Myanmar's military junta has released more than 3,000 political prisoners and dropped charges against another 5,500 people. Friends and relatives of the prisoners rejoiced yesterday, but it is also a threat to the population, who find themselves forced to vote in order to avoid arrest. This has been confirmed by the military itself: more than 700 prisoners will only be released on parole and risk returning to prison at the first sign of dissent.
In Penang, 800 delegates from churches across the continent gathered for a ‘pilgrimage of hope’ in the Jubilee year. Cardinal Tagle: like the Magi, we reject the despair of today's Herods. Archbishop Simon Poh of Kuching: ‘We are a minority. But the Lord asks us too not to shut ourselves in our churches and go out to serve our brothers and sisters.’
Books and essays are among the tools traditionally used to oppose regimes. Sales of books on the “difficult pages” of the past are on the rise. Research into stories about dictatorships and the lives of ordinary people under them is very popular. Sales of stories about the crimes of autocrats have grown by 70%. However, historians and writers of utopian novels are now banned.
The pontiff began his first apostolic journey in Turkey highlighting the image of the Dardanelles Bridge as a symbol of unity between Asia and Europe, but also the country’s “plurality”. He called for the "culture of encounter" advocated by Pope Francis, but also by Pope John XXIII who served as apostolic delegate in Istanbul 90 years ago. Leo also called for love to have a "public" dimension while rejecting the mindset that “might is right”.
The senator opens a new chapter in the family feud, which threatens to affect the whole country. After accusing her brother of being a drug addict, she claims that a leadership vacuum exists in the country; for this reason, she is calling for the vice president to take over. Political differences and a mounting corruption scandal are behind the clash. But some observers question the leadership skills of Sara Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The devastating fire that destroyed much of a public housing complex in Tai Po has exposed the fragility of Hong Kong's housing system, characterised by overcrowding, negligently managed construction sites, and thousands of senior citizens and domestic workers trapped in hard-to-evacuate high-rise buildings. PIME missionary Fr Franco Mella slams the authorities for the way they manage the real needs of the population. Meanwhile, fears are growing that the tragedy could reignite tensions with Beijing on the eve of the 7 December local elections.
