India

by Nirmala Carvalho | INDIA

Consecrated last Sunday to coincide with the canonisation ceremony presided over in Rome by Leo XIV, the new church is located less than a kilometre from a large amusement park popular with young people. For Archbishop Kalathiparambil, it will be a “church for the new generation”.


The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation condemns last April’s attack in Kashmir that sparked border fighting between India and Pakistan, but also terrorist attacks in Balochistan, which Islamabad blames on New Delhi. Modi, unlike his Pakistani counterpart Shahbaz Sharif, avoided expressing support for the Belt and Road Initiative. For China, despite tensions in South Asia, multilateralism remains the best option for building an anti-US bloc.

| 01/09/2025
| INDIA – PAKISTAN - CHINA
by Arundathie Abeysinghe

A new environmental emergency has hit the strait separating the Indian coast from Sri Lanka, threatening to cripple local tourism and fishing. Carried by currents from India, mounds of plastic reach the Mannar region. Monsoon currents, which carry dust, are more difficult to collect, compounding the problem. Globally, the failure to ratify or implement agreements and treaties weighs heavily on the country.

 

| 30/08/2025
| SRI LANKA – INDIA

Before his highly anticipated trip to China, the Indian prime minister is in Japan, a clear sign that he wants to counterbalance his overtures to Beijing. Economic co-operation is the focus of the visit, especially in high-speed trains and new technologies. Both sides are seeking a mutually beneficial partnership.

| 29/08/2025
| INDIAN MANDALA
by Nirmala Carvalho

In India's largest textile manufacturing hub, 60 per cent of workers are from scheduled castes working in factories. 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the US place Indian manufacturers at a disadvantage compared to their competitors in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia, who face lower tariffs. For Chief Minister Stalin, up to three million jobs are at risk.

| 28/08/2025
| INDIA

So far, the only real rapprochement, unintentionally fostered by the tycoon’s tariffs, is the one in the shadow of the Himalayas. But for India, the first steps suggest that it promises to be an uphill battle.

| 22/08/2025
| INDIAN MANDALA
by Nirmala Carvalho

The Indian state has approved an amendment to its anti-conversion law, increasing the penalties to include life imprisonment and a million-rupee fine. The bishop of Bijnor slams the law’s “unclear” rationale, which risks excluding and sowing suspicion about minorities. For the bishop of Lucknow, “freedom of religion guaranteed by the constitution” is not being respected.

| 21/08/2025
| INDIA
Editor's choices
 
by Maria Casadei
Demonstrations broke out yesterday in the Nepalese capital following the blocking of social media, which has now been lifted. However, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli has resigned. The death toll stands at 19, with hundreds injured. Before the internet ...
| 09/09/2025
| NEPAL
 
After serving time in prison for refusing to join the Party, he served as coadjutor to Bishop Li in Luoyang before retiring to his village in 2011. Some local Catholics spoke to AsiaNews about him: “In China, following the right path by believing ...
| 08/09/2025
| CHINA
 
In a chat picked up by a hot mic, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping talk about the possibility of organ transplants allowing people to live up to 150 years. China has never adopted a clear and transparent system for organ donation. Despite new regulations, ...
| 04/09/2025
| RED LANTERNS
 
At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China refers to the general as the “acting president of Myanmar”, enhancing the military junta’s credentials. For its part, India plans to send a delegation to monitor Myanmar’s ...
| 03/09/2025
| MYANMAR – CHINA – INDIA
 
The pontiff met in the Vatican with former residents of Diego Garcia, the island in the Indian Ocean, who were removed in the 1970s to make way for a large UK-US military base. Last May, the UK signed an agreement transferring sovereignty to Mauritius, ...
| 23/08/2025
| VATICAN
 
by Gregory
A demolition order was also served to 19 Buddhist sites in the city's "cultural zone," set to be razed to unearth ancient Ketumati. AsiaNews reports local Catholics are dismayed by the threat looming over the church dedicated to the Sacred Heart, ...
| 23/08/2025
| MYANMAR
 
Eighty representatives of the Modern Orthodox movement, led by Rabbi Yosef Blau, have launched an appeal calling for "moral clarity" and "responsibility" based on the values of Jewish tradition. While condemning Hamas, they call for a "response" to the ...
| 20/08/2025
| ISRAEL – PALESTINE
 
Concern is growing around the world about the health of the 77-year-old businessman, a symbol of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, who has been imprisoned for nearly 1,700 days under China’s national security law. The prosecution began ...
| 18/08/2025
| HONG KONG
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”