Other news today: Tokyo wants to strengthen the diplomatic corps by hiring 8,000 officials before 2030. The bishop of Chiang Mai publicly called to welcome Burmese refugees – Catholics and Buddhists – who are fleeing the violence of the military. Colombo wants to toughen anti-pollution laws to save elephants from plastic. Cardinal Zuppi came to Moscow on behalf of the Pope to try new ways of dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. Beijing has started sea exports to Uzbekistan.
ISRAEL
In 2060, the total number of students in Israel it will be close to 5.2 million, compared to 2.5 million this year. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), by that date, 31.9% of students – almost one in three – will be ultra-Orthodox, which represents a growth of 246% compared to the current figure. By contrast, the increase in students in Arab schools by 2060 will be 35.7%.
JAPAN
tokyo wants strengthen the diplomatic corps hiring 8 thousand more employees by the end of the decade, increasing the staff by 20% compared to the current one with the purpose of countering the influence of Beijing in the Indo-Pacific. The aim is to match the number of civil servants with that of other G7 countries such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and to deepen the skills in a given country.
THAILAND – MYANMAR
The Bishop of Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, called on the local community to help and welcome several thousand Burmese refugees, mostly Catholics, who have crossed the border fleeing fighting between soldiers and rebels. Bishop Francis Xavier Vira Arporndratana invited those who are “knocking on the door” to open up.
SRI LANKA
Images of sacred elephants (and cattle) eating plastic They have led the authorities to toughen the laws against pollution, although the population continues to ignore them. After the death of 20 elephants and other wild animals, Colombo assured that he will intensify control measures to also prevent the obstruction of drains, floods and the proliferation of mosquitoes (Dengue). According to the UN, the country recycles only 3% of single-use plastic.
VATICAN – RUSSIA – UKRAINE
After the trip to Ukraine on June 5 and 6, the Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, card. Matteo Maria Zuppi, arrived in Moscow to seek new ways of dialogue that will allow an end to the war. The envoy of Pope Francis, accompanied by an official from the Secretariat of State, could – but there is no confirmation – meet with the Orthodox Patriarch Kirill.
IRAN – IRAQ
The director of the Iranian gas company NIGC, Majid Chegeni, announced that Iraq has canceled its debt with Tehran, which amounted to 2,760 million dollars. According to the Iranian Minister of Oil, Djavad Oudji, the sum will cover the debt that Tehran has with Turkmenistan, which stopped exporting oil in 2017 and has initiated international arbitration proceedings.
CHINA – UZBEKISTAN
Beijing has started exporting goods to Uzbekistan by sea via Iran from the port of Xiamen. This was announced by the Uzbek company Uztemirjulcontainer, which, however, did not specify what items the more than 40 containers that arrived after a 14-day trip to the capital, Tashkent, were transporting via the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan route.
RUSSIA
During hours of uncertainty over a possible coup, Russians flocked to banks and ATMs to withdraw cash, amounts not seen since the mobilization announcement last year. Most of the withdrawn sums were recorded in the southern regions that went through the Prigozhin “march of justice”, with increases of up to 80%.
