Lebanon

by Fady Noun | LEBANON - VATICAN

Civil and religious leaders have paid homage to the memory of the Argentinean pontiff. Under his leadership, the Church completed the efforts begun by predecessors to bring Islam and Christianity closer together in the face of escalating fundamentalism. From the banking crisis to the explosion at the port of Beirut, the pope's closeness in the face of the great tragedies in the country's recent history.

by Fady Noun

The winds of war are blowing again between Israel and Lebanon after rockets are fired into Israel from Lebanon, followed by Israeli planes striking near the Lebanese capital. Hezbollah denies any involvement, and the agreement falters. President Aoun meets Macron and talks with Ahmad al-Shara to stabilise the border with Syria.

| 29/03/2025
| LEBANON – ISRAEL
by Fady Noun

At least seven deaths in a border area. The fragility of a frontier that has long been a free zone for trafficking and illicit trade. Fears of an escalation with the Jewish state and US manoeuvres for ‘normalisation’. In the spirit of the Abu Dhabi declaration, Christians and Muslims celebrate the feast of the Annunciation today.

 

| 25/03/2025
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST
by Fady Noun

Lebanon considers it ‘imperative’ that the Syrian refugees in the country, at least 1.5 million, be repatriated. The change of leadership in Damascus also changes their status. At the meeting of donor countries organised by the EU, the Foreign Minister calls for ‘stopping crisis management and starting to resolve the crisis’, starting with the sanctions that must be cancelled.

| 20/03/2025
| LEBANON - SYRIA - EU
by Fady Noun

Kurdish and Druze conditional reintegration is an important sign for Ahmed al-Sharaa's Syria, despite great fragility. However, the draft constitution recognises Islamic law as the basis of legislation. Meanwhile, Israel tries to temp Druze in Suwayda. Alawite massacres cast a dark shadow.

| 14/03/2025
| LEBANON – ISRAEL – SYRIA
by Fady Noun

The representatives of the two countries agreed yesterday to start talks on the land border. The mediation of the United States was decisive, with the Israeli government then releasing five Lebanese detainees, including a member of Hezbollah. Surprise among the ranks of the Party of God, who tried to hinder the agreement by refusing disarmament and a diplomatic solution.

| 12/03/2025
| LEBANON - ISRAEL
by Fady Noun

As theMiddle East that is completley reconfigured, the time has come for the Druze community, scattered between Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Jordan, to make choices. Hostile to a new Islamist government in Syria, the Jewish state that annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 is trying to win the community's allegiance. Walid Joumblatt's manoeuvres to avoid the Israeli embrace and his presence at his father's tribute.

| 06/03/2025
| LEBANON-ISRAEL-SYRIA
Editor's choices
 
by Gianni Criveller
The College of Cardinals Francis created reflects the world more than the Catholic Church, or rather, it reflects her missionary vocation. Numbers count far less than bearing evangelical witness, which Christians are expected to live in the community ...
| 27/04/2025
| EDITORIAL
 
by Sumon Corraya
The meeting in 2017 in Bangladesh with a delegation of one million exiles from Myanmar was one of the most touching moments in the pontiff's trip. He often remembered that embrace in the following years. “Pope Francis was a beacon of hope for ...
| 26/04/2025
| BANGLADESH - VATICAN
 
A source talked to AsiaNews about how Chinese Catholics are coping with Francis’s death. Remarks and pictures abound on local social media. “Amid the sorrow and mourning, the joy of announcing love prevailed,” as “a spontaneous ...
| 24/04/2025
| RED LANTERNS
 
The 12 years of Francis’s pontificate were marked by 13 trips in Asia, from the first visit to South Korea to the long journey last September to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. During this time, his message of peace and ...
| 23/04/2025
| VATICAN – ASIA
 
by sr. Mary Joseph *
From Calcutta, the superior of Mother Teresa's sisters remembers Pope Francis. ‘He made the Church refocus its attention on the marginalised’. Bergoglio wanted the Missionaries of Charity to open a new home in Bajo Flores, a slum ...
| 23/04/2025
| INDIA - VATICAN
 
by Gianni Criveller
Proclaiming the Gospel was his top priority: he reminded us that mission is about joy, that its territories are not defined by geography or people's religious affiliation. Through his life and teaching, he taught us that Jesus' missionaries ...
| 22/04/2025
| EDITORIAL
 
by Card Anthony Poola*
One of the great signs of the pontificate that ended this morning with the death of Pope Francis is his care for the peripheries of the world. The archbishop of Hyderabad, the first Dalit called to join the College of Cardinals in 2022, pays tribute ...
| 21/04/2025
| VATICAN - INDIA
 
by Gianni Criveller
From Myanmar to the Middle East, countless women, children and men in Asia, victims of pain and injustice, weep like Mary Magdalene who lost her Lord and friend. But with her, they believe that the Risen One changes the course of history and allows ...
| 19/04/2025
| EDITORIAL
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”