Alessandra De Poli

In the Indian state of West Bengal, two PIME Fathers and two Sisters of the Immaculate accompany a Christian tribal community that is very poor but proud of its roots.

Pakistan has sent a delegation to Afghanistan to facilitate trade between the two countries, but diplomatic relations remain strained, according to analyst Riccardo Valle, co-founder of the Khorasan Diary, a platform for journalists, researchers, and academics. Attacks by the Pakistani Taliban continue to be a thorn for Islamabad. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is grappling with the Afghan branch of the Islamic State.

According to researcher Xian Yaolong, of the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, Beijing has an interest in stopping the fighting between the military and anti-coup forces only in some areas of the country, to protect trade and ensure the security of its citizens. For this reason, even a violation of the recently agreed ceasefire is not necessarily seen as a failure by China.

According to Iftikhar Firdous, founder of the Khorasan Diary news platform, tensions dropped between Iran and Pakistan after they fired missiles at each. The province concerned is marginal to Pakistan's internal political stability. But Balochis have been protesting for months against the government, which is unable to solve the security problems linked to neighbouring Afghanistan.

Since President Mohamed Muizzu came to power in November, the Maldives has moved closer to China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent posts about the Lakshadweep have been seen as a way to reduce tourism to the Maldives. Yet Delhi has been working for some time on promoting the development of its own archipelago.

Located in a neighbourhood near the border, the new church of St Joseph parish was consecrated on the Solemnity of the Epiphany. The old church was too small in a fast-growing area with housing projects changing its nature as mainland students and government workers settle in. For Fr Pietro Paolo Dossi, a PIME missionary and the local parish priest, this represents an opportunity for the community to “renew itself”.

Yesterday the #we4resilience conference, a two-day event to understand how to deal with the disasters caused by climate change ended in the Indian capital. The event - held just as COP28 opens in Dubai - was attended by dozens of aid workers, priests and beneficiaries of projects implemented by Caritas together with other partners. The focus was on a comprehensive approach that takes into account the experiences of vulnerable communities.

The collapse of a stretch of road through the Himalayas, in which 40 workers are still trapped, encapsulates many facets of the development advocated by Modi. The structure is part of a highway to develop Hindu tourism in the region, but can also quickly deploy army troops in case of a clash with Beijing. The environmental problems, however, which are often ignored, are likely to worsen.

A missionary with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, he has been serving the poor near Seoul for over 30 years, in a highly competitive society that refuses to see the least.

A member of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the founder of the Catholic the Abouna news reiterated the positions of the Jordanian monarchy that "The Palestinians have the right to their own state." After the blast at Gaza's al-Ahli hospital, protesters took to the streets. For the Jordanian cleric, the resolution of the conflict can only pass through negotiations.

India’s prime minister immediately condemned the terrorist actions by Hamas (which few Indian Muslims like), openly signalling a change in diplomatic relations. According to Prof P.R. Kumaraswamy, of Jawaharlal Nehru University, the premises for change were already there decades ago. India had an important Jewish community but has never experienced anti-Semitism. The two countries have signed deals on weapons and hi-tech, but agriculture dominates the relationship.

The new law, titled Saluting Women Power Act, reserves a third of lower house seats to women, but it is still not clear whether it will really improve women’s representation in politics. Reservation for women and disadvantaged groups impinged upon each other. Women play a major role in local politics, but are far fewer in higher levels of government because of the amount of time and money needed, and the role played by family connections.