Ma Ying-jeou will make a stop in the Chinese capital and also visit other provinces. The trip will fall on the eve of the inauguration of Lai Ching-te, who is opposed by Beijing as an "independence seeker". The Kuomintang hopes the visit will lower cross-strait pressure and foster a peaceful exchange.
The first chapel dedicated to the patron saint of the Swiss Confederation and his wife Dorothea was inaugurated over the weekend in the south of the capital. It is located in the convent of Notre-Dame de la Plaine, a retirement home belonging to the Greek Melkites. A 15th century hermit, he saved his homeland from civil war and instilled in it the founding value: neutrality.
The Isis cell in the region between Afghanistan and Central Asia sees Russia as the main support for its two worst enemies, the regimes in Kabul and Tehran. While in Tajikistan, President Rakhmon stigmatises the high number of Tajiks among the militia, but according to his opponents their radicalisation is the effect of his twenty years of repression.
For Fr Romanelli, "something is moving" in the quagmire of international diplomacy, but an "effective" truce and "humanitarian aid" are needed. Yesterday's UN vote is a positive step, but it must be accompanied by the delivery of food and medicine and the stop of the invasion of southern Gaza. This year’s Holy Week celebrations are a mixture of “bitterness and joy”.
Launched a few days ago in Manila, Journalists Against Corruption brings together professionals from major Southeast Asian media. With the exception of Singapore, the region is regularly at the bottom of world rankings.
Representatives of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines visited Christian schools in Zamboanga. Students are offered outreach and community service programmes to empower people to live with the region's painful past.