by Melani Manel Perera | SRI LANKA

For the first time, Sri Lankans were able to pay homage to the memory of the fallen and the missing in an atmosphere of relative peace and security. Rallies were held in the north and in the capital to remember the end of the war in May 2009 between the Tamil Tigers and the military. Tens of thousands of civilians paid the ultimate price. “Reconciliation without justice,” said Sister Deepa Fernando, “is an empty gesture.”


40,000 welcome Pope Prevost in St Peter’s Square for his first public audience. Tour in the popemobile amid cheers and flags from Lebanon, Ukraine, and peace movements. Leo XIV continues the catechetical series “Jesus Our Hope”, begun by Francis for the Jubilee. A renewed appeal for “dignified humanitarian aid” to Gaza: “We are called to sow hope and build peace.”

| 21/05/2025
| VATICAN
by Dario Salvi

In an interview with AsiaNews, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako reflects on the days of the Conclave spent alongside the new pontiff and their “very important” first meeting after the election. He describes the “complicated situation” facing Christians in the Middle East, who suffer from a “lack of stability” despite some improvements in security. His first words to Pope Prevost: “We are counting on you.”

| 21/05/2025
| IRAQ - VATICAN
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The government in Tbilisi is proudly touting Georgia’s buoyant GDP figures, claiming that the economy has tripled in recent years thanks to its own policies. However, the real driving force behind this surge has been the indirect effects of the war in Ukraine. Around 100,000 Russians have fled to Georgia to escape Putin’s mobilisation, and the boom in less visible sectors of the economy—such as trade triangulation to bypass sanctions against Moscow and surrogacy clinics—has fuelled further growth.

| 21/05/2025
| GEORGIA

Today’s headlines: At least four children killed in suicide bombing targeting a bus in Pakistan; Three dead due to flooding in Bengaluru, India’s Silicon Valley; North Korean authorities aim to block calls to Seoul via Chinese phones; In Cambodia, environmental journalist arrested over deforestation report.

| 21/05/2025
| ASIA TODAY

The reporter, whose identity has not been released, is accused of obstructing the Election Commission with an article claiming that 99 Chinese spies had been moved from South Korea to Japan after former President Yoon declared martial law. The affair reflects the tense climate of the presidential election campaign. Meanwhile, the leader of the Democratic Party Lee Jae-myung continues to be ahead in the polls.

| 20/05/2025
| SOUTH KOREA

After 2,454 days unjustly behind bars, the former senator and minister of Justice is back in Congress, in the House of Representatives this time. With the opposition party, Mamamayang Liberal (ML), she will challenge the political oligarchies of the Duterte and Marcos clans. For the families of the victims of the war on drugs, she represents hope for justice. Hers is “A fragile mandate that carries the weight of people’s hopes”.

| 20/05/2025
| PHILIPPINES
Editor's choices
 
After 2,454 days unjustly behind bars, the former senator and minister of Justice is back in Congress, in the House of Representatives this time. With the opposition party, Mamamayang Liberal (ML), she will challenge the political oligarchies of the ...
| 20/05/2025
| PHILIPPINES
 
A source in mainland China spoke to AsiaNews about the election of a pontiff born in a country that, according to state propaganda, is its archfoe against whom to flaunt China’s superiority. Yet, the open gaze of Chinese Catholics towards Leo XIV ...
| 14/05/2025
| CHINA
 
The local government is asking the Legislative Council (which it controls) to approve a new regulation that would hand over jurisdiction to mainland China in "complex cases" involving foreign countries. The measure appears tailored to the case of Jimmy ...
| 12/05/2025
| HONG KONG - CHINA
 
by Gianni Criveller
Leo XIV experienced the mission for a long time, in Peru first, as a reason for being alive. This is something new for a pontiff. He has already spoken about authority that should “disappear so that Christ remains.” The choice of the name ...
| 11/05/2025
| EDITORIAL
 
by Oswald Gracias *
The archbishop emeritus of Bombay (Mumbai), representative of Asia on Pope Francis’s Council of Cardinals, wrote to AsiaNews about the new pope. “He brings hopes, expectations, understanding, openness and a missionary thrust,” the cardinal ...
| 10/05/2025
| VATICAN – ASIA
 
by Alessandra De Poli
Cardinal Prevost, a spiritual son of St Augustine, was elected pope on the very day the Church celebrated the liturgical feast of the martyrs of Algeria, among whom were two Augustinian nuns. And in the description of the “disarmed and disarming” ...
| 09/05/2025
| VATICAN /1
 
Born in Chicago, he is the first pontiff from North America who also served as bishop of Chiclayo and has Peruvian citizenship. For two terms he was prior general of the Augustinians, a religious order also present in many Asian countries. Pope Francis ...
| 08/05/2025
| VATICAN
 
by Nirmala Carvalho
The Indian military claims that Operation Sindoor against Pakistan was “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature.” Pakistan’s response killed students at a Catholic school. Sadly, “two students lost their lives, and their ...
| 07/05/2025
| INDIA – PAKISTAN
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”