Palestine

by Dario Salvi | HOLY LAND – VATICAN

The Latin patriarch received his cardinal's biretta from Pope Francis. The presence of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch was a sign of progress in ecumenism. Christians in the Holy Land face the problems and challenges of the West (the family) and the East (the exodus). The patriarch expressed proximity to Card Sako and stressed Jerusalem’s role as a bridge with Asia’s Churches and faiths.


Today's headlines: at least 10 dead in clashes between rival factions in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon; Runoff between Solih and Muizzu scheduled for Sept. 30 to decide next president of the Maldives; Sexist behavior toward women in the workplace persists in South Korea; Kuala Lumpur wants to halt rare earth exports; Delhi ready to reintroduce firecracker ban for Diwali to try to curb air pollution in the capital.

| 12/09/2023
| ASIA TODAY

Today's headlines: 2 dead in typhoon in Hong Kong, controversy over no text alert; In Mindanao, two Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) factions agree to work together for the Bangsamoro; New clashes in Ein al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp; Appeal by Armenian Prime Minister Pašinyan against troops massed by Azerbaijan at the border.

| 09/09/2023
| ASIA TODAY

The steep decline is indicated in a report by the Ministry of Finance. The country saw a 34 per cent drop in foreign direct investment, with exit transactions down by 80 per cent (from US$ 307 to US$ 56 million). The main factors are the decline in the value of many US-based tech companies, the Ukraine war, inflation, and the contentious reform of the justice system.

| 08/09/2023
| ISRAEL

Today's headlines: Aung San Suu Kyi has been refused outside doctor; Two giant pandas from Edinburgh Zoo will return to China by the end of the year; The president of Taiwan on official visit to eSwatini; Israel blocks the export of goods from Gaza; The border markets between Tajikistan and Afghanistan reopen; The Ukrainian Orthodox Churches adopt the Gregorian calendar instead of the Julian calendar.

| 05/09/2023
| ASIA TODAY

Today's headlines: Pyongyang launches two short-range missiles "to simulate a nuclear attack"; Sixteen die in T-shirt printing lab fire in the Philippines; A Palestinian teenager dies and three Israelis injured in new violence in the Middle East; A 90-year-old Japanese mountaineer on the summit of Mount Fuji in a wheelchair.

| 31/08/2023
| ASIA TODAY
by Fady Noun

The vicar of the Latin patriarchate for Israel looks back on his first 16 months as bishop and delves into the tension around the Carmelite monastery. Peace and confessional balance endangered by a sect linked to Hasidism. The escalation degenerated into physical clashes between the parties, the police arrested a Christian leaving the provocateurs unpunished. The visit of President Herzog.

| 28/08/2023
| HOLY LAND - LEBANON
Editor's choices
 
by Gianni Criveller
Father Gianni Criveller, a missionary who carried out his ministry for years in Greater China, is the new editor-in-chief of AsiaNews. In greeting readers, he writes that, while taking on a “precious legacy and demanding responsibility”, ...
| 01/10/2023
| EDITORIAL
 
A Human Rights Watch report highlights the conditions young workers face scrapping ships, one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Scrapping yards employ children as young as 13, violating international standards, polluting the sea, and covering ...
| 28/09/2023
| BANGLADESH
 
Jailed on 31 December 2020, Lai will go on trial under the national security law on 18 December after repeated postponements. His son Sebastian is concerned about his health. A group of 67 human rights organisations write to Biden asking him to bar Hong ...
| 26/09/2023
| HONG KONG – CHINA
 
by Santosh Digal
According to Philippine government estimates, by 2023 the number of migrants working abroad will reach 2 million. The Church remembers their sacrifices and envisages the creation of a personal prelature for their pastoral care in the world. Along with ...
| 25/09/2023
| PHILIPPINES
 
Bishop Yang Yongqiang of Zhouchun and Yao Shun of Jining are on the list of members released today a couple of weeks before the synod opens. They were picked by the local Church in agreement with the authorities and appointed by Pope Francis. ...
| 21/09/2023
| CHINA - VATICAN
 
by Dario Salvi
The cardinal relects on the the tumultuous weeks since the withdrawal of the presidential decree under pressure from self-styled leaders (in the pay of Tehran). A  "more subtle" threat hangs over the community, but with the same logic as Isis: drive ...
| 19/09/2023
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST
 
by Alessandra De Poli
In August, the UN Food and Agriculture Agency reported a 9.8 per cent price hike over July despite an overall drop in food prices. Rice is vulnerable to extreme climate events, like those that devastated Pakistan and China last year, but the recent increase ...
| 12/09/2023
| ASIA
 
The archbishop of Bologna continues the mission entrusted to him by Pope Francis. If, as some media reports suggest, he will meet Premier Li Qiang, this will be the first high-level meeting between a top Church official and the head of government of ...
| 12/09/2023
| CHINA – VATICAN
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”