Jefry Wenda, spokesman for the Papuan People’s Petition, and six others were arrested in provincial capital Jayapura on Tuesday. The arrestees were accused of organizing a rally to oppose the government’s proposal to break the province into six, which many Papuans have rejected.
Jefry Wenda (white T-shirt), spokesman for the Papuan People’s Petition, is arrested by police on May 10. (Photo supplied)
Hundreds of Papuans have joined in a series of similar rallies recently. Papua has experienced a slow-burning insurgency for independence from Indonesian rule since its annexation in 1960s. Violence has intensified in recent years.
Analysts say the government plans to divide the region to exert more control in the province. Meanwhile, an unknown assailant firebombed the office of the Papua Legal Aid Institute in Jayapura on Monday. Director Emanuel Gobay said the organization might have been targeted for its human rights work in the province.
Catholic groups in South Korea joined dozens of civil society groups for a 40-day nationwide tour to raise awareness about the environment and to denounce development projects deemed detrimental.
The tour, dubbed the Spring Wind Pilgrimage, brought together more than 80 civic groups. It ended with a cultural festival at Jongno in capital Seoul. The event showcased music, dance and other cultural performances to highlight environmental issues.
South Koreans join a cultural program in capital Seoul on April 30 to wrap up 40-day nationwide march for the environment. (Photo: Catholic Times of Korea)
The activists have slammed the government for several development projects, which they said are posing dangers to the environment and public health.
For example, environmental groups said the government decision to introduce a cable car will damage Seoraksan National Park, a famed natural reserve and tourist destination. Others said the government should abandon a coal-fired power plant in Samcheok, a beach city popular for its cultural, educational and tourism sectors.
Macau, is a gaming and gambling hub, a prime destination for sex trafficking with high levels of unwanted pregnancies and abortions just like mainland China, where abortion is legal.
Now Macau Diocese has encouraged Catholics and people of other faiths to watch the premier of 2019 pro-life American drama film Unplanned. The film is scheduled to be screened at Catholic-run theater Cineteatro de Macau on May 19. The diocese is promoting the film with an aim to spread the pro-life message to Macanese citizens.
A scene from the 2019 American drama film ‘Unplanned’. (Photo: pluggedin.com)
Macau Diocese undertakes various activities to spread the Church’s pro-life and anti-abortion stance. Last year Macau Diocese offered a special Mass and inaugurated a monument for “a celebration of aborted fetuses” at the diocesan funeral home.
Unplanned is a film based on the 2011 memoir of Abby Johnson, a former clinic director of pro-abortionist global organization Planned Parenthood. Johnson became a leading anti-abortion activist after quitting the agency.
Catholics in Pakistan have paid tribute to Bishop John Joseph on his 24th death anniversary, recalling how he committed suicide to protest the abuse of blasphemy laws.
The bishop of Faisalabad Diocese in Punjab province killed himself on May 6, 1998, outside a court after a Christian man, Ayyub Masih, was sentenced to death for blasphemy. His suicide was seen as a protest against the abuse of minorities over blasphemy.
Peter Jacob, executive director of the Centre for Social Justice, lights a candle on the pedestal dedicated to the memory of Bishop John Joseph at Falettis Hotel in Lahore on May 6. (Photo: Kamran Chaudhry/UCA News)
Four years later, Pakistan Supreme Court reversed Masih’s conviction, acquitted him of all charges and released him from death row. Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan. No one has been executed for it by the state, but accusations have led to violent attacks and murders.
According to the Centre for Social Justice, at least 1,949 people were subjected to false allegations, prolonged trials and displacement between 1985 and December 2021 over blasphemy. At least 84 were killed after being suspected or accused under blasphemy laws.
The government of Catholic-majority Timor-Leste has launched a national program to combat endemic malnutrition that afflicts nearly half of children under five. The National Health Sector Nutrition Strategy Plan 2022-26 was launched last Thursday. The program was supported by the European Union and UNICEF.
Through the program, the government seeks to improve the quality of services for women and children, expand community-based interventions and health facilities for screening and treatment of acute malnutrition, improve access to information on infant and young child feeding practices, and provide early initiation of breastfeeding and complementary feeding.
Timor-Leste aims to reduce the level of malnutrition for children under five from 47.1 percent to 25 percent by 2030. (Photo: UNICEF)
The program aims to raise the capacity of families to have sufficient nutritious food at home. The government has set a target to reduce the malnourishment rate of children under five from 47.1 percent to 25 percent by 2030.
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