Pope in the Vatican Gardens calls for peace in Gaza 10 years after meeting presidents
Today's headlines: One in five young Nepalis in Hong Kong has been brought back to Nepal by their parents due to financial problems. China sends Tibetan water to the Maldives, while rationing it in Lhasa. A new 10-story residential building in Tokyo will be torn down because it hides Mount Fuji. Tensions in the Orthodox Church of Abkhazia with some clergymen calling for a Russian bishop.
VATICAN – ISRAEL – PALESTINE
Pope Francis issued a new appeal for peace last night in the Vatican Gardens where he brought together the ambassador of Israel Raphael Schutz and his Palestinian counterpart Issa Kassissieh to pray for an end to the war in Gaza. The event also marked the 10th anniversary of a similar meeting between the pontiff and the Israeli and Palestinian presidents. “Every day I pray that this war will finally end," Francis told the small gathering, which also included a group of cardinals and members of the Holy See's diplomatic corps, as well as representatives of Italy’s Jewish and Muslim communities.
HONG KONG – NEPAL
One in five young Nepalis in Hong Kong has been brought back to Nepal by their parents, in most cases against their will, this according to Hong Kong Unison. The NGO has noted an alarming rate of dropouts among Nepali students. About 40 per cent cited financial difficulties as the main reason, with parents no longer able to pay for their children's education. Some young Nepali women were repatriated because their parents disapproved of their dating life.
CHINA – MALDIVES
China donated 3,000 metric tonnes of Tibetan glacial water to the Maldives in two separate batches in March and May, while imposing restrictions on water use in Tibet. The Maldives – which has forged strong bilateral relations with China and is a beneficiary of the Belt and Road Initiative, thanked the Tibetan people for the "generous donation", which is expected to be of great help to islanders. By contrast, in Tibet locals say that they have to deal with water shortages on their own because Chinese authorities have carried out strict water conservation and management campaigns in various Tibetan villages and towns for over a decade.
JAPAN
A 10-story condominium in western Tokyo, that is almost ready for residents to move in, will be demolished because it obstructs the view of Mount Fuji. The Gurandomezon Kunitachi Fujimi-dori skyscraper in the Naka district of Kunitachi City is about a 10-minute walk from Kunitachi Station. The condominium project had been the subject of a bitter debate, with residents of the neighbourhood repeatedly expressing concern over its impact on views of 3,776-metre-high Mount Fuji and sunlight on local housing.
PAKISTAN – UNITED STATES
The United States pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent cricket history, beating Pakistan – one of the sport's powerhouses – in the T20 World Cup currently underway in the United States. The sporting success by the home team is also a symbol of the rise of Asian immigrants in the United States. Of the eleven players in the US team, five are of Indian origin, two are Pakistani, and three are British. This fact has set social media abuzz in South Asia with H-1B visa memes and stories about Indian engineers in Silicon Valley.
ORTHODOX
The senior and most authoritative clergyman of the Orthodox Church in Abkhazia, Father Vissarion Aplia, has appealed to the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill, to take Abkhazians under his jurisdiction and appoint a Russian bishop in Sukhumi, generating very mixed reactions in the local the clergy and believers since they currently belong to the Georgian Orthodox Church.
RUSSIA – CHINA
Russia's Far East Development Minister, Aleksey Chekunkov, said that private companies from India and China have agreed to invest in the construction of a "very high quality" satellite city near Vladivostok, to be called Sputnik (satellite), with a campus for Chinese students.
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28/10/2023 14:24
