Qatar

by Dario Salvi | QATAR – ISRAEL

After Israeli jets and drones struck Hamas officials who were in Qatar yesterday to discuss the truce and the release of hostages, the outcome of the attack, which left at least six dead, remains uncertain. For Bishop Berardi, the operation was a surprise, but Qatari leaders are sending signals that things are normal. Through letters and money, the children of the vicariate are expressing their solidarity with their peers in Gaza.

by Dario Salvi

An AsiaNews source recounts the life of Catholics. One million people, mostly economic migrants, celebrate their faith "in private". The bond with the universal Church and the hope of one day being able to gather and pray in a church. The Internet has strengthened community relations and facilitated attendance at services. A "long history" of "discreet" presence in the region.

| 02/07/2024
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST

Work on the mega-project has resumed after a 10-year stalemate. A delegation from Beijing visited the country in recent days. A facility competing with the route planned by the Emirates and Turkey. The unresolved knot of maritime disputes with Iraq. At the weekend the Emir signed the appointment of Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah as Crown Prince. 

| 03/06/2024
| KUWAIT - CHINA
by Dario Salvi

Bishop Aldo Berardi, head of the vicariate that includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, comments on Pope Francis' decision to grant the Syro-Malabar Church jurisdiction over Indian migrants. "This is not a secondary element, it concerns areas that go beyond rituals" and will have to be defined. The problem of places of worship, relations with the State and interlocution with the Muslim world. "Too many voices" can create "confusion".

| 16/05/2024
| GULF - VATICAN - INDIA

Today's headlines: Qatar and Bangladesh sign a memorandum on migrant workers. Myanmar’s military retakes a village on the Mon-Karen border. Taiwan denounces Chinese military activities after Blinken's departure. Syrian woman gets seven life sentences over the Istanbul attack of November 2022. Russia has lost its dominant position as India’s main arms supplier.

| 27/04/2024
| ASIA TODAY
by Dario Salvi

The vicar of Aleppo expresses concerns after yesterday’s raid against the Iranian embassy in Damascus that killed General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. “Here too we have counted 35 dead in an attack that seems to have been coordinated with the rebels and terrorists who control Idlib,” said the prelate who thanks Pope Francis for citing Syria’s suffering in his Easter message. To survive, “people are constantly looking for a piece of bread,” said Maronite Archbishop Nassar.

| 02/04/2024
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST

Today's news: Japan's record low in new births and marriages; Afghan Taliban publically execute a man convicted of murder; Seoul imposes a deadline on (youth) white coat protest; Anti-Muslim hatred grows in India, also linked to the 7 October attack and Gaza war.

| 27/02/2024
| ASIA TODAY
Editor's choices
 
by Giorgio Bernardelli
With the approval of Leo XIV, Wang Zhengui was ordained this morning bishop of Zhangjiakou, a "new" diocese that replaces the sees of Xuanhua and Xiwanzi. Of the two underground prelates, one becomes auxiliary bishop, while the other (repeatedly subjected ...
| 10/09/2025
| CHINA – VATICAN
 
by Maria Casadei
Demonstrations broke out yesterday in the Nepalese capital following the blocking of social media, which has now been lifted. However, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli has resigned. The death toll stands at 19, with hundreds injured. Before the internet ...
| 09/09/2025
| NEPAL
 
After serving time in prison for refusing to join the Party, he served as coadjutor to Bishop Li in Luoyang before retiring to his village in 2011. Some local Catholics spoke to AsiaNews about him: “In China, following the right path by believing ...
| 08/09/2025
| CHINA
 
In a chat picked up by a hot mic, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping talk about the possibility of organ transplants allowing people to live up to 150 years. China has never adopted a clear and transparent system for organ donation. Despite new regulations, ...
| 04/09/2025
| RED LANTERNS
 
At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China refers to the general as the “acting president of Myanmar”, enhancing the military junta’s credentials. For its part, India plans to send a delegation to monitor Myanmar’s ...
| 03/09/2025
| MYANMAR – CHINA – INDIA
 
The pontiff met in the Vatican with former residents of Diego Garcia, the island in the Indian Ocean, who were removed in the 1970s to make way for a large UK-US military base. Last May, the UK signed an agreement transferring sovereignty to Mauritius, ...
| 23/08/2025
| VATICAN
 
by Gregory
A demolition order was also served to 19 Buddhist sites in the city's "cultural zone," set to be razed to unearth ancient Ketumati. AsiaNews reports local Catholics are dismayed by the threat looming over the church dedicated to the Sacred Heart, ...
| 23/08/2025
| MYANMAR
 
Eighty representatives of the Modern Orthodox movement, led by Rabbi Yosef Blau, have launched an appeal calling for "moral clarity" and "responsibility" based on the values of Jewish tradition. While condemning Hamas, they call for a "response" to the ...
| 20/08/2025
| ISRAEL – PALESTINE
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”