Sri Lanka

by Arundathie Abeysinghe | SRI LANKA

The government and school authorities decided to crack down on the practice of "ragging", widespread in the country's universities. A phenomenon that causes thousands of school dropouts every year, but the most vulnerable struggle to overcome physical and psychological violence. The testimony to AsiaNews of three victims who still suffer from the disabling effects today.

by Melani Manel Perera

A procession remembering a minority leader who died in 1987 on a hunger strike stopped with violence. The accusations of a Tamil MP: 'It was the military that instigated them'. The distance between words on reconciliation after the civil war and the still open wounds.

| 18/09/2023
| SRI LANKA
by Arundathie Abeysinghe

With entire neighbourhoods flooded, traffic has been halted for at least three hours. The drainage system is the main factor, as clogging in smaller channels impacts the entire system. Loss of natural habitat, illegal settlements, and poor maintenance are the main culprits.

| 13/09/2023
| SRI LANKA
by Melani Manel Perera

After Channel 4's exposé calling former President Rajapaksa into question, the successor commissioned a committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge to review all information. But Card. Ranjith for an international inquiry into the massacres. Skepticism from victims' committees, "It will only serve to cover up the truth again."

| 11/09/2023
| SRI LANKA
by Arundathie Abeysinghe

The island's 30 prisons can accommodate just over 13 thousand inmates, but as of today there are around 30 thousand. About half of these are in prison on remand, more than 20 thousand for drug trafficking. Among the proposals is the release of those who are under arrest for minor offenses.

| 08/09/2023
| SRI LANKA
by Melani Manel Perera

An investigation aired yesterday on Channel 4 implicates the former president for the Colombo massacres. In a documentary with unreleased material, a source revealed that a meeting was arranged between the current intelligence chief and Islamic extremists. The current executive says it will support an international investigation, but ministers contradict each other.

| 06/09/2023
| SRI LANKA
by Melani Manel Perera

Families of missing people marked International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances with two silent vigils outside Sri Lanka’s ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs. Over the years, families have received no news or compensation from the government. Despite several obstacles, the Office remains the only hope to uncover the truth about the missing.

| 04/09/2023
| SRI LANKA
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”