At the start of the university’s academic year, the pontiff addressed the "pope's University”, which has students from around the world and associated institutes in Asia. In his speech, he called for training peace workers and justice advocates. He stressed the value of scientific studies to counter the idea that they are useless for pastoral work. In fact, the Church needs lay people and priests who are “prepared and competent”.
To combat overtourism, the Japanese government will increase the tax paid by foreign tourists when they leave the country: from 1,000 to 3,000 yen. Mass tourism affects mostly Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido, and Fukuoka. This is yet another step to limit overcrowding, help regional economies, and promote more sustainable tourism. Overall, tourism revenue remains a pillar of the Japanese economy.
The expectations of the people of Beirut two weeks before the Pope's arrival. Sadness over a brief and heavily guarded visit: ‘Will he really be able to see the country as it is, or will they give him the false impression that everything is fine?’ But also the certainty that ‘his presence will be a message in any case’. Prevost will arrive immediately after the National Day on 22 November and exactly one year after the ceasefire that still does not spare the Lebanese from Israeli incursions.
The extradition of She Zhijiang from Thailand to China comes at a time of intense international pressure on Bangkok to crack down on criminal networks operating between Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. The case reignites attention on the proliferation of scam centres and their impact on Thai tourism, which has seen sharp declines over the past year.
Today's headlines: the house of the doctor who drove the car that exploded at the Red Fort in Delhi demolished in Kashmir; Trump administration approves its first sale of spare parts for Taiwanese fighter jets; Japan denies citizenship to three children of Japanese from Hokinawa who arrived in the Philippines during World War II; Escort spacecraft for the return of astronauts from the Chinese space station.
The government in Bishkek is grappling with a Soviet-era system that is no longer viable. The crisis particularly affects the medical profession, with numbers in constant decline: in 2022 there were 18.5 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants, today there are just 15, while in Kazakhstan, for example, there are 40. But the real problem is the lack of resources allocated to healthcare: just per person per year.
