Beijing's crackdown on religion clouds holiday season for China's faithful
Updated 0027 GMT (0827 HKT) December 27, 2018
It's a Christmas battle for the hearts and souls of the Chinese people.
Despite being officially atheist and having a long and antagonistic relationship with religion, the ruling Communist Party is presiding over a boom of Christianity in China.
There are an estimated 72 million to 92 million Christians in the country -- the second-largest faith group after Chinese Buddhists, according to US-based NGO Freedom House.
Some experts claim that China could even become the world's largest Christian country in less than two decades.
Australia's extreme heatwave spans five states with high of 49C forecast
Weather bureau tells Pilbara residents to expect scorching temperatures
Australia’s post-Christmas heatwave continues to sweep across the country, with a near record-breaking 49C forecast for Western Australia, and fire danger, health and air quality warnings issued across the nation.
On Thursday morning, the bureau of meteorology forecast a scorching 49C maximum for Marble Bar and Pannawonica in the Pilbara region of WA – only 2 degrees below the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia, which is 50.7C at South Australia’s Oodnadatta airport in 1960.
By 8.40am on Thursday Marble Bar had already recorded 43.4C, with the worst of the heat to come.
Defence secretary expresses ‘grave’ worries over Chinese telecoms giant Huawei providing Britain’s 5G network
British intelligence agencies and Ministry of Defence working on ways to combat Beijing's espionage
Kim SenguptaDefence Editor
Defence secretary Gavin Williamson has expressed “grave” worries about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei providing technology for the 5G network in Britain, warning “malign” activity by the Beijing government poses serious risks to this country’s national security.
British intelligence agencies, as well as the Ministry of Defence, are working on ways to combat Chinese espionage with particular attention to how it is exploiting nascent cybertechnology to extract secret information.
But Mr Williamson’s intervention – which comes after concerns were raised about spying and the Chinese state by the head of MI6, Alex Younger, and the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt – shows growing alarm about the issue.
Germany mulls introducing 'mosque tax' for Muslims
The idea, similar to Germany's church tax, would aim to make mosques independent of foreign donors. Germany's government and progressive Muslim leaders have supported the idea.
Lawmakers from Germany's grand coalition government said on Wednesday that they were considering introducing a "mosque tax" for German Muslims, similar to the church taxes that German Christians pay.
Thorsten Frei, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) told Die Weltdaily that a mosque tax was "an important step" that would allow "Islam in Germany to emancipate itself from foreign states."
60 years of revolution: Four Cubans tell their stories
On January 1, Cuba will mark the 60th anniversary of the communist revolution that brought the late and enigmatic leader Fidel Castro to power. Here, AFP talks to four Cubans about what the revolution still means to them.
- The ex-combatant -
For 97-year-old Alejandro Ferras Pellicer, the revolution is as alive now as it ever was. He was the oldest of a group of 100 rebels, including two of his brothers, who joined Castro in an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba in July 1953, an operation widely considered to have launched the Cuban revolution.
On January 1, 1959, Ferras Pellicer was an exile living in the United States as the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista fled his island homeland. Ferras Pellicer left his wife behind to take "the first plane" to Havana. "I arrived before Fidel," who was still in Santiago, he said.
New era approaches, but Japan's dwindling imperial line clouds future
By Megumi Iizuka
As Japan prepares for the first imperial succession in about 200 years involving a living monarch this coming spring, it has yet to address concerns about the future of the imperial line and the shortage of royals performing official duties.
Emperor Akihito, 85, is set to abdicate on April 30, 2019, to be succeeded by his eldest son Crown Prince Naruhito, 58, the following day, as the emperor indicated his desire to step down due to concern about his age and weakening health.
A number of imperial rituals are scheduled in the year, including a ceremony on May 1 in which the new emperor will inherit the traditional regalia, the enthronement ceremony on Oct 22 and the Daijosai, or grand thanksgiving rite on Nov 14-15.
No comments:
Post a Comment