India

The Archbishop of Hyderabad, the Dalit prelate picked by Pope Francis for the College of Cardinals, offers his thoughts on World Day of the Sick, which falls on the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes. This occasion “calls for prayer and closeness towards those who suffer” with “a new way of moving forward together.”

Today's news: The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria now exceeds 24,000; Air India signs a mega-order to buy up to 500 planes from Airbus and Boeing; food prices continue to rise steeply in Japan; many Armenians view Turkey’s earthquake as “divine punishment”; Asia is the continent with the most Internet restrictions in 2022.

It is not yet clear what will happen once financial markets stabilise after the Hindenburg Research’s revelations. India could follow South Korea whose economy is dominated by family-owned economic conglomerates, or see greater erosion of the rule of law. Many Indians are concerned that promised new infrastructure projects will be built.

The latest attempt to celebrate 'Indian heritage' as opposed to 'Western traditions'. In recent years, the Animal Welfare Council, which formulated the proposal, has increasingly focused on the alleged benefits brought by the cow, an animal known to be sacred to Hindu culture.

In India alone, an estimated eight million people have been the victims of this crime. For Pope Francis, “the system of trafficking profits from [. . .] injustice and wickedness”. In Goa, the missionary-run Trust of Nano Nagle School is one of the many entities fighting trafficking. Meanwhile, two girls go missing in Chandpukur parish (Bangladesh), possibly taken by traffickers.

India’s highest court ruled in a case involving a Muslim man attacked for his religion in Uttar Pradesh in which police failed to act. On Sunday, at a gathering of Hindutva groups at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, a Hindu cleric called for the killing of Christians and Muslims. Fr Mathew wonders whether right-wing governments will listen.

The Lowy Institute's annual index measures geopolitical influence in Asia. The COVID-19 pandemic has weakened all the countries included in the study. The US will maintain its leadership this decade. Japan is declining, so is Russia, burdened by its aggression against Ukraine.

More than 2,400 people have been arrested in connection with the state government crackdown on child marriage, which is commonplace among Muslims. Many families are protesting in the streets. Opposition groups complain that the state has not opened enough schools to counter the practice.

Francis announced possible trip during a press conference on his return from South Sudan, specifying that "it is not yet definite, but possible". The visit to the country's 1400 Catholics would take place significantly just a few days before the start of the Synod. On other visits: 'India will be next year'.

The challenges facing India today but also concrete steps to accompany in faith, in the message released by the Conference of Latin Rite Bishops at the end of their Plenary Assembly held in Bangalore. "Based on the common faith of all Christians, let us avoid all fundamentalism and tell together the story of love, justice and human fraternity."

Some 539 people are currently on death row, but only eight were executed since 2004. Last year, India's Supreme Court empowered a constitutional bench to draw up guidelines for trial courts. The last executions were carried out in 2020.

Companies owned by Asia's richest man lost more than US$ 50 billion in market value after the publication of a report describing a series of illegal activities by his group. Experts believe the Indian government has made many concessions to the conglomerate in recent years, including direct investment by India's largest insurance company.