Middle East

by Dario Salvi | ISRAEL - PALESTINE

This is what emerges from a study by the Centre for Education and Dialogue, which denounces the increase in attacks by extremists and ultra-religious Jewish groups. The socio-political conditions and the low birth rate make the future of Christians in the country uncertain. The appeal for the ‘involvement’ of the Churches in the world. Hana Bendkowsky: ‘The attackers must be brought to justice’.

by Daniele Frison

Dialogue and mutual exchange are the Holy See’s “weapons”, the apostolic nuncio to Jordan told AsiaNews. The Jordanian government is committed to “paths of reconciliation”. Aid is flowing constantly from Jordan to Gaza. Syrian refugees are cautious but eager to return home. Some 50,000 have already made the trip. The new Latin church on the Jordan River shows the “vitality of the Christian community”.

| 26/03/2025
| JORDAN

The Patriarch of Jerusalem visited the Gulf country, which is part of the Apostolic Vicariate of North Arabia. Accompanied by Bishop Berardi, the cardinal met with local communities and leading figures of the kingdom. The cardinal led the Mass in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia and took part in a conference at the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence.

| 25/03/2025
| BAHRAIN – HOLY LAND
by Fady Noun

At least seven deaths in a border area. The fragility of a frontier that has long been a free zone for trafficking and illicit trade. Fears of an escalation with the Jewish state and US manoeuvres for ‘normalisation’. In the spirit of the Abu Dhabi declaration, Christians and Muslims celebrate the feast of the Annunciation today.

 

| 25/03/2025
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST

Stories filter out of Istanbul reeling from the mayor’s arrest. While the city’s main sites are cordoned off by police, supporters of Erdoğan’s main rival continue to protest in more peripheral streets and alleys. Still Turkish public opinion is split, but most Istanbulites stand with Imamoğlu who was voted by almost 15 million people in the opposition CHP presidential primary.

| 24/03/2025
| TURKEY
by Dario Salvi

Hundreds of people took to the streets in protest over the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor. So far Turkish President Erdoğan has remained silent, while the police respond to the protest with new arrests. Tensions and social unrest are likely to increase, while Imamoğlu's fate in the upcoming presidential race remains uncertain.

| 21/03/2025
| TURKEY
by Fady Noun

Lebanon considers it ‘imperative’ that the Syrian refugees in the country, at least 1.5 million, be repatriated. The change of leadership in Damascus also changes their status. At the meeting of donor countries organised by the EU, the Foreign Minister calls for ‘stopping crisis management and starting to resolve the crisis’, starting with the sanctions that must be cancelled.

| 20/03/2025
| LEBANON - SYRIA - EU
Editor's choices
 
by Gianni Criveller
AsiaNews director spoke today in Rome at the conference “The Spirit knows where he takes us” organised by the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute. The “triple dialogue” refers to the path of interiority, the commitment ...
| 01/04/2025
| VATICAN - ASIA
 
Some rural areas have been as badly affected as cities. Almost 100 people have reportedly died and 3,000 homes destroyed in a well-known tourist destination. Residents were already hard at work recovering from the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi in September ...
| 01/04/2025
| MYANMAR
 
Pope Francis has approved his canonisation, together with that of Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan, killed in the Armenian genocide. A lay catechist, To Rot was killed in 1945 for defending marriage against the Japanese who, in order to ingratiate themselves ...
| 31/03/2025
| VATICAN – OCEANIA
 
by Daniele Frison
The former Minister of Justice was unjustly detained for 2,454 days for her opposition to the former president's drug war methods. The families of the victims had hoped for a mandate from the International Criminal Court. Today Duterte supporters ...
| 28/03/2025
| PHILIPPINES
 
by Dario Salvi
Khalil Sayegh, originally from Gaza and co-founder of Agora Initiative, talks about a population tired of war and the domination of the extremist movement. Today the protests are more evident because Hamas is weakened and cannot ‘repress them with ...
| 28/03/2025
| ISRAEL - PALESTINE
 
by Giorgio Bernardelli
The Israeli academic and scholar of “intractable conflicts” talked to AsiaNews about the way the Gaza war is going and its consequences for Israeli society. Talking about peace today is considered a threat. Seventeen-year-olds “don't ...
| 18/03/2025
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST
 
by Giorgio Licini *
The parliament of Papua New Guinea has approved an amendment that identifies the nation as an ‘independent Christian state’. Fr Giorgio Licini (Caritas Papua New Guinea): it risks being an empty statement, without resolving the ...
| 18/03/2025
| PAPUA NEW GUINEA
 
by A Voice from Shanghai
A Catholic voice from Shanghai reminds AsiaNews of the case of the auxiliary bishop who resigned from the Patriotic Association when he was ordained and has been living in seclusion ever since. It was hoped that the tormented appointment of Mgr Shen ...
| 18/03/2025
| CHINA
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”