AsiaNews met with residents of Kartarpur, in the district of Narowal, devastated by floods in recent months. For days, people found refuge on the roof of the church, one of the few buildings to have survived the fury of the waters. Thanks to international support and donations collected by a parish in Hong Kong, food, clothing and medicines arrived.

According to the UNODC, poppy cultivation areas have increased by 17% in one year, especially in Shan State. Cannabis cultivation is also on the rise in Sagaing, now the epicentre of the resistance. While some areas are returning to junta control thanks to conscription and drones supplied by Russia and China, instability continues and international criticism of the elections announced by the military continues.

The early vote called for by Žaparov to implement the new electoral system promoted the presence of women through gender quotas and introduced remote voting. But the division into districts, the reduction in the number of MPs and the limitation of parliamentary powers have in fact favoured the candidates most loyal to the president.

In a message to the faithful, the Archbishop of Colombo talks about a “very painful situation”, calling for holidays without excessive celebrations, extravagance, and waste. A Catholic NGO is leading the way in providing aid – food, drinking water, medical supplies, and cash – to various parishes.

Sunali Khatun, who is nine months pregnant, was deported with her family to Bangladesh where they were detained as "illegal immigrants”. India’s Supreme Court slams the central government for ignoring evidence proving her Indian citizenship. New Delhi ultimately accepted her return on humanitarian grounds. This is an aberrant example of arbitrary expulsions of ethnic Bengali Muslims, especially from the state of Assam.

The testimony given in Milan on the feast of St Francis Xavier by a deacon from Telangana who is preparing to become a PIME missionary: “The Koya forest was my first seminary: there I learned that mission is not about grand speeches or extraordinary works, but about constant presence and listening to people. I don't know where I'm going, but I know who I'm going with: with Jesus alongside those who are poor, alone and forgotten”.