Pope Francis to make his first trip to Asia in AugustMarch 10, 2014 - 16:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Pope Francis will make his first trip to Asia in August, visiting South Korea for a festival of Asian Catholic youth, the Vatican said on Monday, March 10, according to Reuters. Francis will be in South Korea Aug 14-18, the Vatican said, without giving details of his schedule. The Sixth Asian Youth Day is due to take place in the diocese of Daejeon from Aug 10 to 17. The leader of the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church, who was elected nearly a year ago, visited Brazil last July and is due to make a trip to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories in May. The late Pope John Paul visited South Korea twice. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |