Anna Chiara Filice

Voting will take place in seven phases in April and May. Vote counting will start on 23 May. The Hindu nationalist BJP is seeking a second term. Left-of-centre Congress is trying to avoid another big defeat. Minority representatives meet BJP minister.

The arrested include the brother and son of Masood Azhar, head of the Islamic group that carried out the attack in Kashmir on 14 February. The Pakistani authorities freeze the accounts of some terrorists. Satellite photos reveal that the terrorist training base in Pakistan is intact.

The Indian activist spoke at a conference on the current challenges facing the Church's mission in India. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which was established in reaction to the movement for independence from British colonial rule, is the herald of sectarian policies. Under the Modi government, the level of violence and intolerance has increased.

In 1989 the Italy-based missionary institute decided to welcome members from non-Christian majority countries. “A simple rule was established, namely that whoever enters PIME is sent to work in countries other than his own, a sign that his Church - even a small and young one – is open to giving, and can serve as a new stimulus for the Church that welcomes him.”

The study by Greenpeace and IQAir AirVisual. 3 thousand urban centers have been examined worldwide. 100% of the locations in the Middle East and Africa exceed the maximum levels of fine dust allowed by the World Health Organization. Seven million people are at risk each year.

The Abe government wants to have the legislation approved by mid-March. The goal is to be able to immediately remove children maltreated by violent parents. 2018 was one of the worst years, with over 80 thousand children victims of domestic violence and verbal abuse, abandonment and sexual abuse.

Turkey is also part of the new round of commercial tariffs. The American president wants the cancellation of both countries from the preferential system that allows goods to enter the US without taxes. Last June Delhi responded to duties imposed on its steel and aluminum replicating duties on Washington products (almonds, walnuts and shrimp), without suffering any significant economic damage.

In Varanasi two Dalits die. The prime minister pulls a stunt washing the feet of manual sanitation workers. He "is not interested in these deaths, because the waste is collected by untouchables."

He is from the State of Assam. The next goal is to bring the university into its poor village. He says: "I no longer want to see children forced to leave school".

Elections are scheduled for May. The Office for Dalits and Disadvantaged Castes is calling on all political groups to add Christian and Muslim Dalits to the reserved quota system established in 1935. Back then India’s British rulers did not exclude anyone on the basis of religion. This changed with a 1950 presidential order that deprived Christians and Muslims of their reserved access to public employment and education.

Approximately 740 thousand people are massed in the refugee camps on the border with Myanmar. Their repatriation should be carried out safely. The UN special envoy witnesses "slow progress" on the part of Naypyidaw.

The number of migrants returning since the beginning of the year has reached almost 400. Last year there were over 1,500. Since 2015, at least 5,000 have managed to flee the Saudi hell. All of them report rape, torture and unpaid wages.