Traveling Down The Mekong

Visiting Ramallah today where he witnessed the challenges Palestinians face first-hand, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his commitment to help the Israeli and Palestinian sides reach a settlement in the next two years. more

A student beaten by pro-Taliban radicals at a Pakistani university earlier this week has died of his injuries. more

Around 2,000 protesters in Russia's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad demanded the resignations of their governor and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today. But the demonstration was far smaller than the 12,000-strong protest that shook the Kremlin in January, a sign the authorities have stalled the ... more

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to Nepal's former prime minister and head of the Nepali Congress party Girija Prasad Koirala, calling his death a “huge loss” both for the country and for its peace process, which ended a decade-long civil war. more

In Qinghai pro-Dalai Lama leaflets are distributed, the police occupy the nearby monastery and arrest three monks at random. Secondary school students in Gansu praise the Dalai Lama, the police arrest at least 20 young people. more

In a video message on the occasion of Nowruz, the U.S. president stresses that the policy of a "helping hand" is always valid, even if Iran has chosen “isolation". He hopes for more cultural and educational exchanges between young Iranians and Americans, and free internet access. more

The program is run by Caritas and the Philippines Association of lay Dominicans. Since 1976, over 10 thousand prisoners have been reintegrated into society through training and psychological and spiritual help inside and outside prison. more

In a Letter to the Catholics of Ireland, Benedict XVI returns to openly confront the issue of paedophile priests, who must also go before the courts. "Shame and remorse" for what happened. Critical of the bishops who failed to safeguard, instead suppressed and concealed. He reminds victims that ... more

In the church of the Holy Cross, a parish in the capital, over 120 children have prayed and meditated on the themes of "sacrifice, service and growth in spiritual life." A seminar in the Lenten season to "welcome and celebrate the risen Christ." Local priests: the children learn the value of the ... more