by Fady Noun | LEBANON – ISRAEL – IRAN

The US president warns the parties to respect the ceasefire. Netanyahu fans the conflict and continues to attack Lebanon. Aoun wants to free the country from Iran’s intolerable hold. Addressing the Israelis, he asked them whether they are fed up with a war that has been going on since 1948.

by Joseph Masilamany

Authorities say content likely originated from a China-based platform and sought to inflame tensions against the city-state’s Indian community, a key pillar of Singapore’s multicultural society.

| 08/06/2026
| SINGAPORE - INDIA
by Shafique Khokhar

The death of a shopkeeper hit by a police bullet has sparked unrest in Rawalakot. At the root of the tensions is the decision by the Islamabad government to outlaw the Joint Awami Action Committee, a group calling for improved public services and local political reforms. Despite the crackdown, a protest march has been announced and is expected to begin tomorrow.

| 08/06/2026
| PAKISTAN
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Graduations taking place in recent weeks in Russia have been marked not only by officials and members of Putin’s party, as has been the case for years, but also by “SVO veterans,” participants in the war in Ukraine. Authorities are increasingly recruiting young people from technical institutes to train them as drone operators.

| 08/06/2026
| RUSSIA
by Mgr Felix Machado *

Indian bishop and theologian Felix Machado addressed the international consultation on ecumenism in Asia in Chang Mai. “[W]e are called to seize every opportunity to extend the hand of reconciliation, in order to heal the wounds,” he said.

| 07/06/2026
| ECCLESIA IN ASIA

On his second day in Spain, Leo XIV led the Mass in Plaza de Cibeles, attended by more than a million people. Processions should not be a “remnant of folklore,” he said, but be “the presence of the Risen Lord." Jesus “is not confined to the church, but comes out to meet us.” People should abandon a "comfortable, private faith" to “go forth into the paths of life.” Last night, during the vigil with young people, he told them to “be the sparks of a new humanity.”

| 07/06/2026
| VATICAN – SPAIN

In the capital, where he began his long apostolic journey to Spain, Leo XIV urged “everyone to set aside divisive and polarizing narratives" and appreciate complexity rather than “identity-based approaches that [. . .] fill the world with ‘ghosts’.” He cited the examples of Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Avila, as well as the fruitful dialogue that took place at the time of the Islamic presence in Andalusia. He stressed that “religious freedom” is essential to reach out to others.

 

| 06/06/2026
| VATICAN – SPAIN
Editor's choices
 
by Gregory
Stored gelignite reportedly caused a massive explosion that killed at least 55 people in a village in Shan State. The catastrophe has put the spotlight on the TNLA, a controversial militia that struck a deal with China. Meanwhile, according to the United ...
| 02/06/2026
| MYANMAR
 
by Chow Hang-tung *
In a message written from prison, the lawyer on trial alongside Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho for the 4 June vigils in Victoria Park speaks of the importance of resilience in remembering the 1989 massacre in Beijing, whilst the Hong Kong authorities cover ...
| 01/06/2026
| HONG KONG - CHINA
 
by Shafique Khokhar
In his encyclical, Pope Leo XIV singles out Pakistan's first female prime minister as a public figure who promoted the greatness of humanity. A Muslim, she was assassinated in 2007 in Rawalpindi. Pakistani Catholics expressed gratitude towards her ...
| 28/05/2026
| PAKISTAN – VATICAN
 
by Alessandra De Poli
In May 1956, the hospital near the factory reported an “unknown illness” that was later found to be caused by mercury discharges from the Chisso Corporation. Decades later, the wound remains open in this Japanese city. PIME missionary Fr. ...
| 27/05/2026
| JAPAN
 
by A priest in China
A priest living in the People's Republic of China writes a letter on the "administrative regulations" that prevent people under 18 from participating in religious activities. China’s constitution protects religious freedom, with no reference ...
| 26/05/2026
| CHINA
 
by Giorgio Bernardelli
Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical letter, presented today at the Vatican, represents a comprehensive reflection on the "new paradigm" that technological transformations are bringing to today's world. For the pontiff, it is not enough to dictate ...
| 25/05/2026
| VATICAN
 
The unexpected success of "Dear You”, a film produced on a small budget and in a local dialect, is reviving interest in China about the important role played by letter writing, which for over a century migrants used to send money and news to their ...
| 22/05/2026
| CHINA
 
by Andrea Ferrario
Data on the performance in the first quarter of 2026 confirm the difficulties of China’s southern coastal province, which was the laboratory of the reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping but is now suffering from the downsizing of Hong Kong and the ...
| 21/05/2026
| RED LANTERNS
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”