South Asia

For Prof Sumanasiri Liyanage, China’s growing presence in the region will increase tensions with India. Delhi and Washington are pressing smaller countries in the area, including Sri Lanka, to distance themselves from China. There are doubts about the benefits of the BRI for the poorest strata of the population.

Civil society organisations demand that the government take concrete measures to defend women's rights and against a mindset that blames the victim.

At the Angelus Pope Francis urges forgiveness in families and society. In God "justice is pervaded by mercy, while our human attitude is limited to justice". Bearing a grudge is "like an annoying summer fly". Solidarity and closeness to all the victims of the fire that broke out in the Moria (Lesbos) refugee camp which the Pope visited in 2016. May the Churches work "in favor of dialogue and in favor of reconciliation" in places of conflict between civil society and political powers. The Collection for the Holy Land.

Francis affirms, generic commitments are not enough for an integral ecology and one cannot look only to the immediate consent of one's constituents or financiers. Far reaching vision is needed, otherwise history will not forgive us”.

According to a study by Economics and Peace (IEP) at least 1.2 billion people will live in areas at risk. Food insecurity and lack of water are accompanied by natural disasters. Critical situation in Central Asia and the Middle East. At the nation level, Pakistan and Iran face a toxic combination of threats.

For the Bangladesh Catholic Education Board, the pandemic danger is still too high. The country has about 332,000 COVID-19 cases with more than 4,600 deaths. Schools will remain closed until 3 October. Many children have no access to e-learning. Some propose that all students get a pass. Some fear that the number of school dropouts will rise because of the coronavirus.

During his regular press conference, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman expresses appreciation for the "successful" implementation of the Sino-Vatican agreement and promises "improvements in bilateral relations". But he does not explicity commit to anything. Chinese Catholics see the renewal as a forgone conclusion: China dominates the Catholic Church and needs diplomatic victories. The United Front is pulling against the agreement.

In Karachi, Shabbir Shafqat, president of the National Christian Party, calls for a revision of the law on blasphemy and punishment for those who make false accusations for secondary reasons. "These cases are driving many minority members to leave the country." The condemnation of the UN Commission for Human Rights.

Francis met with the participants in ‘Snapshots from the Borders’, a European project. For the Pope, “The International Community has been content with military interventions, whereas it should have built institutions that can guarantee equal opportunities and enable citizens to assume their responsibility for the common good.”

Protestant organisations operating in Jharkhand, Manipur and Mumbai have been targeted. Some have been in the country since the 1950s. The Home Affairs Ministry has revoked their licences to receive foreign funds, making the groups’ work impossible. For Sajan K George, forced conversion charges are false and are designed to increase ethnic-religious tensions.

The result of experiments carried out at Yale on brain tissues, on mice, on corpses of coronavirus dead. Many infected are affected by loss of sight, memory, coordination, speech and delirium. Virus thought to enter the brain through the nose.

The new auxiliary bishop of Colombo talks about his new mission. As a pastor, he has a great role to play in caring for his flock, meeting their spiritual needs, increasing their awareness of the depth of the sacraments and the mysteries. He will pursue all these things because, “in the end, the satisfaction of a priest remains in the way he celebrates the sacraments.”