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Strongly supported by Hun Sen and backed by Beijing, it would stretch 180 kilometres from the Mekong to the port of Kep. Work could start as early as the end of the year, but Hanoi is concerned about the repercussions on water management. And calls for a supranational body to evaluate the project.

The rite presided over by Archbishop Bejoy N. D'Cruze in St Mary's Cathedral. 'A gift to strengthen the various activities at the service of the diocese'. From the new bishop, who is 61 years old, the invitation to the people of God to support his ministry with prayer.

A course dedicated to their protection was held at the Caritas Village and attended by 200 women. Significant contribution made by migrant labour to the national economy through remittances recognised.

During the HolyThursday service, Patriarch Kirill recited a special prayer 'for the victory of holy Rus'", which intensifies the war litanies imposed on priests, on pain of deprivation of clerical status if they refuse to pronounce them. The Easter celebrations must recompose the people of believers to show that Russia has defeated the evil within, finding the right path to sobornost.

Today's news: three Indians arrested in Canada for the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar; Chinalaunches mission to take samples from the hidden side of the Moon; InBrazil Kishida signs a cooperation agreement with Lula onAmazon protection;Uzbekistan to restoreoldestKoran manuscriptdating back to the 7th century.

Nations, as well as people, can be unsung heroes. They can suffer and be heroic in their suffering. Poland is such a nation. Hemmed in by neighbors that have all too often been enemies—and, as often as not, conquering enemies—Poland’s whole history has been shaped by suffering. It has been besieged and attacked by the Russians in the east and the Prussians in the west, and by the Swedes in the…

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The Dream of Gerontius—a masterful mix of lyricism and theology—was written in 1865 by John Henry Newman, who, having left the Anglican communion twenty years before, straightaway became England’s most famous convert to the True Faith, which he could only find in the Church of Rome. Set down in a series of seven rhymed sections numbering fifty-plus pages, the book became an immediate bestseller…

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A year ago, violence broke out between ethnic Meitei and Kuki, tearing apart the northeastern state, with at least 220 deaths. In a situation that remains tense and painful, Archbishop Linus Neli called for three days of fasting and prayer. '[W]e know only too well the present scenario of ethnic segregation,' but we 'pray for the day when people of all ethnicities and religious communities can live together'. ...

A year after his first historic visit to Beijing, the cardinal and a group of aides held meetings in local churches in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, two metropolises in southern China on, like Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta. He also encouraged meetings among the laity to feel 'that we belong to one family'.

The "Dambana ng Paghilom" is in the Laloma Cemetery in Caloocan City. Diplomats, men and women religious, as well as victims' families attended the site's ceremonial blessing. A woman says she was forced to sign a waiver, saying that her bullet-ridden husband had died of "pneumonia'.

This move follows the imposition of compulsory military service in February on men up to 35 years and women up to 27. In the last three months, 100,000 men have applied for expatriation and many others have fled to Thailand to avoid the draft.

There are 9 million uninhabited houses, almost 14% of the country's residential building stock. A phenomenon destined to increase as the population ages. It is affected by people moving from the outlying prefectures to Tokyo, but also by the elderly dying or going into nursing homes. Buildings are not maintained, exposed to collapse and arson.

There is still deep disagreement between Lebanon and Brussels over the presence of more than two million people in the country without official documents. The country of the cedars demands their repatriation, while Europe only wants to avert migration to its shores, offering money in exchange. On the table is an aid plan for one billion euros over four years.

A baby was born to my daughter Gigi’s teacher in our parish Montessori school. The baby lived in the classroom for a few years. I don’t think that baby’s feet touched the ground for two full years. They kept a closely guarded list of the girls who got to carry her next. In this part of Northern Virginia, we have large families all around us. It is lovely to see teen boys gathering around to…

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I appreciate that cigar culture has finer points, but the smell of cigars still makes me queasy. Likewise, Flannery O’Connor. She is an acquired taste, and this review of Wildcat, the new biodrama of O’Connor, is written from the perspective of one who has not thoroughly acquired it. I daresay I’m not alone on the periphery of her fandom. Most people, when asked if they have read Flannery O’Connor…

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Despite the president's flaunted anti-corruption campaigns, an affair of extremely lucrative contracts benefiting a company linked to his family has come to light in Tashkent. With his son-in-law Umarov at the centre, the 'grey eminence' of a power system ranging from big business to the world of sport.

Today's news: Uyghurs in Xinjiang have the highest incarceration rate in the world, one in 26 in prison; Delhi begins expulsion of refugees from Myanmar;Seoul raises terror alert in five embassies in Asia amid fears of Pyongyang attacks;New passage of Chinese ships and fighter jets through the Taiwan Strait.