04/24/2014PAKISTAN Punjab: clan gang rapes seven year old Christian and kidnaps father to stop him reporting them by Jibran Khan Sara was raped by four men in a Muslim village in Sialkot . The little girl is hospitalized in a "critical condition". The rapists kidnapped her father, Iqbal Masih, forcing the family to not press charges. Activists and human rights organizations demand justice. Islamabad
(AsiaNews ) - A "clan" of four Muslim men raped a Christian girl of
only seven years old, named Sara yesterday in the village of Mally ki, Daska, Sialkot
district (Punjab) . The
child is now in Sialkot hospital, in the intensive care unit in...
04/24/2014SYRIA For Ban Ki-moon, all Syrian factions guilty of blocking humanitarian aid UN secretary general says "flagrant violations of the basic principles of international law" have been committed. For UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, relief often cannot reach its destination because soldiers deny access. And roads linking Aleppo to Damascus are often blocked.
04/24/2014BANGLADESH Rana Plaza, a year after, amid the government's failed promises and survivors' rehabilitation by Nozrul Islam Thousands of people, including garments workers and their families, held a memorial vigil today for the 1,135 victims of the Rana Plaza collapse. The disaster was the worst accident in the country's garment industry. Although the road ahead is still long, workplace safety is now on the agenda. However, only a few families have received compensation and many workers who survived the ordeal have not been hired back to work.
04/24/2014VATICAN Christians and Buddhists to foster together the growth of the community The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue issues a message for the Buddhist Feast of Vesakh to "join forces to educate people, particularly the young, to seek fraternity, to live in fraternity and to dare to build fraternity."
04/24/2014CHINA - JAPAN - UNITED STATES In Tokyo, Obama irks Beijing by siding with Japan over disputed islands For the first time, a US president directly addresses the issue of the Senkaku/Diayou, a group of small islands claimed by both China and Japan. For the US president, on a visit to Japan, the islands "fall within the scope of Article 5 of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Co-operation and Security." For Beijing, this is mistake, worthy of the "Cold War" era.
04/24/2014VATICAN Pope: there are "bat-like Christians” who "prefer the shadows to the light of the Lord’s presence". Like the disciples at the appearance of the Risen Jesus, we "are afraid of the closeness of Jesus, because it gives us joy." "The Christian life should be a dialogue with Jesus, because - this is true - Jesus is always with us, always in times of problems, difficulties and good works".
04/24/2014INDIA Card. Gracias: We vote to serve and build a better India by Card. Oswald Gracias The Archbishop of Mumbai went to the polls this morning, during the sixth phase of the general elections of 2014. To do so, he postponed his trip to Rome. He tells AsiaNews: "Jesus was clear about religious authority and the civil power, it is our duty as citizens to get involved in civil matters" for the good of society.
04/24/2014INDONESIA Bogor: Christians appeal to new mayor to let Yasmin Church reopen On 7 April, Bima Arya Sugiarto replaced controversial Mayor Diani Budiarto, who had the church closed. His decision, which violated a Constitutional Court ruling, was taken under pressures from Islamists. The new mayor now has to put "an end" to abuses against the Christian community, which this year celebrated Easter in the open air.
04/24/2014VATICAN Canonised popes as model for Francis' Church by Franco Pisano On several occasions, the current pope highlighted Pope John XXIII's humility and surrender to God's and John Paul II's consistency, courage and missionary strength as examples of how the Catholic world ought to be.
04/24/2014KOREA Pyongyang sends its condolences to Seoul for ferry disaster This is the first time since 2003 that the Kim regime has expressed “sorrow" over a tragedy that occurred in the South. The death toll rises to 171 , 131 people are still missing. The message was sent through the Red Cross.
04/24/2014BANGLADESH Dhaka, rise in abductions as a Catholic businessman kidnapped by Sumon Corraya The victim is Hemonto Costa, younger sibling of Brother Proshanto Costa, high school principal in Mymensingh. His cell phone is turned off and there is no news of his whereabouts. Between 2013 and 2014 a total of 332 people were kidnapped in Bangladesh. Only half returned home alive.
04/23/2014SAUDI ARABIA Death toll hits 81 with 17 more MERS cases reported The number of people infected with the virus now stands at 261. Saudi King fires Health minister, who had said that MERS-related deaths had dropped by 60 per cent, that more than 20,000 people had been examined over the last few weeks, and that his ministry had done a good job.
04/23/2014VATICAN Pope warns against placing hope in "dead things" such as vanity, money and success At the General Audience, Pope Francis reflects on the Angels’ words at the tomb: "Why look among the dead for someone who is alive?". And what do I do ? Which route do I follow to encounter the living Christ . He will always be close to us to correct our course if we have gone wrong".
04/23/2014SINGAPORE - CHINA Singapore archbishop: With Benedict XVI's words pray for the Church in China by William Goh Seng Chye* Citing the Prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan, the bishop calls on the faithful to "reach out" to Chinese migrants living in the city-state, and show "them our genuine love and concern." On 23 May, a special prayer is set for St Bernadette Church.
Before the tomb, something completely new and unexpected happens, they draw near and they do not find the Lord's body, What was a simple act, done surely out of love - going to the tomb - has now turned into an event, a truly life-changing event. Nothing remains as it was before, not only in the lives of those women, but also in our own lives and in the history of mankind. Jesus is not dead, he has risen, he is alive! He does not simply return to life; rather, he is life itself, because he is the Son of God, the living God! Jesus no longer belongs to the past, but lives in the present and is projected towards the future; Jesus is the everlasting "today" of God. This is how the newness of God appears to the women, the disciples and all of us: as victory over sin, evil and death, over everything that crushes life and makes it seem less human. How often does Love have to tell us: Why do you look for the living among the dead? Our daily problems and worries can wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness... and that is where death is. That is not the place to look for the One who is alive!
Pope Francis
AsiaNews wishes all our friends and readers a Happy Easter 2014
.jpg)
_0424_-_Anniversario_Rana_Plaza.jpg)
.jpg)
