In Cox’s Bazar, 40 officers from the Armed Police Battalion took part in a training session organised by Caritas Bangladesh. The goal is to reinforce law enforcement response to violence against women and children, foster a victim-centred approach, and improve coordination with support services.
The boy struck the grand Shiite mosque of Mirza Qasim Ali Imambargah: 10 are dead, and 24 wounded. One year ago, an identical attack killed the head of the city's police. Pakistan risks falling into an intra-Muslim feud.
Sri Lanka’s Bishops’ Conference and the Anglican bishop of Colombo express concern over last Wednesday’s bombing in Buttala that killed 27, al civilians. They call on both government and rebels to put a stop to the violence and go back to talks. Instead President Rajapakse asks for patience in order to launch a final offensive.
After setting off explosives against the walls of the military base, in the northern part of the country, the Islamic militants withdrew again to the Afghan border.
On the same day the government formally abandons the ceasefire, an attack targets a bus carrying children in Buttala. Japanese peace envoys express their concern: since the end of the cease fire two weeks ago over 300 people have been killed in the North.
In December, the two governments coordinated an action to raise the price of natural gas, threatening to disrupt supplies. Their neighbouring poor countries are forced to pay. But Iran refuses, and is considering retaliation.
The Catholic organisation is committed to raise awareness among women about abortion techniques and its traumatic consequences. Every year some 250,000 abortions are performed in the former Ceylon, mostly by married women. "Limited understanding of the issue” is one its causes.
Yesterday began the three-day festivities for the "Maghi", a celebration that the Tharu people established to mark the end of slavery. Now, however, the Tharu want to be considered full-fledged citizens, and are asking for representation in the next constituent assembly.
Yesterday's explosion in the capital of the province of Sindh killed at least 10 persons; both Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto's husband were in the city. The Daily Times speaks of a vast terrorist plan against religious targets during the current month of Muharram. A report from the think tank Pak Institute for Peace Studies warns of a strong presence of al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the tribal areas, and records 1,442 attacks and acts of political violence in 2007 alone.
Lenin Raghavarshi, winner of the2007 Gwangju prize for human rights, defends the right to life of the embryo, against selective abortion. A leading voice against birth control methods to restrict population growth, he denounces the misrepresentation that overpopulation causes poverty, it merely masks the underlying problem of equal distribution of the worlds resources.
Sri Lankan Catholics are set to celebrate the ‘Apostle of Sri Lanka.’ Three years of preparation for his tricentennial are scheduled to begin in a few days. Bishops invite the faithful to follow Vaz and renew their commitment to mission.
The Church’s right and duty “to share” the Good News in India, Asia and around the world place no limits to religious freedom. This is what Mgr Thomas Dabre, bishop of Vasai, member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and chairman of the Doctrinal Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, told to AsiaNews as he commented ‘Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization,’ a latest document on evangelization issued by the Vatican dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
It is the first visit of an Indian prime minister to China since 2003. Beyond the many unresolved questions, the two Asian giants are seeking greater economic cooperation in other areas, in order to grow together.
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