The country wants to diversify its trade routes with the region, reducing its dependence on Pakistan. This trend has strengthened after recent hostilities with its neighbour. In the last month, Afghan traders have lost 200 million dollars. The trade balance with the five Central Asian countries has reached 1.7 billion.

The alarm was raised in a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Long-term resilience measures are needed to combat economic losses, health crises and the collapse of energy infrastructure. Asphalt and concrete in cities are exacerbating the emergency. The continent's water resources are also at risk.

In Sri Lanka, the preliminary death toll from Typhoon Ditwah stands at 56, with 44,000 people affected. Hundreds of millimetres of rain fell in just a few hours. Government offices and schools are closed. In Indonesia, 19 people are confirmed dead with scores trapped by mud and debris. The archbishop of Medan has launched a fundraiser.

At last week's summit in Johannesburg, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented a six-point agenda, ranging from coordination against drug trafficking and terrorism to a new framework for critical minerals, as well as regulations on artificial intelligence. Relations with Japan, Italy, and Canada have strengthened. But while New Delhi claims a central role for emerging economies, tensions with Beijing flared up again after yet another incident related to the disputed territory of Arunachal Pradesh.

For the local elections on 9 and 11 December, the party led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has presented an unprecedented number of Christian candidates. The Syro-Malabar Church, after a meeting with the prime minister, has invited the faithful to collaborate in the electoral review, signalling a possible rapprochement.

India's Supreme Court has confirmed the dismissal of Christian officer Samuel Kamalesan, who was accused in May of "grossest indiscipline" for refusing to participate in a Hindu ritual in his regiment. On Constitution Day, Mgr Savio Fernandes, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bombay, slams anti-conversion laws as tools of persecution against minorities. For him, they “invert justice” and “criminalize compassion.” India risks betraying its pluralist vision.