A meeting sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Life saw the presence of Microsoft President Brad Smith, IBM Executive Vice President John Kelly III, European Parliament President David Sassoli, and FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu. The conference stressed the importance of a “Call for Ethics" as the path to evaluate the effects of artificial intelligence and related technologies.

The difficulties of the country’s banking system and the lack of dollars have forced people to use the local currency. This, in turn, has devalued wages and income. The "kafala" system, a form of "modern slavery", has made things worse for workers. Many want to go home.

IQAir Group and Greenpeace release the 2019World Air Quality Report. New Delhi is the worst megacity in terms of air pollution, followed by Lahore and Dhaka. High levels of PM2.5 cause up to seven million premature deaths in the world, one million in China alone.

The young man was killed by Muslim fanatics for “soiling” the water of a tube-well pool. Released from custody, the suspects are threatening to treat other Christians in the village the same way. The victim was tortured with electric cables and a heated rod. Family and friends accuse the police of covering up for the culprits.

Archbishop Felix Machado celebrated the rite of Christian initiation. The catechumens include many tribals, young people and people with a high level of education. Many false charges of proselytising are made against the Catholic Church. In the diocese, another 50 adults will be baptised on Easter night.

It is now possible to see documents and notes from a period that spans the years of World War II and those subsequent to the communist "threat". Particular attention can be expected on the relationship that the Catholic Church had with the Nazi and fascist regimes, especially for the controversial question of the "silence" of Pius XII on the Holocaust.

The Turks launch "Spring Shiel" operation in response to the offensive by the Syrian military in the northeast. A Damascus military base and a convoy hit. Syria closes airspace in the Idlib region. 13 thousand people massed in terrible conditions on the border between Greece and Turkey, including women and children.

Our global society has been hit by a scourge similar to the plague of the 1300s and 1600s, the cholera epidemic of two centuries ago, or the Asian flu of the last century. Discovering our impotence and fear of death. The apocalypse and escape. For many Christians in Asia it is not a question of escape: they have found God in the coronavirus. Political powers see God as an enemy (in China) or as an unnecessary encumbrance (in the West). God is our greatest ally.

In the rest of the world there is an increase in infections and deaths; in China the number of deaths per day is decreasing. Yesterday there were 42 deaths, all in Hubei. In the rest of the world, the confirmed cases are 8848 and the deaths are 129, distributed in 63 countries.

The Asian giant's GDP may plummet by 6% in the first quarter, the first recession since the Cultural Revolution. Knock on effects throughout Asia. The stock markets recover thanks to the stimuli promised by the big economies.