Central Asia

by Vladimir Rozanskij | TAJIKISTAN

The 'president's gift' is part of presidential propaganda. The latest initiative that reintroduces it is the granting of 30 new buses to some cities. There is no control over the destination of these funds. In 2023 they will reach the sum of EUR 43 million.

by Vladimir Rozanskij

The most prominent, former MP Asya Sasykbaeva, remains in prison despite health problems. House arrest denied to other prisoners like her. President Žaparov targeted those who opposed his border agreement with Uzbekistan.

| 10/03/2023
| KYRGYZSTAN

Today's headlines: 23-year-old Palestinian man injures three people in Tel Aviv, killed by police; The Taliban governor of Afghanistan's Balkh province dies in an Isis attack; Cambodian authorities arrest and reduce to a lay state a monk over suspected links to the opposition; South Korean president expected in Tokyo, first visit by a Seoul head of state in 12 years.

| 10/03/2023
| ASIA TODAY

Today's headlines: emergency landing in Nepal for a Shree Airlines plane; for Women's Day, the Pyongyang regime calls for more children for the army; three more Palestinian victims today in the West Bank from an Israeli raid. More than 14,000 Protestant Christians attend Spring Love Festival in Vietnam; more and more Japanese companies leave Russia.

| 09/03/2023
| ASIA TODAY

Today's headlines: the Burmese junta implodes schools, 300,000 teachers missing; Six Palestinian victims in an Israeli raid in Jenin, rockets fired from the Strip today; Millions of Indians celebrate Holi, festival of colours; Young Thai man sentenced to two years in prison for lese majesty; earthquake damage exceeds 100 billion in Turkey alone.

| 08/03/2023
| ASIA TODAY

Today's headlines: for the UN, the Taliban's treatment of Afghan women is tantamount to 'crimes against humanity'; the Philippine Catholic Educators Association condemns the practice of 'hazing' after a suspicious death at a university. Tehran confirms its hard line on transgressions of the Islamic 'dress code'; in 2022, new births in Japan fell below 800,000 for the first time.

| 07/03/2023
| ASIA TODAY
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Vote set for 19 March, along with local government elections. Independent candidates denounce harassment by the authorities. To register as a candidate, 2,500 euros are needed: the average salary in the country is around 700. A broad victory for President Tokaev's party is expected.

| 06/03/2023
| KAZAKHSTAN
Editor's choices
 
This is the government's likely response to the effects of the rapidly aging population on the welfare system. Survey: 74% of respondents want retirement under 55; only 6% accept it over 61. Reform to raise the retirement age to 65 under consideration: ...
| 18/03/2023
| CHINA
 
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to send all asylum seekers crossing the English Channel to Rwanda. At least 250 girls from a Kabul school have moved to Kigali via Doha after the Taliban came back to power in August 2021. Rwanda’s government ...
| 15/03/2023
| AFGHANISTAN - RWANDA
 
by Giorgio Bernardelli
The text was officially made public today. It contains the reflections of Asian Bishops' Conferences brought to the assembly held last October in the Thai capital. Nine emerging challenges have been identified in Asian societies, from the role of ...
| 15/03/2023
| ASIA
 
by Dario Salvi
The Vicar of Anatolia recounts a situation "still in full emergency" and with a strong psychological impact. The earth continues to tremble and the toll - between Syria and Turkey - has exceeded 55,000 dead. The work of Caritas in cooperation with the ...
| 15/03/2023
| TURKEY
 
From Korea to Kazakhstan, from the victims of Typhoon Yolanda to the Rohingya, from Mother Teresa to Matteo Ricci, Pope Francis has paid constant attention to Asia over the past ten years. On the tenth anniversary of his election we present ten excerpts ...
| 12/03/2023
| ECCLESIA IN ASIA
 
Raised in the Catholic community in Shek Lei, Tang currently serves as secretary general of the International Domestic Workers Federation. She moved to the UK in September 2021, but recently travelled to Hong Kong to visit her husband who has been in ...
| 09/03/2023
| HONG KONG – CHINA
 
As people avoid going out and travelling, the local market place lies empty. Many fear “worse days ahead " amid the prevailing "pessimism”. Given the current political situation, hope for a just peace is virtually nil. Christians are "part ...
| 03/03/2023
| ISRAEL – PALESTINE
 
by Steve Suwannarat
Accused of conspiring with foreign forces, for the chair of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, he was convicted in “An act of sheer vindictiveness by the Hun Sen regime.” The upcoming Cambodian elections in July, the first without ...
| 03/03/2023
| CAMBODIA
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”