The Heal Foundation Pakistan financed the month-long renovation work at St Mary's Church in Malkhanwala. Local groups and individuals who had previously received support and aid from the Catholic NGO were also involved. Fr Rauf: the widows' offering has ‘spiritual value’ and is ‘an example for the whole community’.
After years of diplomatic isolation and restrictions on movement, 395,000 Jordanian citizens visited Syria in 2025. Families, young people and independent travellers cross the border for short stays, cultural visits or family reunions. The project to reactivate the historic Hegiaz railway within the year. A recovery that contrasts with the crisis in tourism in Amman, victim of regional crises.
Today's headlines: Yoon Suk-yeol has appealed against his life sentence for insurrection; A group of countries including Saudi Arabia, France and Spain oppose Israel's decision on the West Bank land registry, which will allow the expansion of illegal settlements; India has blocked a journalist's X account. Vietnam has shut down major illegal streaming sites.
Four years after the invasion of Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia's veto has divided the European Union over the twentieth package of economic measures against Russia. This is a new chapter in the long history of sanctions that began in the Soviet era and reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. The central importance of the Druzhba (‘Friendship’) oil pipeline inaugurated in 1960.
Building a place of worship on Pag-asa (Spratly Islands) is expected to begin in late March. The vicar of Puerto Princesa and a Philippine official met yesterday to discuss the matter. The island’s small Catholic community includes civilians, members of the armed forces, coast guard personnel, navy personnel, and police. The area has long been in China's sights.
Regional tensions are being followed with close attention and concern in Lebanon. As diplomatic manoeuvring between Washington and Tehran intensifies, rumours of war are multiplying. Lebanese sources warn that the parties “are playing with fire”. For Iran, the very survival of the regime depends on it. The risk of Hezbollah's involvement is very real.
