| IRAN – ASIA

Tehran is looking at alternative transport routes from Pakistan to China. The exploitation of a rail corridor to China, especially valuable for oil transport, is under consideration. A fourth South Korean ship has successfully crossed the Red Sea. Energy is also a central issue at the ASEAN Summit in Cebu.

by Joseph Masilamany

Malaysian activists criticise what they describe as the country’s “selective” approach to humanitarian issues. Support for Muslims in the Middle East is counterbalanced by silence regarding violations committed in Myanmar and by China. The call to maintain “moral consistency” in the fight for causes and freedoms.

| 08/05/2026
| MALAYSIA
by Gregory

ASEAN continues to keep its distance from Myanmar’s military junta: at the summit in Cebu, Philippines, regional leaders demanded access to Aung San Suu Kyi and refused to officially recognise the elections that brought Min Aung Hlaing to power. Meanwhile, however, the humanitarian crisis in the country is worsening: millions of displaced people, widespread hunger and new army offensives against civilians in the Mandalay region.

| 08/05/2026
| MYANMAR
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Crossing mountain passes at altitudes of up to 3,000 metres and travelling hundreds of kilometres with their flocks, the čabany keep alive a tradition that produces a type of sheep meat of the highest quality. A hard life, exposed to the unscrupulous exploitation of the owners of the pastures, yet underpinned by a solid unwritten code of solidarity and a profound harmony with nature.

| 08/05/2026
| TAJIKISTAN
by Dario Salvi

A nun has been attacked, the door of the Armenian cathedral has been spat upon, symbols of the faith have been desecrated. Abbot Schnabel spoke to AsiaNews about what is happening. Some places like Mount Zion are more at risk because extremists and radicals consider them their own. In the case of the attack against the Tabgha church, the “lawyer who defended the arsonists was Itamar Ben-Gvir. Now he is the minister in charge of national security, in charge of my security,” said the abbot.

| 07/05/2026
| HOLY LAND

Data from provincial statistical yearbooks reveal a crisis in the Chinese capital that is not just demographic. While the percentage of residents aged 20 to 29 was higher than the national average in the past, it now lags behind other metropolises like Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Chengdu. Only 42 per cent of Peking University graduates remain in a city where small and medium-sized businesses are declining and housing prices are sky-high.

| 07/05/2026
| RED LANTERNS

In a joint appeal, the bishops of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Seattle, and Santa Fe talk about the fate of the treaty, which they see as “frayed” and at risk of collapse. While the UN review conference is currently underway, the world seems to be moving in the opposite direction. The prelate speak out against the lack of commitment to disarmament. Citing Leo XIV, they say that deterrence “is based on the irrationality of relations between nations.”

| 07/05/2026
| JAPAN – UNITED STATES
Editor's choices
 
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| 05/05/2026
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| 05/05/2026
| MYANMAR
 
by Giorgio Bernardelli
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| 17/04/2026
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| 16/04/2026
| SINGAPORE
 
by Dario Salvi
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| 14/04/2026
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST
 
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| 13/04/2026
| VIETNAM - VATICAN
 
by Gregory
A military-dominated government was approved today following elections deemed a sham by the international community. But while General Min Aung Hlaing consolidates his power by merely changing his clothing, the exiled opposition and the ethnic groups ...
| 09/04/2026
| MYANMAR
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”