Lay people and men and women of the cloth from 13 Asian countries and many indigenous communities met in Nepal last month at the initiative of the FABC. On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the forum’s final statement was released. “There remains an urgent need for the Church to amplify Indigenous voices”, it reads, for Indigenous wisdom offers sociocultural resources and ways for a relationship with creation that combine “faith, creation, and human responsibility.”
The Himalayan country, which has abandoned fossil fuels thanks to surplus renewable energy in the monsoon season, has started exporting to Dhaka via the Indian power grid. The tripartite agreement provides for supplies from June to November, for five years. This is a turning point for connectivity between South Asian countries.
Intense monsoon rains cause havoc. Local authorities report more than 3,000 homes destroyed and at least 14 bridges damaged in various parts of the country. Several roads remain blocked due to debris. The prime minister held an all-party meeting.
Today's news: eight Taiwanese soldiers jailed for pro-China espionage; Hundreds of migrants from Asia stranded at São Paulo airport in Brazil; At least 15 dead and 4.5 million affected by floods in Bangladesh; It is less dangerous for airlines to fly over Afghanistan than the Middle East, security and screening concerns remain; Delegation from Laos to Moscow for International Buddhist Forum visits Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Portable X-ray machines capable of early diagnosis in a short time have been brought to more than 5,000 meters above sea level. Nepal is one of the countries with the highest rate of chronic repiratory diseases worldwide. The Stop TB expedition, supported by the United Nations, gave the equipment to a local hospital at the end of the trial.
Today's news: at least 32 killed in student protest in Bangladesh, state TV set on fire; Police investigate cyanide used in the murder-suicide of six Vietnamese men in a Bangkok hotel; Consensus reached between Tokyo and Pacific Island leaders on releasing Fukushima waters into the ocean; Monsoons in Nepal caused 125 deaths in little over a month.
