Sumon Corraya

Children’s education is centred on the family and the school. Christian educators have an important role in building a just society. Missionary teachers face challenges. The Christian identity plays a role.

The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning in Mymensingh. More than 1,500 people gathered for the distribution of clothes, organized for zakat (legal alms). The victims are mostly very poor women.

"The poor, children, young people and women are at the heart of Catholic social outreach,” the charity’s new president, Mgr Gervas Rozario, told AsiaNews. “We shall never give up Christ and His Word,” he said. His focus will be on climate change, environment and food safety. Education and training are the current challenges.

Bangladeshi Catholics celebrated the 60th anniversary of Dhaka’s Christian Co-operative Credit Union Ltd, the first member-owned financial institution founded by the missionaries of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. The financial institution provides loans to thousands of Christians in the South Asian nation. Protestants have followed its example.

In a pastoral letter, Mgr D’Rozario highlights the main points of Pope Francis’ “green” encyclical. Catholic priests are called to spread the pope’s message among the faithful. The executive director of Caritas Bangladesh urges Catholics to use less and consume resources moderately. The charity’s projects include environmental protection, and alleviating the suffering of the weakest.

Each year, the Catholic Church organises training workshops for health workers. Catholic clinics have high professional standards but cannot meet the demand for their services. For the bishop of Rajshahi, "Physicians must be honest." The country has some 70 Catholic health facilities, a hundred physicians and a thousand nurses.

The Episcopal Commission for the Laity (EP-LC) has organised this seminar for the past four years. After the course, one participant felt a greater sense of “responsibility towards my church,” and a stronger desire “to be part of its mission, and help my pastor, following the teachings of Christ."

Pope Francis’s encyclical shows the right path to protect the world we live in. Green technologies and respect for existing rules and laws should help businesses. The Catholic Church favours human life against abortion. Cycling could cut air pollution and traffic in the city.

Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, a leading figure in the Jamaat-e-Islami party, is guilty of crimes against humanity. His party has called for a general strike tomorrow, raising fears about fresh violence.

With India moving away from beef sales, cattle exports will drop from 2.3 million in 2014 to a projected 1 million this year. The country needs at least 5 million. The ban has already negatively impacted its leather industry. Less cattle will drive many workers into the arms of drug traffickers, expert warns.

India’s Modi and Bangladesh’s Hasina signed 22 agreements and memoranda of understanding. Land Boundary Agreement on enclaves is inked. Coastal shipping in the Bay of Bengal gets the green light. However, there is no deal on river sharing, especially over the Teesta. Bangladeshi Hindus ask for help against persecution.

Two years after the disaster that killed more than 1,000 people, police submitted charge sheets against Sohel Rana for causing death "due to negligence". The investigation was slowed down by the need to interview the large number of survivors and victims’ families. After initially rejecting responsibility, the Benetton Group will compensate the victims.