The border closure has triggered a spike in the cost of basic items. The price of tomatoes jumped fivefold since the start of the month. An official admits: "We have no information” about when the border will reopen. A meeting between the two sides on Sunday is eagerly awaited.
Chinese musician and influencer Wang Bo has turned a Taipei politician's quip into a track that has become popular on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in recent weeks. Mainland China has tried to coopt it as a tool against the rebel island's government, but the real message is self-deprecation in the face of widespread dissatisfaction, even in the self-proclaimed “second world power”.
Two incidents today in two different parts of the country resulted in one person dead and four injured. Climate change and the depopulation of peripheral areas are pushing the animals ever closer to residential areas. Japan’s new government is considering recruiting hunters (whose numbers are declining due to the ageing population).
The archbishop of Imphal spoke to AsiaNews in Rome. Violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo has diminished, but "the mental divide continues”. Modi's visit in September came “too late”. The Church is providing assistance to displaced people. For the prelate, “survivel comes first, then, the pursuit of peace”. Meanwhile, Naga leader Thuingaleng Muivah returned to Manipur after decades.
Following Pope Francis's outreach with popular movements, his successor spoke about the new poverty of the digital age. The creativity generated by artificial intelligence and robotics has brought "great progress in many areas,” but “it has failed to reverse the tragic exclusion of millions of people." He warned against the "void" left by weakened unions, ineffective laws, and enfeebled international organisations. People are “more vulnerable than before”.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has signed the law, which has already come into force. For its promoters, it is a response to the leaks of confidential information during the “12-day war” with Israel (and the United States). Critics respond that the government has only targeted ordinary people, without punishing senior officials or those responsible. In the background is the serious economic crisis the country is going through.
