by Alessandra De Poli | SYRIA

People in Syria celebrate with fireworks the announcement by the US president. The new government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who met Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is seeking international legitimacy, while countries in the region are increasingly interested in restarting trade. But more than 10 years of embargo have left deep economic and social scars that will be hard to heal.


Taiwanese lawmakers have reviewed a bill that would open the door to the return of atomic energy. Fears of Chinese invasion have raised concerns about energy security. With the development of artificial intelligence, energy consumption is set to grow by about 13 per cent by the end of the decade.

| 14/05/2025
| TAIWAN

The Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue has issued a message of goodwill to Buddhist faithful around the world on the occasion of Vesak, the celebration that commemorates key events in the life of the Buddha. “In our time, marked by division, conflict and suffering, we recognise the urgent need not to remain with words alone, but to translate them into concrete actions for peace, justice, and the dignity of all.”

| 14/05/2025
| VATICAN / 1
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The region holds vast reserves of these minerals, now highly sought after by the high-tech industry. Kazakhstan speaks of “unparalleled deposits”. The European Union is working to foster suitable partnerships as a possible alternative to China for supplies. However, these efforts are hindered by underdeveloped technological infrastructure, which slows down the region’s real prospects for growth.

| 14/05/2025
| CENTRAL ASIA
by Melani Manel Perera

The young daughter of a mix couple is among the victims of the Easter 2019 bombings. The Archdiocese of Colombo included her name in the list of martyrs of the 21st century sent to the Jubilee Committee. She was preparing for her baptism when she was killed in the church blast. She was buried in an Islamic cemetery. Her mother told AsiaNews that she invited others to pray, but “God took her”.

| 13/05/2025
| SRI LANKA
by Stefano Vecchia

Almost 70 million voters cast their ballot in midterm elections for Congress and local government. The outgoing majority in Congress should consolidate its hold. Local elections are a mixed bag with differences and divisions, with local coalition building the name of the game.

| 13/05/2025
| PHILIPPINES

The Election Commission has suspended the registration of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party over allegations of crimes against humanity after her government cracked down on student protests last summer. The current head of government, Muhammad Yunus, has delayed the vote, while Jamaat-e-Islami and Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh National Party are putting pressure for an early poll.

| 13/05/2025
| BANGLADESH
Editor's choices
 
The local government is asking the Legislative Council (which it controls) to approve a new regulation that would hand over jurisdiction to mainland China in "complex cases" involving foreign countries. The measure appears tailored to the case of Jimmy ...
| 12/05/2025
| HONG KONG - CHINA
 
by Gianni Criveller
Leo XIV experienced the mission for a long time, in Peru first, as a reason for being alive. This is something new for a pontiff. He has already spoken about authority that should “disappear so that Christ remains.” The choice of the name ...
| 11/05/2025
| EDITORIAL
 
by Oswald Gracias *
The archbishop emeritus of Bombay (Mumbai), representative of Asia on Pope Francis’s Council of Cardinals, wrote to AsiaNews about the new pope. “He brings hopes, expectations, understanding, openness and a missionary thrust,” the cardinal ...
| 10/05/2025
| VATICAN – ASIA
 
by Alessandra De Poli
Cardinal Prevost, a spiritual son of St Augustine, was elected pope on the very day the Church celebrated the liturgical feast of the martyrs of Algeria, among whom were two Augustinian nuns. And in the description of the “disarmed and disarming” ...
| 09/05/2025
| VATICAN /1
 
Born in Chicago, he is the first pontiff from North America who also served as bishop of Chiclayo and has Peruvian citizenship. For two terms he was prior general of the Augustinians, a religious order also present in many Asian countries. Pope Francis ...
| 08/05/2025
| VATICAN
 
by Nirmala Carvalho
The Indian military claims that Operation Sindoor against Pakistan was “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature.” Pakistan’s response killed students at a Catholic school. Sadly, “two students lost their lives, and their ...
| 07/05/2025
| INDIA – PAKISTAN
 
by Nirmala Carvalho
In a town of just 8,000 inhabitants in the state of Goa lie the roots of both the Indian Filipe Neri Ferrão and the Pakistani Joseph Coutts, who from this afternoon are participating as electors in the selection of the new pontiff. A sign of the ...
| 07/05/2025
| TOWARDS CONCLAVE
 
by Anna Pozzi
On the day of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Saigon and the reunification of the country, the experience of the Scalabrinian missionaries who stand by the families arriving in the big city from the countryside.
| 30/04/2025
| VIETNAM
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”