Leo XIV received the president of Mongolia in audience. The Holy See and the Chinggis Khan National Museum in Ulaanbaatar plan to expand cooperation in archival research, joint studies, and conferences, the result of growing diplomatic ties boosted by Pope Francis's trip in 2023.
The losses are estimated at between US$ 6 and US$ 7 billion. In 2004, they ranged from US$ 1.5 to US$ 2 billion. The recovery plan is waiting for detailed assessments. Twenty-two out of 25 administrative districts and 416 factories were affected. Three billion rupees have been allocated in subsidies; raising the public spending limit is being considered to meet needs.
The ideal of the “universal reunion of peoples” under Moscow's leadership is now giving way to the pursuit of the purity of the Russkaya Obshchina, the "Russian community" that excludes all others from its proud universal solitude. So far his year, 276 attacks motivated by ethnic hatred have been reported in Russia, with seven people losing their life.
Today's news: One of the world's most wanted tiger organ traffickers was arrested in India. Evidence links Hong Kong fire to contractors' poor safety record. Myanmar voters abroad are casting early ballots in the country’s sham elections. Saudi Arabia and its Arab partners reject Israel's proposal to open the Rafah crossing in one direction only.
Several graves in the Christian cemetery in Harmota, a village in Koya District, were broken into and headstones smashed. Who carried out the attack and why remain unknown. Anger and indignation are high among the faithful. For Cardinal Sako, such an act is “morally and religiously unacceptable”. Missiles were fired at a gas field in late November.
In the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang, the episcopal ordination of Bishop Li Jainlin took place this morning, the second bishop elected during the recent sede vacante. The appointment was approved by Leo XIV in accordance with the Sino-Vatican accord, following the "resignation" of underground bishop Zhang Weizhu (who was arrested several times for refusing to join official bodies). Meanwhile, in Xuchang, the faithful found their church padlocked for allowing minors to enter it.
