, leaving 1,700 people out of work.
The Chinese company pledges to follow a code of conduct adopted by the European Union. False information on the Ukraine war, often amplified by Chinese government media, is singled out. Twitter is the worst large social media platform in the fight against disinformation in Europe.
Administered by Taiwan, the islands are 10 km from mainland China and almost 200 km from Taiwan. For local councillors they are not defensible. A police force should replace soldiers in order to turn the area into a demilitarised zone where the two sides can talk.
The families of the 159 boys who lost their lives on Halloween night held a rally and set up a memorial structure in front of the city hall. Civil society organisations and opposition party members accused the conservative executive of doing nothing to help the city overcome the trauma of the tragedy.
The diocese of Nanjing mourns the death of a 104-year-old nun. Already in 1945, before the advent of the Communists, she had taken vows for the Daughters of Charity. Sent to work in the factory during the Cultural Revolution, she said of that very hard time: "I never lost hope because I had faith in God". It was only at the age of 64 that she was able to return to her ministry in the city of Wuxi. In 2000, she had the joy of meeting John Paul II in Rome.
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