Portugal’s government rejects paying reparations for colonial, slavery legacy
Lisbon, Portugal Reuters Portugal’s government said on Saturday it refuses to initiate any process to pay reparations for atrocities committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, contrary to earlier comments from President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. From the 15th to the 19th century, six million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported across the Atlantic […]
Pope will travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore in longest trip of papacy
Vatican City AP Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, the Vatican announced Friday, confirming the longest trip of Francis’ papacy that is sure to test his health, stamina and mobility. The Vatican confirmed the 2nd to 13th September visit, saying the 87-year-old Pope would visit Jakarta, Indonesia; Port […]
East Timor opposition wins most votes in parliamentary election – state media
Reuters The party of East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmão has won most votes in a parliamentary election, preliminary results in state media showed on Tuesday, boosting his chances of his return as premier and a new phase of opposition rule. Gusmão’s National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) won about 42 per cent of ballots […]
Exodus of healthcare workers from poor countries worsening, WHO says
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Poorer countries are increasingly losing healthcare workers to wealthier ones as the latter seek to shore up their own staff losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes through active recruitment, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The trend for nurses and other staff to leave parts of Africa or South-East Asia for […]
Snapshot: Beach at Dili, East Timor
See JACK MALIPAN’s image…
“Frank” talks on Myanmar dominate ASEAN foreign ministers meeting
Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters The conflict in Myanmar dominated the year’s first meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Jakarta on Friday, with Indonesia’s top diplomat saying that member states had “frank” discussions on the issue. The foreign minister of Indonesia, which chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, said the bloc was pushing for […]
For East Timor President, ASEAN membership a lifelong dream
Sydney, AustraliaReuters It was as a budding diplomat in the 1970s that Jose Ramos-Horta, a man who would go on to win the Nobel prize for his fight for East Timor’s independence, first raised the idea of his country joining South-East Asia’s economic and political bloc. Almost half a century later, his vision appears set […]
ASEAN leaders call for timeline on Myanmar peace
Phnom Penh, CambodiaReuters South-East Asian heads of government on Friday issued a “warning” to Myanmar to make measurable progress on a peace plan or risk being barred from the bloc’s meetings, as social and political chaos escalates in the country. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations said that after “little progress” on the five-point peace […]
East Timor’s Catholics rally behind accused Nobel bishop
Dili, East TimorAP East Timor’s Catholics reacted with shock but also expressions of support Friday for revered independence icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo following allegations he sexually abused boys decades ago in the impoverished South-East Asian nation. The Vatican admitted Thursday that its sex abuse office had secretly sanctioned the bishop […]
Vatican disciplined Nobel-winning bishop over alleged abuse of minors
Vatican City Reuters The Vatican on Thursday acknowledged that it had secretly disciplined East Timor bishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Carlos Ximenes Belo two years ago, responding to allegations that he sexually abused boys in East Timor decades before. The Vatican acknowledgement came in response to reporters’ questions following an article this week in […]