| TURKEY

The building is accessible to the public and the faithful after the official inauguration ceremony. The former Christian place of worship was converted by presidential decree in August 2020. President Erdogan extols the thousands of 'ancestral heritage sites' to which he would 'breathe new life', but makes no mention of its origin as a basilica. 

by Nirmala Carvalho

The 38-year-old member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross graduated from college in Mumbai before embracing the religious life. The new priest told AsiaNews: “My vocation and mission as a priest are to provide all the Sacraments in the Indian Sign Language to all deaf Catholics in India” as well as “support God calling” them to the religious life.

| 07/05/2024
| INDIA
by Arundathie Abeysinghe

An incident at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport on 1 May sparked tensions between the tourism industry and the Sri Lankan government. Private operators like GBS and VFS have been allowed to issue visas, and raise fees. As accusations whirl around the Ministry of Public Security, the government plans an investigation.

| 07/05/2024
| SRI LANKA
by Steve Suwannarat

In the Sagarmata area alone, the Nepali name for the world's highest mountain, the accumulation of waste amounts to about five tonnes per day. Environmental conditions complicate regular collection efforts and the increasing number of hikers does not help, but mountaineering alone earns Nepal 10 per cent of its GDP.

| 07/05/2024
| NEPAL
by Dario Salvi

The German-born Benedictine who leads the Dormition Monastery stigmatises the ‘fanatical’ attitude while ‘people are suffering, dying’. The opposing front seen as ‘monster’ or ‘animal’ to justify the violence. The rise to power of the ultra-right Ben-Gvir government has led to an escalation in anti-Christian attacks in the Old City. Like Jesus prayer and forgiveness in response to hatred, the way to reconciliation.

| 07/05/2024
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST
by Vladimir Rozanskij

With its 200,000 workers it is an important component of the local industry, but it can no longer compete on international markets. The collapse of the rouble is weighing on it, but also the higher labour costs compared to Bangladesh or Vietnam, which requires a qualitative leap in the promotion of its products.

| 07/05/2024
| KYRGYZSTAN

Today's news: Beijing into British MoD data; Some Chinese provinces open up to flexible working to encourage motherhood; In the Philippines inflation is higher among poor families and in the suburbs; Putin will meet Armenian President Pašinyan to ‘frankly’ address differences.

| 07/05/2024
| ASIA TODAY
Editor's choices
 
Strongly supported by Hun Sen and backed by Beijing, it would stretch 180 kilometres from the Mekong to the port of Kep. Work could start as early as the end of the year, but Hanoi is concerned about the repercussions on water management. And calls for ...
| 04/05/2024
| CAMBODIA - VIETNAM
 
May 1 in many Asian countries coincides with temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius. Increasingly frequent conditions that - as a study by the Global Labor Institute on textile companies in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Vietnam explains - risk ...
| 01/05/2024
| ASIA
 
The deputy governor of Lanao del Sur, who chairs the SIAP, is behind the new alliance, whose aim is to represent and meet voters’ demands. President Marcos warns that he will not tolerate any attempt to obstruct or stop the upcoming election after ...
| 30/04/2024
| PHILIPPINES
 
While the country is getting ready to welcome Pope Francis in September, amendments have been proposed to assert the country’s Christian identity. For the Catholic Bishops' Conference, this is a “dangerous” step that “obscures ...
| 24/04/2024
| PAPUA NEW GUINEA
 
Not only Gaza and the war in Ukraine: the global arms race is also driven by Chinese pressure on Taiwan.. The 6.8% growth represents "the highest year-on-year growth since 2009". China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia among the world's top five with ...
| 22/04/2024
| ASIA - MIDDLE EAST
 
by Dario Salvi
Layan Nasir, a 23-year-old native of Birzeit, is the only Christian woman under "administrative detention". She was taken, blindfolded and handcuffed, overnight by a military patrol without an arrest warrant or charges against her. The Bethlehem ...
| 19/04/2024
| ISRAEL – PALESTINE
 
Chinese Human Rights Defenders released a report detailing the stories of children and young people victims of human rights violations, like He Fengmei's daughter, who was separated from her mother a month after her birth and kept in a psychiatric ...
| 16/04/2024
| CHINA
 
Currently in intensive care, the seven-year-old is the only person to be seriously wounded by Iran’s attack against Israel because her house and village were not covered by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system. Nothing is known of the fate of ...
| 15/04/2024
| ISRAEL – GAZA - IRAN
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”