India

In his Christmas letter to the Catholics of the Indian state shaken by ethnic violence, Archbishop Linus Neli asked his community to share their goods with the poor and needy, praying that India's north-eastern state may regain peace and harmony. The Supreme Court has ordered the local government to identify and draw up a list of places of worship to be restored after being damaged by the violence in recent months.

Today's news: more and more children in Gaza suffer from dizziness due to lack of food. Bangkok blocks the granting of new gun licences for a year. Burmese women fleeing war imprisoned, beaten and forgotten in Indian prisons. Katholikos Karekin II, Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, against peace talks with Azerbaijan.

David Minz, 35, was accused of molesting a girl with learning disabilities and killed by her family. The police quickly charged three people. According to several reports, Christians continue to be victims of violence.

Today's news: Japan's new Industry Minister wants to revive microchip production; Tehran executes child bride Samira Sabzian; India - the world's former second largest sugar importer - risks having to import this raw material from 2025 due to climate change;. Fighting continues in Gaza UN postpones (again) Security Council vote on truce; Joint patrol operations on the border between China and Laos.

This was stipulated in a Sonbhadra court ruling granting freedom on bail. They were part of a group of 42 people arrested Nov. 29 on charges of converting the poor by fraudulent means. Fr. Anand Mathew: ongoing "severe persecution" characterized by "false narratives" in media and social media.

The Delhi High Court recently authorised Prema Kumari to travel to Yemen to free her daughter, who is accused of killing Talal Abdo Mahdi with a high dose of sedatives. The latter helped her to set up a clinic but then took her passport, preventing her from escaping. Nimisha's home community in Kerala has rallied to her cause.

A new facility for people with autism, Parkinson's and Down syndrome opened in the Indian state shaken by ethnic violence. This occurred on the same day that the new bishop, Mgr Linus Neli, began his ministry in Imphal. At the inauguration, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Girelli noted that the facility was for the people of Manipur, without distinction, and that Pope Francis is praying for them.

Sr. Maria Suzette, of the Apostolic Carmelite congregation who has lived in the disputed Muslim-majority region for 16 years, recounts her experience to AsiaNews. Yesterday, a constitutional panel issued a verdict that the revocation of Kashmir's autonomy in 2019 was a legitimate act by the Narendra Modi-led government.

This week, the Telegraph wrote that it had uncovered a kidney-buying racket involving Myanmar nationals as donors and a private health facility in Delhi, where transplants would take place. The phenomenon is not new: despite decades of awareness-raising (starting in Tamil Nadu) there is still a shortage of donors in India and too many people who would need at least one kidney. It is mainly poor people who need to pay off debts who fall victim to trafficking, but online scams have also increased in recent years.

Card George Alencherry and the Apostolic Administrator of Ernakulam-Angamaly, Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, have resigned. In January, the Synod will pick a new leader. The pontiff issued a tough warning to those who continue to reject the uniform rite of the Eucharistic celebration. “Do not force the competent ecclesiastical authority to acknowledge that you have left the Church,” Francis said. "For next Christmas,” he added, “the Qurbana in communion should be celebrated, following the indications of the Synod.”

In Leithao, Tengnoupal district, unidentified gunmen killed scores of people, forcing residents to flee to nearby villages. A local community leader calls for security forces to intervene. An official with the opposition Congress party slams the government for failing to act.

Created in 2017, the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) defeated the Mizo National Front (MNF), whose leader Zoramthanga had appealed to Zo nationalism during the election campaign. Identity politics did not resonate with voters who, experts say, are tired of nepotism and a lack of development and vision.