South East Asia

Today's headlines: Israeli security forces killed two Palestinian youths near Jenin; after two years, the Japanese emperor returns to greet citizens on New Year's Eve; Islamabad and Delhi exchange lists of nuclear sites and prisoners; Pyongyang shops flooded with luxury goods - counterfeits - of Chinese origin; Uzbekistan blocks the sale of Indian medicines.

The Philippine president signs an executive order formally banning e-sabong, which Duterte had ordered but never implemented. Growing exponentially during the pandemic, this form of gambling was initially tolerated by the Philippine government because of the revenues it brought to government coffers. But in April, a Senate report found that as many as 34 people linked to the business went missing.

Week after week, refuse and refugees pile up in a landfill in Insein, on the outskirts of Yangon. They include the kids attending the school in Nghet Aw San centre who have a chance to leave behind a life in the streets thanks to an NGO, New Humanity. Over the past two years marked by COVID-19 and civil war, the latter has multiplied its initiatives.

The Indonesian president makes his first, unannounced visit to the Cathedral of Bogor, which is a few hundred metres from the residence where he spends the weekend. “Together let us foster tolerant relations," he told the faithful present at the first Christmas service. In Banten province, a group of moderate Muslims brings flowers to the faithful of a church under construction for 32 years.

Message pronounced during urbi et orbi blessing: "Let us overcome the torpor of false images that make people forget the feast day, and as we look at Bethlehem let us fix our gaze on the child victims of World War III." In Myanmar and Iran "cease all bloodshed." Appeal for reconciliation in Ukraine, Syria, Holy Land, Lebanon, Yemen and for Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa plagued by hunger and famine.

Fr Adriano Pelosin tells the story of Joseph, Anna and their daughter Mary. Forced to flee Myanmar after last year’s coup, the family had nowhere to go until they were welcomed at the PIME missionary’s parish. Now the couple “are preparing to receive baptism,” and “have accepted to raise Bang Eung,” a Thai girl abandoned by her drug-addicted mother. In his Christmas greetings, the clergyman wishes “everyone will have the peace of those who recognise themselves in the poor”.

In a country where ethnicity has always been of paramount importance, the number of undocumented children is growing due to the collapse of the administrative system. This is especially true in Insein, a district on the outskirts of Yangon. More and more youth are being sent to a juvenile detention centre in Kaw Hmu. Young people engaged in resistance are also fighting for a new idea of Myanmar.

Foreigners will be able to get for a residency permit for up to 10 years after paying two billion rupees into a state bank. But some retirees who have lived in Bali for decades and put money into the local economy risk having to leave. Malaysia and Thailand have similar legislation.

A study by Oxford University notes that only few Asian countries have met the 2020 targets. Thus, the continent will find it hard to meet the commitments made in Montreal. Chaired by China, the conference ended with an agreement to protect 30 per cent of land and restore 30 per cent of degraded areas by 2030. Clashing with African countries, China opposed setting up a special fund.

Passed by Congress, the Magna Carta of Religious Freedom Act is an important step in a country where relations among various religions have not always been peaceful. The country’s Catholic bishops react positively to the legislation, calling it a “necessity” in a democratic society.

Indonesia’s Religious Affairs minister bans tents traditionally set up to temporarily accommodate extra worshippers. Officially, this is being done to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, but for many observers, the real reason is fear of terror attacks, like the one of 7 December, seen as a trial run ahead of the holidays.

Hanoi has claimed 220 hectares of land in the past few years, 170 in 2022 alone, far less than what China has done, which Southeast Asian countries are trying to oppose.