At the centre of the controversy is a film that tells the story of a young orphaned painter raised in an ashram. He refuses the courtship of a wealthy woman because he feels like a woman in a man's body. Attacks and controversy on social media. The issues of homosexuality and gender are sensitive in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation.

In the International Monetary Fund's report, the ills that have always made growth impossible in Ašgabat re-emerge: the 'black accounting' of the Berdymukhamedov regime, in which the revenues from the sale of gas and oil are not shown, and the black market in manat, the local currency, which unloads all the burdens and imbalances onto the shoulders of the population.

The upcoming annual Balikatan military exercise will include an area in the South China Sea that is claimed by China, as well as an area not far from Taiwan. The Philippines wants peace and development in the Indo-Pacific despite tensions fuelled by Beijing.

After President-elect Prabowo's visit to Beijing, China’s foreign minister travelled to Jakarta to discuss Chinese involvement in the infrastructure of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara, a project that follows the building of a high-speed train between Jakarta and Bandung.

According to the UN health agency, about 3,500 people die of viral hepatitis every day. The highest number is in China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Despite improvements in diagnostic testing, huge disparities still exist in access to drugs.

Bishop Indrias Rehmat chose Fr Abid Tanvir, former diocese vicar general, as parish priest. Two catechists were also appointed to work with him. Admired and visited by Muslims, the church named after Saint Anthony was inaugurated last year. The bishop urged the faithful “to make this beautiful church stronger in spirituality.”