According to data from the country's Hydrometeorological Agency, the phenomenon has increased more than tenfold in the last thirty years as a result of climate change and intensive access to water sources. The dust worsens air quality and accelerates glacier melt. Urgent measures are needed, such as those taken by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which are planting a million shrubs at the bottom of the Aral Sea.

Thanks to the collaboration of the bishops of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, “A call for climate justice and the common home” was presented 10 years after Laudato Si’ and the Paris Agreement. The document warns against “false solutions" like “green capitalism" and urges rich countries to pay their ecological debt. For FABC President and Archbishop of Goa Ferrão, COP30 should be a “moral turning point".

India’s highest court will have reserved positions for Dalits and other disadvantaged groups, except for justices. “The Supreme Court has delivered several landmark judgments on affirmative action, it had to apply it,” said Chief Justice Gavai, a Dalit.

The Pheu Thai leader stepped aside after she was suspended by the Constitutional Court to consider if her phone call with former Cambodian PM Hun Sen was an ethical violation. In the meantime, a court case involving her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, got underway. The People's Party led by Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut is calling for parliament to be dissolved to give voters the power to choose; meanwhile, a cabinet reshuffle was approved this morning. The post of defence minister is vacant.

In the anniversary of the former British colony's transition to the People's Republic, the Hong Kong Democracy Council takes stock of the repression. Of the 161 convicted, 102 are still serving prison sentences. On 14 August, Jimmy Lai's trial is expected to enter its final phase. Meanwhile, thanks to cuts by the Trump administration, Radio Free Asia's Cantonese channel is also closing, further reducing the space for free information on Hong Kong.

Speaking to AsiaNews, the parish priest describes the tragic reality of a population that is getting more desperate by the day. The war continues in the shadow of Israel-Iran confrontation, with a glimmer of hope for fresh ceasefire negotiations. Netanyahu is set to visit the White House next week. Palestinians in Gaza show photos of Israeli children killed by Hamas on 7 October.