| VATICAN – INDIA

Francis picked the 51-year-old cardinal from Kerala, coordinator of apostolic journeys, to succeed Card Ayuso Guixot who passed away last November. This makes him the first Asian at the helm of the Vatican body. In his first statements, he focuses on the path of fraternity and the form of inculturation developed by Fr Roberto De Nobili in India starting in 1500. The Syro-Malabar Church shared with AsiaNews her joy of a fellow member given this task.

by Nirmala Carvalho

A racket involving doctors from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was uncovered in Rangareddy district, with widows among those exploited. At least 200,000 patients in India are in need of a kidney transplant but only 7,500 ‘legal’ operations are carried out in a year due to the low number of donations.

| 24/01/2025
| INDIAN MANDALA
by Fady Noun

Lebanon is shaken by a profound humanitarian and social crisis, which the election of a president is not enough to resolve. Among the unresolved knots is the national housing and employment crisis. There is growing food insecurity linked to the collapse of the currency, which has lost 90% of its value against the dollar. The country imports over 80% of its needs, particularly in the food and health sectors.

| 24/01/2025
| LEBANON
by Vladimir Rozanskij

It was founded in 1931 to transform a desert area into a model metropolis by mobilizing the best architects, engineers and builders of the Soviet Union. And despite the country's backwardness even today this city continues to be enriched with new streets, squares and city parks.

| 24/01/2025
| TAJIKISTAN

In agreement with the Holy See, the current bishop of Xiamen took office today in one of the most historically important sees of the Church in China. The province is right across from Taiwan in a politically very sensitive context. For him, the challenge of reaching out to underground communities, while reiterating cumbersome slogans about “patriotism”.

 

| 23/01/2025
| RED LANTERNS

Hundreds of LGBTQ+ couples got married today on the first day of a new marriage law. In a pastoral letter, Thai bishops outline the “three principles" of the Church on the matter. The prelates call for a response to the "challenges" posed by gender theory, which they see as a source of "confusion and conflict”.

| 23/01/2025
| THAILAND
by Mathias Hariyadi

In the diocese on the island of Java, the ordination of the new prelate at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral. During the homily the invitation to give attention to the “crisis of love” identified by Benedict XVI: “The smile in the Jubilee is a Holy Door,” he said. Also present at the rite was his friend Fr. Pat Min Seong, a deaf-mute priest from South Korea.

| 23/01/2025
| INDONESIA
Editor's choices
 
The people involved worked with the United States in Afghanistan and had already received approval for resettlement. The programme, which grants a Special Immigrant Visa, was established in 2009 and covers the family members of selected people. The day ...
| 21/01/2025
| AFGHANISTAN
 
Israel celebrates the release of Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari as part of the fragile truce. However, the fate of the foreign workers still being held hostage in the Strip remains a mystery. These include six Thai nationals ...
| 20/01/2025
| ISRAELE - PALESTINE - ASIA
 
by Shafique Khokhar
Despite existing legislation, kilns are places of "inter-generational slavery", circles of violence from which it is almost impossible to escape. Minority activist Joseph Janssen freed 32 people from six Christian families. Naseem, Mehwish and Safia ...
| 17/01/2025
| PAKISTAN
 
by Dario Salvi
The Palestinian Catholic leader calls the ceasefire agreed upon after tensions in the Israeli government and with Hamas a "good development". For him, children cannot be “killed because of the (alleged) crime of the father or the mother.” ...
| 17/01/2025
| ISRAEL - PALESTINE
 
Manufacturers in ASEAN countries are concerned about what might happen if a trade war with China breaks out once the US president takes office in a few days. The fear that Chinese products that no longer take the road to the West could be dumped in their ...
| 16/01/2025
| RED LANTERNS
 
Rising costs for ingredients and labour are pushing ramen eateries over the edge. According to Teikoku Databank, 34 per cent reported losses in the last fiscal year. Price rises are now inevitable, even if many Japanese seem unwilling to spend more for ...
| 13/01/2025
| JAPAN
 
by Silvia Torriti
The National Health Commission announced the measure as part of a plan to cope with an emergency kept hidden for many years for cultural reasons. Mental distress is also pervasive in rural areas, especially among women and young people. Fewer than four ...
| 10/01/2025
| CHINA
 
Westerners jailed by the Islamic Republic, who are rightly an international issue, are but a fraction of the more than 8,000 non-Iranians jailed in Iran, 95 per cent of them migrants from Afghanistan. More than 70 Afghans were hanged in 2024. Other countries ...
| 03/01/2025
| IRAN
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”