(Vatican Radio) The half-brother of North Korea's leader has apparently been assassinated. A critic of the North Korean regime, Kim Jong Nam lived in exile.Listen to Alastair Wanklyn' report: Kim Jong Nam was at an airport in Malaysia when two attackers stabbed him with what appeared to be a poisoned needle. He died on the way to hospital. That's according to reports citing Malaysian police and the South Korean government.Kim was the older half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He largely lived in exile, after apparently embarrassing the ruling family when he was caught trying to enter Japan with a forged passport.He was an English-speaker who would talk to journalists, offering a human face of North Korea's reclusive ruling family.He was also a critic of the regime. When his father, leader Kim Jong Il died, he told reporters he opposed dynastic succession.There is no comment from North Korea, and some analysts say it's unclear why Kim Jong Nam ...
(Vatican Radio) The half-brother of North Korea's leader has apparently been assassinated. A critic of the North Korean regime, Kim Jong Nam lived in exile.
Listen to Alastair Wanklyn' report:
Kim Jong Nam was at an airport in Malaysia when two attackers stabbed him with what appeared to be a poisoned needle. He died on the way to hospital. That's according to reports citing Malaysian police and the South Korean government.
Kim was the older half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He largely lived in exile, after apparently embarrassing the ruling family when he was caught trying to enter Japan with a forged passport.
He was an English-speaker who would talk to journalists, offering a human face of North Korea's reclusive ruling family.
He was also a critic of the regime. When his father, leader Kim Jong Il died, he told reporters he opposed dynastic succession.
There is no comment from North Korea, and some analysts say it's unclear why Kim Jong Nam would be targeted for assassination as he posed no immediate challenge to the leadership.
But North Korea has perhaps the world's worst human rights record. Activists say there next to no freedom of religion, and the nation imprisons or executes people for minor challenges to the state.
Several members of the ruling family have been killed, including just over three years ago the uncle of leader Kim Jong Un.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, South Korea's government said it will check on security for high-risk people living there. A spokesman said North Korean defectors and others involved in North-South dialogue should be extra vigilant from now on.
St. Stanislaus of Szczepanów is depicted as the patron saint of Poland in a miniature painted by Stanislaw Samostrzelnik of Mogila. / Credit: Polona Digital Library|Wikimedia|PD-ArtWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 16:53 pm (CNA).Pope Francis during his Wednesday general audience invoked the intercession of St. Stanislaus, patron saint of Poland, for peace in Ukraine and Israel.Addressing Polish pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, the pope said: "Today you celebrate the solemnity of St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr, patron of your homeland.""St. John Paul II wrote of him," Francis went on, "that from high in heaven, he shared in the sufferings and hopes of your nation, sustaining its survival, especially during the Second World War."Francis prayed that the intercession of St. Stanislaus "obtain, even today, the gift of peace in Europe and throughout the world, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East."What does Poland have to do with these wars? This co...
null / Credit: ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:23 pm (CNA).A trio of Catholic radio networks has filed a petition against the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over new requirements that will soon mandate that all U.S. radio and television stations publish information about the race and gender of their employees.In a 3-2 ruling in February, the commissioners of the FCC reinstated a requirement that radio stations must annually file a document, known as Form 395-B, that lists the race and gender of their employees.The FCC governs radio stations transmitting on AM or FM frequencies, satellite radio and TV stations, cable networks, and broadcast TV stations. These entities are required to maintain a summary of publicly accessible information known as a public file, with varying requirements among the types of stations regarding what must be contained in the file.The FCC had not required Form 395-B since 2004, following a 2001 ruling by t...
Servant of God Nino Baglieri. / Credit: ANS/SalesiansACI Prensa Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:53 pm (CNA).The diocesan phase of the cause of beatification of the Servant of God Nino Baglieri has been closed in Modica, a town in southern Sicily. Overcoming his bitterness due to his quadriplegic condition, Baglieri gave himself to the mission of evangelizing through the means available to him. The closing of the diocesan phase, according to the Salesian News Agency, took place on Sunday, May 5, in Mother of St. Peter church, where a solemn Eucharist was celebrated by Salvatore Rumeo, the bishop of Noto. In his homily, the prelate related that on May 5, 1951, Baglieri received baptism, "becoming a Christian."Regarding the servant of God, he emphasized that "prayer for Nino was everything: Despite his suffering, like a light that shines and burns, he managed to infect others with the meaning of true prayer."Addressing the servant of God in prayer, Rumeo said: "We are grateful t...