Anna Chiara Filice

The resumption of lessons is disputed by parents who do not want to endanger their children's lives. After the revocation of the special status of semi-autonomy, the Indian state is militarized. Internet and transport suspended: shops closed and commercial production blocked.

The fire broke out in Mirpur 7, home to about 100,000 people. No casualties were reported because residents were out to celebrate the Eid al-Adha. Some suspect the blaze was deliberate to leave room for the underground metro rail and residential development.

The new airfield, which comes with a US$ 3.5 billion price tag, would be built 80 km south of the capital. Activists complain the project would drive 500 families out of their homes. Nepal has only one international airport that sometimes shuts down during the monsoon season.

The Islamic State claims the massacre that killed 63 people. The Taliban distance themselves from the atrocity committed by the rival group. Peace talks in crisis. Fr. Moretti: "The word "God" on the mouth of the attackers is blasphemy".

Heightened border tensions between India and Pakistan have followed New Delhi’s decision to cancel the special autonomy of the Muslim majority State. Today, the UN Security Council is meeting to discuss the issue. For Bishop Joseph D’Souza, "The last thing the region needs is another war."

Emphasis on government inefficiencies. "It seems that the authorities just want to identify the flaws in the security system." The bishops reiterate that the main purpose must be the identification of authors, supporters and accomplices.

The Diocese of Miao organised a musical dedicated to school dropouts. On average, two out of three youths go to school in India. Early dropout is widespread for both boys and girls. Forced to leave her studies to look after five siblings, Sonia is one of the dropouts.

St James is the first Catholic church on Rameswaram Island. The spread of Christianity on the island is the work of the Servant of God Antonio Criminali, the second martyr of India. Its façade has a cross as well as Hindu and Islamic symbols, to show that the believers of all religions are welcome.

Benish Imran was kidnapped by a man who then forced her to embrace Islam. In court, she said she was 19 and had married of her own free will. The association that follows the case complains of dozens of similar episodes.

Ordained last year, the priest has worked in parish outreach in Italy and with street children in India. "I learnt to attract young people,” he explains. His institute has asked him to set up a parish in the Diocese of Bagdogra. “I have prayers and faith to comfort me,” he says.

The election slated for September 28th. 18 candidates, including the current president Ashraf Ghani. In the same hours that Kabul announced the opening to fundamentalists, three cities were devastated by new explosions. In 2018, over 3 thousand victims, of which almost 1,000 are children.

The Hindu nationalist party has set up a "missionary cell" to tell Christians that “we are friends of Christians". Christian-majority Mizoram is the only state in north-eastern India not governed by the BJP. Elsewhere its militants have devastated churches and attacked missionaries.