Other news today: The Chinese embassy was inaugurated in Honduras after the break in relations with Taiwan. An Indian from Kerala walked to Mecca on foot to perform Hajj, the main pillar of Islam’s pilgrimage. South Korean police arrested 77 people for espionage, including in other countries. Several people were killed in two different shootings in attacks on police stations in central Vietnam. Heavy rains in Pakistan have left 27 people dead. The number of marriages falls in China. With the help of Qatar, the largest mosque in Tajikistan was inaugurated in Dushanbe
IRAQ
The Ancient Church of the East appointed as its new patriarch Mar Georges III Younan. The ceremony was held at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Baghdad. It was attended by political and ecclesiastical authorities, both Christian and Muslim, as well as a large number of faithful. The Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako congratulated the new patriarch and expressed his wishes for fruitful joint work.
TAIWAN – CHINA – HONDURAS
After breaking relations with Taiwan, Honduras inaugurated yesterday the Chinese embassy with the aim of strengthening commercial and economic collaboration with Beijing. President Xiomara Castro began a five-day visit in Shanghai this weekend to consolidate relations and meet with her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing.
INDIA – SAUDI ARABIA
Shihab Chottur, an Indian national, embarked on an adventure with the purpose of fulfilling his dream. He walked 382 kilometers from his hometown in Kerala to Mecca to perform Hajj, the main pilgrimage to the holy places of Islam. It left on June 2, 2022 and crossed Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and Kuwait to reach its final destination in Saudi Arabia in June of this year.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korean police arrested 77 people involved in 35 alleged cases of industrial espionage that were discovered in a recent nationwide investigation. Most of the facts involved national companies, but eight leaks of technological secrets were related to China – for a volume of hundreds of thousands of dollars – and other countries.
VIETNAM
Several people were killed or injured in shootings against two police stations that occurred early yesterday morning in Cu Kuin, Dak Lak province, in the Central Highlands. Six people have already been arrested, but the investigation continues and authorities are looking for more suspects. Among the victims are police officers and officials. The matrix of the events is still unknown, in a sensitive area that has been the scene of violence in the past.
PAKISTAN
The heavy rain followed by hurricane force winds They left at least 27 people dead and another 140 injured – including eight children – in northwest Pakistan. Local civil protection sources speak of 12 people who were buried alive under the rubble of the roof and walls of their houses. 200 head of cattle were also lost. The storms affected four districts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
CHINA
The marriages fell in 2022 to a record low since the surveys began and the constant decrease that has been verified during the last decade continues, aggravated by the confinements of the Covid. Last year only 6.83 million couples registered in the civil registry, almost 800,000 less than in 2021. The population and birth rate also dropped to 6.77 births per thousand inhabitants.
RUSSIA – UKRAINE
The legal battle over “Scythian gold” claimed by Russian-controlled Crimean museums has concluded after nine years in the Netherlands. The High Court upheld the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, which returns the valuable antiquities to Ukraine. It is the “triumph of justice and culture,” kyiv spokesman Andrei Ermak said.
TAJIKISTAN – QATAR
The inauguration ceremony of the largest mosque in Tajikistan, built with the help of the Emir of Qatar, was held in Dushanbe. Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Tani, in the presence of President Emomalī Rakhmon, praised the new temple as an “example of religious freedom”, despite criticism from humanitarian associations.
