South Asia

This is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. Eco-conscious policies have favoured the creation of a sanctuary of biodiversity and minimise the port’s environmental impact. The first phase is set to be completed by May. For experts, it is a valuable project for sustainable practices around the world.

Bishop Valan Arasu reports the incident to AsiaNews. The faithful, a group of 50 tribal people, a priest and two nuns were visiting some parishes in the diocese. The extremists attacked them twice and tried to denounce the priest for ‘forced conversion’. The intervention of the agents to protect the pilgrims.

In Varanasi, the celebrations for the end of Ramadan are blocked due to closures related to a Hindu holiday. Meat, fish and poultry shops have had to close; only a few vegetarian markets are available. Protests also break out in Meerut over the ban on street praying.

Jeyakumari Balendran writes to the president, the fifth since her son was detained, asking for information on his fate. Conscripted by the LTTE, he was last seen in a picture taken when he was in a rehab camp. For 17 years, Tamil families have been seeking justice for the thousands of missing. Relatives told AsiaNews that they want an “international inquiry” right away.

A crowd stormed a Sufi shrine, replacing the green flag with a saffron flag, a symbol of Hindu nationalism. In Nagpur, clashes broke out on 17 March after extremist groups called for the removal of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb. In this tense climate, Prime Minister Modi is expected in the city. Once a symbol of harmony, it has become a stronghold of the RSS paramilitary organisation and the centre of religious and political tensions.

An explosion in the Barech market area, among the victims a doctor known for his cancer treatments. The massacre comes after the indiscriminate arrests following the seizure of the Jaffar Express train. Local civil society voices to AsiaNews: ‘The government must find a clear solution to the long-standing demands of the Baloch people’.

The Bangladeshi leader starts a four-day visit that is viewed with suspicion in New Delhi at a time when the regional balance of power in South Asia is still shaky after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. Reducing interest on its loans is Dhaka's most important request to Xi Jinping. Large Chinese investments in solar panel production and other outsourcing opportunities in Bangladesh are other top issues.

A move to increase tax revenues, but risks undermining domestic production that had experienced a period of strong expansion. The association that brings together operators expresses great ‘concern’. For experts, a tax regime ‘that incentivises locally assembled vehicles’ is preferable.

After activist Mahrang Baloch was jailed on Saturday, her sister has complained on social media about the poor conditions of detention. Some families recently tried to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones, but Pakistani authorities claimed the bodies belonged to the Baloch terrorists responsible for the attack on the Jaffar Express train. The situation has degenerated with shots fired at unarmed protesters demanding the truth about missing persons. Meanwhile, protests continue in several cities in Balochistan.

The sector drives the Bangladeshi economy with 85% of total exports and a related industry worth 47 billion dollars. However, many workers are demanding payment of numerous months of arrears and bonuses linked to the festival celebrating the end of Ramadan. The empty promises of company management, with the police repressing the demonstrations.

Tamil families in Thaiyiddy were displaced in 1990 by the military. An area of six acres is now home to the Tissa Vihara Buddhist temple. Despite the end of the civil war in 2009, locals have not seen their land returned. With the backing of the People's Alliance for Land Rights (PARL), they are speaking out against forced expropriation and demand justice.

The Sitara-e-Imtiaz, one of the country's highest civilian honours, was presented to the Archbishop Emeritus of Karachi. His exceptional contribution to inter-religious harmony and social well-being was recognised. Fr Bonnie Mendes: ‘He has always invited us to look at the good that there is in Pakistan, even in the most difficult moments’.