Hong Kong: Cardinal Zen authorised by court to travel to Rome

Today's news: Ahmad al-Sharaa reported to have told US congressman that Syria could join the Abraham Accords ‘under certain conditions’; Marcos supporters denounce ‘Chinese influence’ in the midterm election campaign; Myanmar arrests astrologer who causes panic by announcing new earthquake; Peppa Pig cartoons now available in Tibetan.

HONG KONG-VATICAN

Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has been authorised by the court to leave the city to attend the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican. Zen, who is 93, left last night and is expected in Rome. Hong Kong authorities have not yet fully returned his passport after his arrest in 2022 on suspicion of collusion with foreign forces under the national security law. The cardinal and four other pro-democracy activists are seeking to overturn their convictions linked to a now-defunct fund to support the 2019 protesters. The appeal hearing is set for 3 December.

SYRIA-ISRAEL

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is reportedly open ‘under certain conditions’ to joining the Abraham Accords and normalising relations with Israel. This was stated to the Jerusalem Post by Marlin Stutzman, a Republican member of the US Congress, who recently met with him in Syria. Among the conditions listed by the new leader in Damascus is that Syria remain a united and sovereign state.

MYANMAR

In Myanmar, an astrologer has been arrested for causing panic with his prediction of a new earthquake in a video that went viral on TikTok. John Moe The posted his prediction on 9 April, just two weeks after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that killed thousands of people. He warned that on 21 April, a new earthquake would ‘hit every city in Myanmar’. Experts say earthquakes are impossible to predict.

PHILIPPINES-CHINA

The Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas – the political alliance supporting President Marcos Jr. – said it was ‘alarmed and concerned’ by reports of ‘possible foreign interference’ in the 2025 mid-term elections. During a Senate hearing on Thursday 24 April, National Security Council spokesman Deputy Director-General Jonathan Malaya said yesterday that there were ‘indications’ of ‘Chinese state-sponsored’ information operations seeking to interfere with the 12 May elections.

CHINA-TIBET

Peppa Pig, the beloved character from a children's animated series, now speaks Tibetan. The Tibet Fund, a US-based non-profit organisation, has announced the launch of a local language version. The fund says the initiative is aimed at strengthening Tibetan language education for young students and preserving their cultural and linguistic identity.

GEORGIA

The Secretary General of the OSCE, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Feridun Sinirlioglu, has arrived in Tbilisi. His visit was presented by the Georgian Dream party as a legitimisation of its power, despite the harsh assessments of last November's elections. Opponents of the ‘Coalition for Change’ refused to meet with the Turkish diplomat.

KYRGYZSTAN

The Kyrgyzstan Ombudsman for Children and Youth has expressed concern about the increase in cases prohibited by law of marriages organised by coercion of underage girls, resulting in 353 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 giving birth in 2024, with 29 allegations of violations of the law by the Attorney General's Office, one of the highest statistics in all of Central Asia.

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