Mohamed Muizzu’s government has been engaged in a campaign to expel undocumented foreign workers for a couple of years. However, a study highlights how many migrants who entered the country legally become irregular due to unpaid wages, unrenewed visas, or complaints filed by employers. In August, the deaths of eight Bangladeshi nationals reignited concerns regarding safety conditions.
From today until Sunday, bishops, priests, religious and laypeople from all nine dioceses are gathered for the first time in Sibu to listen to one another and discern their common path in a country of a thousand faces. The Archbishop of Kuching, Msgr Simon Poh: “We are not looking for who has the best approach, but how to read the signs of the times”:
Today’s headlines: the Maldives are calling on the UK to reopen negotiations over the Chagos Islands; Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first leader following the handover to China, has died aged 89; Several South Korean nationals involved in online scams have been arrested in Thailand; North Korea has new nuclear facilities, says the IAEA.
On 9 September 1979, the ‘helmsman’ of China’s path to communism died. Still honoured in Beijing as a talisman, his name means nothing to Generation Z, who are chasing the China of social media. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping has revived his rhetoric on the primacy of the Party and his methods for promoting his nationalist agenda.
Today is the deadline for submitting lists for the October 27 elections. Arab voter turnout is a variable that will have a major impact on the distribution of Knesset seats. Segalovitz joins Ra‘am to form an odd alliance, calling on “Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Christians, and Druze” to unite.
A project outlined by the Prime Minister aims to create a new western island by linking several atolls south of Jurong. The city-state plans to establish new industries, but problems and concerns – including environmental ones – are emerging. Doubts surround the decade-long transformation of the sea into land.
The leader of the Church in Sri Lanka has appealed to fishermen, asking them to stop bringing drugs onto the island. A significant proportion is smuggled by sea using boats. The ‘devastating’ effect of drugs on young people: ‘it destroys lives’.
When Russian nationalism emerged as a political force at the end of the Soviet era, Orthodoxy was seen more as part of the nation’s cultural heritage than as a source of ideas. The role of the then abbot of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow, who later became Metropolitan Tikhon in Crimea.
Father Andrew Ding Wang, 44, was ordained today under the 2018 Sino-Vatican agreement. Leo XIV conferred on him the title of archbishop, as required by the jurisdiction of the Holy See (and the history of the local Church), even though China has no metropolitan sees. Three of the four bishops chosen in recent weeks in China were born after 1980.
A year ago today, Gen Z-led demonstrations paved the way for a profound change in Nepali politics, culminating in the arrival of Balendra Shah to power. But 12 months later, many of the demands for transparency, the fight against corruption, and institutional renewal remain unfulfilled.
Today, the Indian Catholic Church highlights the trampled rights of women and girls. The rescue of 34 girls in Arunachal Pradesh is a reminder of the structural nature of violence, while churches are working to ensure "inclusive, equitable, and safe" spaces. For Dr Carvalho, “Every child has an inherent dignity”.
Moscow is particularly important for Azerbaijan’s non-oil exports, whilst Armenia remains its main trading partner and a major tourist destination. Supplies of wheat and fuel are essential for the Georgian market.
Today's headlines: Haaretz investigation reveals Bin Zayed informed Netanyahu of a possible attack before 7 October; France and South Korea are to jointly invest one billion euros in the film industry; In Indonesia, the sentences of soldiers who had attacked an activist with acid have been reduced.
Today, the Latin Patriarch, in cooperation with the University of Notre Dame, inaugurated Within Your Gates, a forum that brings together scholars, religious, and civic leaders to study and publicise the “universal vocation of Jerusalem”. The prelate asks “with honesty and humility” what purpose this city serves and what it asks of us.
In Lebanon, on the feast day of St Clare, a cloistered monastery in Rayak was officially inaugurated, in a rural area facing serious difficulties. The nuns, who came from Italy, were joyfully welcomed by the local community, who speak of a “miracle”. Sr Gloria to AsiaNews: “Forgiveness is the only solution to all conflicts”.
As victims are counted and efforts are underway to save hydroelectric plant workers in Nepal, questions are mounting about the sustainability of the development model adopted in recent years in the shadow of the Himalayas. For its part, the Nepali government is demanding “climate compensation”.
Previously arrested for his involvement in the 1988 movements, now in exile in Thailand, Bo Ky founded the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. He will receive the 2026 Asian Nobel prize along with Singaporean diplomat Tommy Koh (who worked on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), and Bangladeshi social entrepreneur Runa Khan.
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