Thousands of fires are raging in West Kalimantan and elsewhere. “We can no longer make a living,” a witness told AsiaNews. Indonesia is receiving international aid from eight countries, including Malaysia, Laos, and Vietnam. The disaster has put the spotlight on the need for ecological conversion.
In the Diocese of Novaliches, the Salvatorian Pastoral Care for Children programme supports women and children in dealing with trauma. The experience, cared for by women religious and volunteers, has expanded to 73 parishes in the Philippines. Sr Mary Adeline Abamo in charge: "Ministry relevant and necessary".
Today's news: three civilians killed in an Israeli raid in southern Lebanon, in Gaza the attack on the UN school exceeds 20 dead; Talks between Palestinian factions on 20 and 21 July in China; High North Korean official in Cuba defects and flees to South Korea; Bangkok court postpones extradition hearing in Vietnam for activist Montagnard Y Quynh Bdap.
Two politicians, Satur Ocampo and France Castro, are sentenced with 12 others to prison terms ranging from four years and nine months to eight years and eight months. Four other defendants were acquitted for lack of evidence. For the defence, the court got it wrong, because the accused acted in defense of tribal students targeted by the paramilitary groups. An appeal is ready.
Today's news: No chance of finding 55 passengers missing from the landslide that swept away their buses in Nepal; Alliance of minority groups agree four-day truce with the Burmese army in Shan State; Islamabad reaches agreement with the IMF on a seven billion dollar loan; Kuwait announces the discovery of a huge new oil field.
According to the prosecution, the sect, declared deviant by the Islamic religious authorities in 2019, operates clandestinely throughout the country. It believes in the existence of a new prophet, recites an alternative shahādah and seeks to merge Islam, Judaism and Christianity into a single faith. Notebooks, a laptop computer and mobile phones were also seized during the arrests.
Today's news: partial IDF withdrawal from Gaza after a week-long offensive; Kathmandu towards new coalition government following parliamentary no-confidence vote for K.P. Sharma Oli; Thailand increases visa-free countries to 93 to boost tourism (and trade); 'Wandering' monk Thich Minh Tue reappears after a month.
Elliptic, a British blockchain analysis company, exposes a marketplace called HuiOne Guarantee, which also involves Hun To, cousin of current Prime Minister Hun Manet. Chinese groups are involved in the illicit business. Worth US$ 11 billion dollars, it ranges from money laundering to pig butchering scams.
Bishops' Conference president Bishop David issued a pastoral statement on the ongoing debate in the country, the last to not have a law recognising this institution. "We are also the only one to have a Constitution that places the family as the foundation of the nation. The Church respects the autonomy of parliament. "But consider also the statistics on the failure rates of marriages in countries where this law exists".
Holding weddings by the sea, amid the grandeur of nature and cultural artefacts, has been gaining ground for some time now. Bishop Silvester San cites an exhortation issued by the country’s bishops in 2015, saying that the ritual of marriage must be celebrated in a place of worship. The wedding industry has flourished around organising celebrations.
Bishop David, president of the Bishops' Conference, issued an appeal for dialogue between Manila and Beijing at the end of the recent bishops’ assembly. "Nobody wants war,” he said, stressing the need for dialogue. A prayer will be broadcast and recited across the country. A close encounter between two rival coast guards ships risks degenerating into a geopolitical conflict.
Fighting has resumed in Shan and Rakhine in recent weeks. The junta’s number two man, General Soe Win, and former president Thein Sein visited Beijing and Qingdao to discuss border stability, trade, and investment. According to some sources, new contracts have also been signed for the purchase of war materiel.
Shrouded in mystery is the fate of 11 Christians, including six Protestants (Degar) and five Catholics from the Ha Mon community. They had been sentenced in the past, when their sentences expired 'there is no news' and 'they seem to have disappeared'. The basis of the sentence was 'religious activity or affiliation'. Concerns about these repressions persist in spite of openness towards the local Church and the Holy See.
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