Laos

| VATICAN - ASIA

The canonisation of the young man who lived between 1991 and 2006 and used the internet to spread the faith will take place tomorrow in St Peter's, together with Piergiorgio Frassati. Some of his relics are also travelling to Asian countries, where his peers are getting to know him. A ‘great message of hope’ for young Koreans preparing for the next World Youth Day. In Bangkok, young people say: ‘He is one of us.’ A new seminary named after him in Laos.

by Joseph Masilamany

Southeast Asia expert  Bridget Welsh analyses Kuala Lumpur's first steps at the helm of the bloc: the leadership will be successful if it puts ‘the interests of those who live in the region above those of its leaders’. ‘Calling for “inclusive elections” in Myanmar contradicts the real situation on the ground’.

| 17/02/2025
| MALAYSIA

The Venerable Maha Bounma Simmaphom welcomed Fr Daniele Mazza, a PIME missionary, and three members of the Apostolic Vicariate in the Laotian capital in the presence of the deputy director of the Department for Religious Affairs. The personal meeting, which marks an important first for the country, took place under the banner of “spiritual friendship”.

| 09/01/2025
| LAOS

Provincial authorities in Bolikhamxay are sounding the alarm as drug trafficking and possession cases rise in the past six months. A methamphetamine tablet costs less than 25 cents US in the region.

| 19/12/2024
| LAOS
by Steve Suwannarat

Special Envoy Alexandra Xanthaki warned at the end of a ten-day visit to a country where together minority ethnic groups make up 47% of the population. ‘Despite progress on human rights, policies of assimilation of indigenous peoples into the dominant Lao group and forced relocation of villages in the name of development continue'.

| 30/11/2024
| LAOS

At the summit underway in the Laotian capital, Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra proposes an "informal consultation" to find a way out of the conflict. But positions remain distant. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who will take over the rotating presidency in 2025, calls for political cohesion to give “a clear message to the world” overwhelmed by wars and become the world’s “fourth-largest economy by 2030”.

| 09/10/2024
| LAOS

Today's news: eight Taiwanese soldiers jailed for pro-China espionage; Hundreds of migrants from Asia stranded at São Paulo airport in Brazil; At least 15 dead and 4.5 million affected by floods in Bangladesh; It is less dangerous for airlines to fly over Afghanistan than the Middle East, security and screening concerns remain; Delegation from Laos to Moscow for International Buddhist Forum visits Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

| 24/08/2024
| ASIA TODAY
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“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”