United Arab Emirates

| MIDDLE EAST – ISLAM

Islam’s holy month of fasting and prayer begins tomorrow and ends on 21 April with Eid al-Fitr. With the Islamic observance coinciding with Easter and Passover, security measures have been tightened on Jerusalem’s holy esplanade.  In Saudi Arabia, restaurants remain closed from dawn to dusk. In the UAE, working hours have been reduced. The economic crisis will affect activities this year.


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

The inauguration of the interfaith complex opens in a ceremony, first concrete result of the  signing of the Document on Human Fraternity by the pontiff and al-Azhar’s grand imam. It includes a mosque, a church, and a synagogue. A conference on interfaith relations is scheduled for tomorrow morning. For Rabbi Lustig, the House “will help build bridges between religious leaders and communities”.

| 16/02/2023
| UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

For Transparency International, Ankara records the worst figure in the last decade. It has risen from 50 points in 2013 to 38 in 2022. In the region, Syria the most corrupt country, UAE the least corrupt. Without Netanyahu in power Israel improves by four points and ranks 31st.

| 03/02/2023
| TURKEY - MIDDLE EAST

Today's headlines: Chinese tourists return to Thailand's beaches after three years of Covid closures; the Taliban have arrested five people, including two Chinese, for trafficking in rocks containing lithium; Dubai is ready to build the first mosque with a 3D printer; a meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders on the Lačin corridor is under consideration.

 

| 23/01/2023
| ASIA TODAY

A group of 30 experts from various Muslim-majority countries visited China's far western region, praising its fight against terrorism. They said nothing about abuses. The World Uyghur Congress spoke out against the persecutions and criminalisation of ordinary things like wearing a headscarf and reading the Qurʾān.

| 12/01/2023
| MIDDLE EAST – CHINA
Editor's choices
 
by Sumon Corraya
Today is World Day for the fight against a disease that still causes 100 deaths a day in Bangladesh. The testimony of a Missionary of the Immaculate, a doctor, active for 12 years in Khulna on this frontier: "Many still do not know TB and arrive when ...
| 24/03/2023
| BANGLADESH
 
Back in 2015, more than 75 per cent of Asia lacked was water insecure. Water insecurity affects mainly China, South Asia and the urban areas of Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Asia represents about half of the global bottled water market, a factor that discourages ...
| 22/03/2023
| ASIA-PACIFIC
 
by mons. Michel Sabbah *
In Nazareth, the Latin Patriarchate celebrated the pastor emeritus, whom John Paul II chose as the first Arab leader of this community. His message: 'I ask God for new eyes that see God and man, see lost peace and know that security exists only ...
| 20/03/2023
| HOLY LAND
 
This is the government's likely response to the effects of the rapidly aging population on the welfare system. Survey: 74% of respondents want retirement under 55; only 6% accept it over 61. Reform to raise the retirement age to 65 under consideration: ...
| 18/03/2023
| CHINA
 
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
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”