WATCHING THE WORLD

United States

Each day, more than 20 former members of the United States’ armed forces commit suicide. Every month, some 950 veterans who are receiving care from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs attempt suicide.

China

“Almost half of female migrant workers under 30 have become pregnant before marriage, a dramatic jump in the number of unwed [Chinese] mothers compared with only a generation ago,” reports China Daily. Chinese society is also said to be “more open to . . . unwed couples living together.”

Greece

Greece is seeing a resurgence of malaria, a disease that was all but eradicated from the country in 1974. Economic woes and cuts in public health-care spending are blamed for the comeback.

India

A survey showed that despite rapid social changes, 74 percent of the respondents still prefer arranged marriages over “love matches.” An overwhelming 89 percent also prefer to live with their extended family instead of just their “nuclear family,” composed of parents and children.

Italy

“The [Catholic] Church is weary, both in wealthy Europe and in America. Our culture has aged, our churches are big, our convents are empty and the bureaucracy of the Church has swollen, our rites and our vestments are pompous. . . . The Church is 200 years behind the times.”​—Interview with Catholic cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, published posthumously by Corriere della Sera.