The President of Sri Lanka launches the national campaign “A Nation United” in Colombo against drug dealing, consumption and crime. He denounced the presence of a “shadow state” infiltrating institutions. Substantial funds for rehabilitation and prevention were announced, as well as the creation of a National Operations Centre. The involvement of religious and civil communities is hoped for.
The Indian government wants to introduce strict rules on content generated by artificial intelligence, such as deepfakes. The measure aims to combat abuse and disinformation, but raises serious concerns about privacy and freedom of expression. Critics and legal experts warn that the obligation to label and track content could turn into a tool for digital surveillance.
The Mongolian government is expanding international collaborations for projects aimed at protecting its delicate ecosystem and combating climate change. A series of initiatives have been launched with the German government, including a census of the country's forest areas and a laboratory for detecting heavy metals in the atmosphere. In August 2026, Mongolia will host the UN conference on combating desertification.
The Jordanian scholar spoke to AsiaNews about the critical issues that have emerged after the "easier" step of getting the “living hostages” back to Israel. In fact, Hamas refuses to surrender its weapons, and the establishment of an international force to monitor the truce is stalled. Overcoming the “pattern of regional conflicts and tensions” is needed to create a “future of peace on a cultural, as well as economic basis.”
A few weeks before Myanmar’s ruling military junta holds forced elections in a country still at war, Catholic bishops issued a message to their people, brought to their knees by an overwhelming crisis caused by war, earthquake, and economic collapse. For the bishops, “three million [displaced] people are not just numbers;” instead, “peace is the only way”. Above all, “Let us not let hatred define us. Let us not let despair conquer us.”
Informal employment is exploding in North Korea because of a drop in orders from China and lower wages. Tensions are also rising among the workers Kim supplies to China, fuelled by ever-increasing deductions from their wages to ensure revenue for the North Korean regime. Meanwhile, Russia has become North Korea’s new El Dorado, at a cost of extensive linguistic and cultural isolation for workers.
