07/31/2014TIBET - CHINA - NEPAL Thousands of people attend 14th Shamar Rinpoche's cremation in Nepal Despite pressure from Beijing, the Nepali government allows the funeral to take place, granting the deceased his last wishes. Kathmandu's initial refusal was due to fear of possible anti-China protests from the Tibetan community in exile, which however did not occur. Kathmandu
(AsiaNews) - Thousands of exiled Tibetans attended
today's cremation ceremony of the
14th Shamar Rinpoche, one
of the most influential Tibetan
lamas.
After
initially
opposing it at...
07/31/2014RUSSIA - UNITED STATES For Orthodox Church, Moscow can do what it wants in state-religion relations Speaking about the US State Department report on international religious freedom, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations, said "We have the right to create our model."
07/31/2014ISRAEL - PALESTINE With nearly 1,400 dead in Gaza, Netanyahu pledges to destroy every tunnel As more rockets land in Israel today, operations continue in Gaza. Talks in Egypt about a possible truce produce little results. Re-opening the Eretz crossing to connect Gaza to the West Bank is one of the goals. The Pentagon releases new ammunitions to Israel, which has called up 86,000 reservists.
07/31/2014INDIA Andhra Pradesh: a new church in memory of Sister Ida, the "golden mother" of Vegavaram by Benigna Menezes* The diocese of Vijayawada inaugurated the place of worship, which is dedicated to Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, in the village of Chainatalanarva. Fr Raju, Sister Ida's "adoptive son", is the local parish priest. The nun spent 63 years in the service of children and lepers in India where she was among the first missionaries of the Immaculate to arrive.
07/31/2014LIBYA - PHILIPPINES Tripoli priest calls for the repatriation of Filipino workers whose lives are risk Filipinos, who number 13,000, are targeted by Islamic extremists. For the parish priest at Mary Immaculate Church, they should be considered "war refugees", and be "evacuated by ship". Two religious congregations recall nuns in Libya because it "is risky to stay here."
07/31/2014LEBANON - PALESTINE - IRAQ Only cultural resistance can oppose brute force at work in Gaza and Mosul by Fady Noun Against brute force we really only have the reaffirmation of what makes us strong, namely our fierce attachment to the happy acceptance, full of life, of others - with its joys and pains - and resistance to all forms of fundamentalism, be it Sunni, Shia or Jewish.
07/31/2014SOUTH KOREA Korea, discovered corpse "not the Sewol owner" Announced by a group of parliamentarians who visited the forensic laboratory for the autopsy and identification of the body (found in June) and recognized (in July) as belonging to Yoo Byung-eun. Doubts about fingerprints and the stature of the body. Experts: "Science cannot explain everything, but of course the authorities have handled the case badly." 57% of Koreans "do not trust" the government.
07/31/2014INDIA Madhya Pradesh: government "encourages" radical Hindus to persecute Christians by Nirmala Carvalho Reported to AsiaNews by Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). In June and July there have been numerous attacks against the minority. In all cases the extremists are using the weapon of the "anti-conversion law" to threaten the faithful and Christian religious leaders.
07/31/2014PHILIPPINES - ASIA Two Chinese activists and Pakistani Foundation among “Asian Nobel” winners The Foundation, which assigns the Magsaysay Award, the most famous of the continent, has announced the 2014 winners: a Chinese journalist who challenges abuse of power, an environmental activist and a group of industrialists who promote women’s education in Pakistan. An Indonesian anthropologist, the director of the National Museum of Afghanistan and a Filipino teacher who works with the tribals also awarded.
07/31/2014CHINA Xinjiang in lock down following riots The catalyst that sparked the violence in the province, which killed dozens of people, is still unknown. Military patrol streets and authorities shut down communications with the outside world. Formal charges of "separatism" against Ilham Tohti, a scholar who defends the Uyghur minority.
07/31/2014ASIA Alarm over malaria in Southeast Asia: drug-resistant parasites found This was revealed by a British study, which urges "radical action" to prevent further spread. The parasites do not respond to artemisinins, the most powerful active ingredient used in treatment. The area most at risk is at the border between Cambodia and Thailand.
07/30/2014JAPAN Japan's factory output falls to lowest point since 2011 tsunami After Abe government raised sales tax from 5 to 8 per cent, factory output dropped by 3.3 per cent between May and June. Although "pent-up demand ahead of the sales tax hike was bigger than expected," consumers will come back, analyst expects.
07/30/2014ISRAEL - PALESTINE After another UN school hit, UNRWA spokesman says "no place is safe in Gaza" For Peres, the military operation in Gaza had "exhausted itself". He hopes that "at the end of the day, the other side will also reach the conclusion that the biggest victory is to end the war." Hamas official hopes for Hizbollah intervention. Vatican getting involved diplomatically.
07/30/2014NEPAL Nepal, Christians alone rush to aid of flood victims by Christopher Sharma The population denounce government's inaction and praise help from Church and NGOs. The authorities speak of "limited resources". 100 thousand displaced people, dozens of deaths and 10 thousand houses damaged.
07/30/2014SYRIA - ISLAM Gregory III: "Christians and Muslims, we are each other's best guarantors" In his message for the end of Ramadan, the Greek-Melkite Catholic patriarch of Antioch notes that Christians and Muslims built the Arab civilisation together and pleads with "our Arab brothers to come together to save Islam" from the extremist currents that are invading it. "We must, can and want to stay together, Muslims and Christians, to build together a better world for our future generations and our common future."
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