Armed men attacked staff protecting a vaccination team in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. A third officer is reported to have been injured. An investigation has been launched to identify those responsible, who remain unknown at present. New cases of polio; a critical phase for the eradication programme.
Oxfam's report presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos highlights the increase in economic inequality over the pandemic period. "If Indian billionaires were taxed at a rate of 2% of their total wealth it would support the feeding of malnourished people in the country for the next three years".
Latif Afridi, 79, was killed by a relative, Pakistani media report. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow, urges provincial government to bring the situation under control. The lawyer had repeatedly criticised the military for interfering in politics.
Despite talks between the parties led by a Church committee, the bishops’ meeting ended with no agreement. In the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, tensions have simmered for a year over a failed compromise on the uniform rite. For Card Alencherry, everyone should understand that ignoring the synod's decision is illicit. New incidents between opposing sides marred Christmas celebrations at Ernakulam cathedral.
The Sri Lankan president took part in Pongal, a traditional festival, assuring the implementation of the 13th Amendment devolving powers to the provinces. Activists organised an event in response to demand justice for the victims of the civil war.
Ishtiaq Saleem is accused of posting pictures of the Prophet Mohammad’s name in Arabic tattooed on his body. Upon his arrest, he was beaten. His wife proclaims his innocence, saying that he is illiterate and the victim of a "conspiracy" based on religion. Pakistan’s electronic crimes law as well as blasphemy legislation are used to target religious minorities.
Today's news: Japan intends to dump more than a million tonnes of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the sea; the Shrine of St Anne in Penang becomes Malaysia first (minor) basilica; the Supreme Court of India warns the central and state governments against hate speech; China plans to introduce exams for professional journalists; one Russian in three depends on pensions or state benefits.
In a verdict, the Supreme Court ordered the top state and security figures at the time of the massacre to pay compensation to the families for failing to prevent it. The lawyers who had raised the issue: a historic ruling.
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army is targeting opponents in refugee camps with increasingly unscrupulous actions. Local farmers are also targeted and abducted for ransom. According to Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies, 123 people have been killed and 207 kidnapped over the past five years.
Card Pell, who served as archbishop of Sydney and of Melbourne as well as prefect of the Vatican dicastery for the economy, died suddenly yesterday in Rome at the age of 81. He spent more than 400 days in prison following a conviction based on slanderous charges of paedophilia, which were overturned by Australia’s High Court. The archbishop of Bombay remembers him. The two met last September in India to discuss the family, which to him was “extremely important for the revitalisation of Christian life.” He was still “talking about the future,” not the past.
Prachanda is back in power for a third time. He wants friendly relations with China and India, both of which are vying for influence in the Himalayas. In Nepal, the parties in the ruling coalition have different views on foreign policy. In the past, the Nepali Congress slammed encroachment by Chinese troops into Nepal.
The ban on humanitarian work does not apply only to women, but could touch everyone, at least in a south-western Afghan province. While the United Nations looks at how to respond to the new restrictions, cash transfers to Afghanistan have been suspended. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan notes that aid money does not go to the Taliban.
For several days, ever-widening cracks have appeared in buildings and roads in the town of some 20,000 residents in Uttarakhand. Speaking to AsiaNews, Fr Ajo Thelappily bemoans “unprecedented landslides”; remember “the people of Joshimath in your prayers,” he asks. Excessive pumping of groundwater for farming is blamed for further weakening an area already geologically unstable.
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