South East Asia

By 2031, 28 per cent of Thailand’s population will be 60 years old and over. Economic difficulties discourage young people from having children. The government is offering free infertility treatment, but no one believes it will really curb the country’s demographic decline.

Nurses and university lecturers abandoned everything to protest against the Burmese junta. As the violence escalated, they took refuge in other cities. Some share their stories with AsiaNews, which supports the communities of internally displaced people through the PIME Foundation's donation campaign.

Archbishop Ada presides over the ordination ceremony in the inland area of Makassar, home to this ethnic group with a Christian majority. The invitation to the new priests: "Draw your spiritual strength from Jesus who calls you to be his messengers".

Today's headlines: athletes at the Winter Olympics accuse Beijing of human rights violations; in Myanmar, more and more families are "repudiating" relatives who oppose the military dictatorship; Pyongyang's cyber attacks have earned 45 million euros, used for the missile programme; Russian schools must submit collaboration with foreign institutes for government approval.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year Fr Tran Ngoc Thanh was stabbed while administering the sacrament of Reconciliation. Doubts about a motive linked to mental problems: the local Christian community is calling for justice in a case that has been almost completely ignored in the country. The murder took place in a mission area, where several ethnic groups live together.

On the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, the pontiff cited Indonesia as an example to find new vocations. The Indonesian ambassador to the Holy See notes that the Pope’s remarks are a recognition and a challenge. For Indonesian priest, “it is our turn to carry out the mission”.

Mudzrimar, the number two of the Philippines-based Islamist group, is seeking refuge in Sabah and could reactivate local allied groups. Malaysia is also deploying special teams on horseback along the border with southern Thailand, where local Muslim secessionist groups operate.

Heeding Pope Francis’s plea, an emergency fund has been set up to seek contributions. The peaceful protests organised after last year’s coup have given way to outright war. Soldiers recently razed two more villages to the ground. More than 400,000 people have become refugees in their own country. The local Church is concentrating its efforts on helping them.

Francis at the general audience: the international community must work for reconciliation. Catechesis to the faithful on devotion to saints to be purified from a pagan mentality. Prayer for religious on the Day for Consecrated Life and a thought for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games that are about to begin in Beijing.

The vice-president of the Council of Muslim Theologians said he was against the opening of the museum, proposed by the local Jewish community. The German ambassador to Indonesia was present at the opening. Many Indonesian Jews, however, still prefer not to go public about their faith.

In its latest statement, the Bishops' Conference outlines the decision by the Church to divest from companies investing in "destructive" energy. For Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, Conference vice president, this heeds the “teachings of the Laudato Si’” encyclical by Pope Francis.

More than 400,000 people have been displaced. Children have not been to school for two years. The fighting is no longer limited to certain regions, but is everywhere. The testimony of a priest from the diocese of Taungoo to AsiaNews on the Church's assistance activities: "Loikaw is a ghost town, people are running away without being able to take anything. We try to help, but it is increasingly complicated".