East Asia

The airline lost US$580 million as a result of the pandemic. Some 330,000 jobs in the air transport business are at stake as is Hong Kong’s role as a regional hub. Passenger demand for air travel worldwide dropped 94.3 per cent in April. The United States, Germany and Italy have bailed out their airline companies.

Indian and Chinese Military leaders met on Saturday to “peacefully resolve the situation in the border areas,” India’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. But for the Global Times, “the ongoing standoff is not likely to end immediately, as concrete issues must still be resolved."

Since 2016 the bishop has been recognized by the Holy See, but not by the government. In the past there have been strong divisions in the diocese. There is a risk of a new stronger rift. The bishop allegedly "betrayed" the priests of the unofficial community. An even greater division.

The North Korean regime responds to the release of defamatory leaflets by dissidents sheltered in the South. The North Koreans will treat the Seoul government as an "enemy". A military pact and the common industrial area of ​​Kaesong are also at risk. Experts: Kim Jong-un raises tension to obtain more in future negotiations with South Koreans.

Hsu Kun-yuan jumped from his 17th floor flat a couple of hours after Han Kuo-yu was recalled by a popular vote. There are doubts about any link between the two events. Han is the first Taiwanese mayor to lose his job before the end of his mandate. Experts blame his pro-Beijing stance.

Since yesterday, churches have been open in most provinces. Due to the epidemic, they had been closed in January. Strict control measures: QR code on health status; temperature measurements; social distancing; no photos, or gatherings; ensure ventilation and sanitation. Liturgical clothes should be washed during the day and dried in the sun. In some provinces, churches are closed because the epidemic is still ongoing.

The pandemic has torpedoed foreign demand. The sale of medical equipment for the Covid-19 has limited losses. Imports down too. Growth of US surplus jeopardizes the trade agreement with the Trump administration.

For the first time in three months, Pope Francis celebrates the Angelus from his study window and the faithful are gathered in the square, with masks and at a safe distance. "And today, thinking of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we think of love and think of feeling loved." The pandemic still has victims in many countries, such as Brazil (unknown). Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus unites "the great spiritual teachers and the simple among the people of God ".

The United Front will follow up on orders from Kim Yo-jong, sister of the North Korean leader. A military pact and the common industrial area of ​​Kaesong are also at risk. Seoul promises to ban the launch of flyers, to which dollar bills and USB sticks are attached.

In a video, the former national soccer team striker calls on the Chinese to "no longer be trampled by the Party", which must be "kicked out of humanity". He also suggested a "federal" form of government for China. All references to him and his wife, a former badminton champion, disappear.

China is using domestic problems in the United States to show the Trump administration in a bad light and depict its strategic adversary as unfair and racist. Meanwhile, tensions are running high as a US warship sails the Taiwan Strait and China carries out military exercises in the same area. A group of 18 Western lawmakers want stronger actions against Beijing as Southeast Asian countries distance themselves from China.

They had been closed for about five months due to the pandemic. Churches are the last things to be reopened, after industries, restaurants, cinemas, street markets. Permits from all levels of authority and guarantees on preventive health measures are required. Questions on religious freedom, on the silence of the bishops and the Vatican.