On 19-21 November, economists and entrepreneurs under 35 from around the world will meet online. More than 40 countries will be connected, with live streaming from Assisi. Some 2,000 people have registered with at least 12 link-ups to 115 countries, four hours a day plus a 24-hour marathon on the second day, and contributions from more than 20 countries.

The meeting with the president of the German Bishops Conference, in all likelihood touched upon the assembly with "deliberative power" convoked by the Germans to address issues such as the separation of power in the Church, priestly life, women's access to ministry and to offices in the Church and sexual morality.

One of the founders of the independence movement, Ramos-Horta is back in the country’s top office after winning the election on March 19 with 62 per cent of the vote. He faces many challenges, from developing the country’s infrastructures to reconciling its many groups.

The 72-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner - former president from 2007 to 2012 - won with 62% of the vote over outgoing head of state Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres. Twenty years after independence, the challenge is to bring East Timor out of the paralysis of political contrasts, while 42% of the population remains below the poverty line. 

The 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner is in the lead with over 45% of the vote. If no candidate wins a majority, the run-off will be held on 19 April. Ramos-Horta, who was president from 2007 to 2012, fought for the country's independence from Portuguese and Indonesian rule.

Today's headlines: protests against the war in Ukraine continue in St Petersburg and other Russian cities, with hundreds of arrests; Israel expropriates Jerusalem's Alexander Nevsky Church from the Russians; the majority party in Georgia wants to speed up its entry into the EU; the Pope will visit East Timor by the end of the year.