Alessandra De Poli

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.

Many changes have occurred since 2013, University of Nottingham Professor Hongyi Lai told AsiaNews. The “New Silk Road" has expanded to new sectors but several infrastructure projects are being implemented at a slower pace. China’s economic woes will not end soon.

In August, the UN Food and Agriculture Agency reported a 9.8 per cent price hike over July despite an overall drop in food prices. Rice is vulnerable to extreme climate events, like those that devastated Pakistan and China last year, but the recent increase was also driven by India's export ban. Southeast Asian countries, which are the hardest hit, are looking for other solutions.

Just as the world focuses on the G20 summit New Delhi tomorrow, Maldivians vote in a crucial presidential election. Traditionally pro-India, the country’s diplomatic relations began to shift in 2013 with China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the election of President Abdulla Yameen who ruled in an authoritarian fashion. The current president, Ibrahim Solih, is confident of winning in the first round, but experts believe a run-off cannot be ruled out.

Sister Marie and Sister Teresa brought new life to the congregation of the Lovers of the Cross in Kompong Cham after the fall of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. As they say in their testimony, their journey began in the 1990s, and went hand in hand with the country’s reconstruction.

The violence in the northeastern state of India is rooted in intertwined factors: ethnicity, access to weapons, refugees from Myanmar, the drug trade, the role of women. Journalist Samrat Choudhury, author of a recent book on Northeast India, spoke to AsiaNews about it, noting that contrary to what was said initially, this is not a religious conflict, and that it is hard to see a peaceful resolution in the future.

The Indian government has banned imports for low-cost ones (mostly Chinese) lighters to save a key sector in arid Tamil Nadu. Local companies employ more than 100,000 people, 90 per cent women. Phillumenists are also happy because of decorated boxes are part of Indian popular culture.

India’s prime minister will be in New York and Washington from 21 to 24 June, a visit described as “historic” by US officials. In fact, Delhi has nurtured this relationship for some time, favoured by the presence of a large Indian diaspora in the US. Its aim goes beyond containing China. Farwa Aamer, director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute, talked to AsiaNews about it.

Like with Ukraine, India is taking the middle road in the Pacific region, between the US and China. For Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, James Marape, India is a “leader of the Global South". On the plus side, India can provide affordable technology and rely on local Indian communities, but militarily, the West remains dominant.

Bollywood’s role in sectarian propaganda remains a major issue. Ultranationalist Hindus continue to peddle the “Love Jihad” conspiracy against the Muslim minority. The Supreme Court has waded into the latest controversy, ordering filmmakers to add a disclaimer that their story is “fictionalised”. Meanwhile, at least 100 people are arrested in Maharashtra following unrest earlier this month.

India’s Operation Kaveri seeks to bring home thousands of Indians stranded in Khartoum after Sudan’s descent into chaos. Many belong to a tribe that occupies a market niche, selling herbal remedies abroad. In recent years, Indian investments have also grown in the continent, linked to India by historic trade routes and a shared colonial past.

Fr. Stefano Mosca, a PIME missionary, tells of his mission in the squatter shacks that have sprung up around the city of Navotas. A feeding programme has been set up for the children, while Mass is celebrated under a tent in a different place every week.