Vietnam

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.

A medical facility in Pasay with Chinese and Vietnamese doctors and nurses has been shut down. According to investigators, victims of modern-day slavery forced to work in online scams who fall ill or suffer torture are brought to these facilities, which are also used by fugitives seeking changes to their physical appearance to escape police.

In Asia, Vietnam and Bangladesh serious cases of abuse and persecution were reported in 2023. India is criticised even though New Delhi is an important US ally against Beijing. In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims suffer the worst discrimination.

Like Crimea, Korea is key to destabilising Asia as well as Europe, amid permanent tensions and growing winds of war elsewhere. This seems to be the real purpose of Putin's visits, which from China and Uzbekistan to Korea and Vietnam are part of a plan for a new "world order" while trying to instil fear in both East and West.

The Russian president met with Tô Lâm, who came out on top following anti-corruption purges. The two signed a series of agreements in traditional sectors. Vietnam sees Russia and the United States (which criticised the visit) as rivals on an equal footing, but holds China in much higher regard. Experts do not expect Hanoi to take further risks in foreign policy.

Even those who claim to have no creed engage in some form of ancestor worship, burning incense and leaving offerings at temples, this according to a report just released by the Pew Research Center on Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. The study highlights the difficulties of investigation in view of the local notion of religion, which in local languages is often associated only with hierarchical organisations. The rate of religious switching is higher in this region than anywhere else in the world.

Today's news: 50 victims of Kuwait migrant massacre rise to 50, three people arrested in the blaze; The Ibrahim government in Malaysia holds the record for the most content removed from social media; Bipartisan US Congress delegation in view of the Dalai Lama; Wild horses return to Kazakhstan after 200 years; Putin ratified the agreement with Beijing to build the international moon station.

The journalist and intellectual was picked up before an event in Hanoi, but news filtered out only recently. He is the latest victim in an anti-corruption “blazing furnace” campaign leading up to the nomination of the future leader of the Communist Party (and the country). Trần Đình Triển, a lawyer, has also been detained.

City authorities crack down on a practice that remains popular despite official bans on grounds of health and hygiene. In Vietnam, an estimated four million animals end up on the dinner table every year. Concern is also heightened by recent outbreaks of rabies causing death among humans.

The Buddhist leader had become famous for walking from the north to the south of Vietnam for rights. According to the authorities - who have him on file - he purposely interrupted his march. A version that does not convince activists and pro-human rights groups. A US congressman appeals to the Commission on Religious Freedom.

For years he has travelled the country barefoot, from north to south, feeding on alms and sleeping in the forests. A eulogy of religious devotion through the 13 ascetic practices of ‘Dhutanga’. Hostilised by official Buddhism, the monk is ‘tolerated’ by the government and exalted by people of all faiths who follow him on social media.

Today's news: Over 1400 academics sign a petition to the Israeli government to end the war in Gaza; In Beijing, the Minister of Agriculture is also under investigation; Nepalese Sherpa climbs Mount Everest for the 30th time, an all-time record; Vietnamese police arrested a prominent trade unionist; Concern in Moscow over attack on foreign tourists in Afghanistan.