Geographical areas In the spotlight

Migrants

 
Lebanon and the impossible mission of repatriating Syrian refugees
by Fady Noun

The economic and human burden of displaced Syrians in Lebanon has become unbearable. The government is trying to do its utmost to identify and repatriate some two million refugees, knowing that their presence risks altering the country’s ethno-demographic balance. Yet, the prospect of return is opposed by Syrians who fled Assad and do not believe in his reassurances.

| 03/05/2023
| LEBANON - SYRIA
 
Thailand’s 'little ghosts' are back in South Korea
by Steve Suwannarat

With pandemic restrictions lifted, undocumented Thai migrants are back in South Korea, the result of a tight labour market under a legal regime that limits immigration and favours illegality and abuses.

| 03/05/2023
| SOUTH KOREA
Editor's choices
 
Pope grants Syro-Malabars jurisdiction over Indian migrants in the Middle East
Receiving in audience a delegation led by the new Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil, the pontiff publicly expressed his assent to a request made for years by the Churches of the East, especially for their faithful in the Persian Gulf. A new harsh warning ...
| 13/05/2024
| VATICAN - INDIA
 
Fr Thermadom, India's first deaf-mute priest, ordained in Kerala
by Nirmala Carvalho
The 38-year-old member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross graduated from college in Mumbai before embracing the religious life. The new priest told AsiaNews: “My vocation and mission as a priest are to provide all the Sacraments in the Indian ...
| 07/05/2024
| INDIA
 
Funan-Techo: the canal Phnom Penh wants to ‘circumvent’ Vietnamese ports
Strongly supported by Hun Sen and backed by Beijing, it would stretch 180 kilometres from the Mekong to the port of Kep. Work could start as early as the end of the year, but Hanoi is concerned about the repercussions on water management. And calls for ...
| 04/05/2024
| CAMBODIA - VIETNAM
 
Climate change and work: when it's the heat that kills in the factory
May 1 in many Asian countries coincides with temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius. Increasingly frequent conditions that - as a study by the Global Labor Institute on textile companies in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Vietnam explains - risk ...
| 01/05/2024
| ASIA
 
Bangsamoro: coalition ready to challenge MILF ahead of 2025 vote
The deputy governor of Lanao del Sur, who chairs the SIAP, is behind the new alliance, whose aim is to represent and meet voters’ demands. President Marcos warns that he will not tolerate any attempt to obstruct or stop the upcoming election after ...
| 30/04/2024
| PHILIPPINES
 
Catholic Church tells politicians, not to put Christian sectarianism in the constitution
While the country is getting ready to welcome Pope Francis in September, amendments have been proposed to assert the country’s Christian identity. For the Catholic Bishops' Conference, this is a “dangerous” step that “obscures ...
| 24/04/2024
| PAPUA NEW GUINEA
 
Sipri: never before has arms expenditure been so high in Asia
Not only Gaza and the war in Ukraine: the global arms race is also driven by Chinese pressure on Taiwan.. The 6.8% growth represents "the highest year-on-year growth since 2009". China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia among the world's top five with ...
| 22/04/2024
| ASIA - MIDDLE EAST
 
Palestinian Christian in 'administrative detention'. Rev. Isaac: a victim of injustice
by Dario Salvi
Layan Nasir, a 23-year-old native of Birzeit, is the only Christian woman under "administrative detention". She was taken, blindfolded and handcuffed, overnight by a military patrol without an arrest warrant or charges against her. The Bethlehem ...
| 19/04/2024
| ISRAEL – PALESTINE
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”