South West Asia

by Vladimir Rozanskij | GEORGIA

Street protests against the passing of the law on 'foreign agents'. Proceedings suspended for the time being. Opponents condemn the pro-Russian line of the incumbent Georgian Dream government. The measure moves the country away from EU membership. The burden of the Russian war on Ukraine. The crisis could worsen.


On 19-21 November, economists and entrepreneurs under 35 from around the world will meet online. More than 40 countries will be connected, with live streaming from Assisi. Some 2,000 people have registered with at least 12 link-ups to 115 countries, four hours a day plus a 24-hour marathon on the second day, and contributions from more than 20 countries.

| 27/10/2020
| VATICAN

The meeting with the president of the German Bishops Conference, in all likelihood touched upon the assembly with "deliberative power" convoked by the Germans to address issues such as the separation of power in the Church, priestly life, women's access to ministry and to offices in the Church and sexual morality.

| 19/09/2019
| VATICAN
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Armenians agree EU observer mission at disputed border with Azerbaijan. The irritation of the Kremlin, their historical partner. The Russians fear that Armenia is preparing a geopolitical turn. After Syria and Ukraine, risk of a third front of conflict between Putin and the Western front.

| 15/02/2023
| ARMENIA-RUSSIA-EU

Today's news: The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria now exceeds 24,000; Air India signs a mega-order to buy up to 500 planes from Airbus and Boeing; food prices continue to rise steeply in Japan; many Armenians view Turkey’s earthquake as “divine punishment”; Asia is the continent with the most Internet restrictions in 2022.

| 11/02/2023
| ASIA TODAY

Today's headlines: Thai court sentences a man to 28 years in prison for lese majesty; at least 162 victims in Afghanistan of the exceptional cold wave; Tokyo announces Spring downgrade of Covid-19 to a common respiratory infection; India launches its first vaccine in the form of a nasal spray; Seoul and Pyongyang violate armistice by encroaching on hostile territory; warning Russia faces a medicine shortage by 2023. 

| 27/01/2023
| ASIA TODAY
by Vladimir Rozanskij

According to the Georgian Dream, the ruling party, the country's exports to Russia have grown much less than those to other states. Imports of Russian products, however, have grown. Armenia used as a transit channel for Georgian goods. Supplies from Turkey enter Russian territory via Georgia.

| 26/01/2023
| GEORGIA - RUSSIA
Editor's choices
 
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
 
by card. Lazzaro You Heung-sik *
The Prefect of the dicastery for the Clergy, former bishop of Daejeon, the first Korean in a position of leadership in the Roman Curia recounts his encounter with Christianity as well as the mission and challenges facing priests today. In the preface, ...
| 01/03/2023
| SOUTH KOREA - VATICAN
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”