Reports say the ethnic rebel group had gained full control of the road from Momauk on Wednesday where at least five civilians were killed by a junta airstrike two days ago amid army attempts to halt the advance and protect its last outpost in the area from falling into anti-regime hands.
Displaced Kachin residents cross the Malikha river on a ferry to escapefighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Myanmar government troops in this April 26, 2018 file photo. This week the KIA claimed control of the last junta outpost along a 60km-stretch of road in Kachin state leading to the frontier with China. (Photo:AFP)
The KIA is one of about 20 groups aligned with the Peoples Defence Force— the armed wing of the National Unity Government, Myanmar’s government-in-exile.
So far, the KIA has taken 63 military bases and outposts. A majority of Kachin people are Christians, and the state has seen fierce battles between the military and rebels in recent months.
The Philippines Church has extended support to the Ati tribal people who are struggling to protect their government-awarded land from corporations on Boracay Island, one of the most popular tourist spots in the country.
In a statement last week, Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, head of Catholic charity Caritas Philippines, said the Church supports Ati people in their bid to assert their lawful rights on the land and hailed them as “stewards of the land for generations.”
Members of the Missionaries of Charity interact with ethnic Ati tribal people. (Photo: Jimmy Domingo)
He urged all parties to respect the land rights of Ati people. In 2018, the government of former President Rodrigo Duterte awarded land to the tribe’s people under the Certificate of Land Ownership Award to help them overcome poverty.
However, the allocation was canceled last year. Despite filing motions for reconsideration at regional and central levels, their requests were denied. Rights groups say without land titles Ati people face displacement like many tribal groups in the country.
Catholic charity Caritas Hong Kong has launched a new board game to help elderly people view life and death positively and learn about end-of-life preparation. The “Wisdom of Life” was launched at the Caritas-run Cheng Shing Fung Elderly Community Center under its hospice care program last week.
The game can help players see life from the perspective of death, cherish the present more, and plan for the rest of their lives. The initiative comes in response to healthcare challenges and an aging population.
An elderly woman pushes her trolleys up a hill in Hong Kong on Oct. 5, 2022. (Photo: Peter Parks/AFP)
Hong Kong has been grappling with an impending demographic crisis fueled by a falling birth rate and a rising elderly population. The elderly population aged 65 and older is projected to rise from 20.5 percent in 2021 to 36 percent in 2046.
With the current trend of low birth rate, the city will have the world’s highest percentage of elderly population by 2050 with an estimated 40.6 percent.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of South Korea has released the results of its survey ahead of the national assembly polls on April 10.
The survey titled, “22nd National Assembly Election Policy Questionnaire,” included 43 questions covering eight areas, which received responses from three of the four political parties to whom it was sent.
South Korea’s ruling People Power Party campaigners wave during a campaign ahead of the parliamentary elections in Seoul on March 28. The East Asian nation goes to polls on April 10. (Photo: AFP)
The bishops’ conference secretariat said that it would send the survey results to the dioceses in the country.
The data gathered from the survey can be used to “verify the policies of parliamentary candidates running for office.”
The survey questionnaire covered topics such as labor, national reconciliation, social welfare, bioethics, ecology and environment, women, justice and peace, and youth, among others.
Topics such as the abolition of the death penalty, issues related to nuclear disarmament, and the enactment of a special law on the Itaewon tragedy saw varied responses from the parties.
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