Today's news: Riyadh sets18-year jail term for high school student for tweets supporting political prisoners; At least 1400 migrant workers enter China every day from Myanmar through the Muse trade hub; Turkish, along with Arabic and Kurdish, is the third official language in Kirkuk; The Indian judiciary confiscates the property of a Sikh separatist leader; Taiwan wants to produce two new submarines by 2027 and equip subsequent ones with missiles; Seoul against the alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow.
On the eve of the Assembly that opens in Rome and where two of its own bishops will also be present, the Catholic Church in Vietnam sent a message to the faithful indicating the theme of enhancing the mission of the laity in 2024. "In Vietnam, due to historical circumstances, combined with difficult living conditions and a misunderstanding of doctrine, some live their faith passively. But the heritage of faith transmitted by the blood of the martyrs is entrusted to each of us".
In a Senate hearing, the Philippine authorities admit that the country remains at the top of the sad rankings on the worldwide spread of the phenomenon. "Serious shortcomings in terms of computer security: we lack the tools to identify the perpetrators of these crimes and reach them".
Today's headlines: clashes continue in Manipur, 10 injured yesterday; In Laos, the debt trap with China may be bigger than imagined; Dust and volcanic gases in the Philippines cause school closures; In South Korea, video game champions might get exemption from military service; Still no agreement for Nagorno-Karabakh after the capitulation of Armenian militias under fire from Azerbaijani army; African countries abandon the rouble for the Chinese yuan in purchases from Russia.
The Philippines plans to go before a yet-to-be-named international tribunal seeking damages against Chinese vessels operating in the Philippine section of the disputed South China Sea China’s aggressive policy is blamed. Beijing rejects the accusations; instead, it points the finger at Japan over its release of contaminated waters from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Semarang’s Catholic university hosts a workshop dedicated to preserving bits of Indonesia’s history, locked up in the archives of Dutch missionary institutes and local Catholic organisations.
