Asian

China bars Tibetan kids from private classes, religious activities

Ethnic Tibetans have expressed alarm over door-to-door inspection by China’s communist authorities to ensure children are not taking private classes and participating in religious activities during their winter break. The authorities are conducting random inspections in “residential areas and commercial establishments” in Tibet and other Tibetan-populated regions, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Jan. 9 […]

Iran: Jailed Christians denied Christmas

In Iran, Christmas for some Christians is a dark cell, in one of the country’s most notorious prisons, held without charges, aware that they were locked away only for their faith with no prospect for indictment that would enable them to defend themselves, deprived of rights even more than their liberty. This is the case […]

Christmas of fear in Nepal due to growing anti-Christian hatred

Christians in Nepal have been advised to be on high alert during the Christmas period following a number of incidents of anti-Christian violence that have occurred in the country in recent months at the hands of Hindu extremist groups. “There is a sense of fear and insecurity rippling through the Christian community amid Christmas celebrations. […]

It’s ‘Bong Natal’ in Malaysia’s tiny Portuguese settlement

Come Christmas a tiny settlement on the Malacca coast turns into a wonderland. Thousands of visitors arrive in the evenings to look at the brightly lit streets and decorated homes in a Portuguese settlement, a 15-minute drive from the capital city of the coastal state in south-western Malaysia. Curtains of colourful, fairy lights flow along […]

Rebels take another city, Church alive ‘even in suffering’, says Loikaw bishop

Last week the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) captured Namhsan, a city in the northern Shan State. The TNLA is one of three ethnic militias that form the Three Brotherhood Alliance that launched an offensive against Myanmar’s military junta at the end of October. According to the militias, at least 650 regular soldiers surrendered, potentially […]

Jaranwala, a Christmas fair to restore hope for victims

Only 4 months ago in Jaranwala in Pakistan more than 900 Christian families were forced to flee and hide in the fields with women, elderly people and children to save their lives from the fury and burning of Islamic fundamentalists. The toll was hundreds of Christian homes burned and 21 churches attacked, of which 3 belonging to the […]

Hebei, Chinese police ban children from Christmas in Baoding

Christmas vigil prohibited for children. Traffic blocks and shop closures. Ban on display of objects that recall Christmas in university dormitories. These are some of the measures deployed by the local authorities of Baoding, a northern city in the Chinese province of Hebei not far from the capital Beijing. As a diocese with a long […]

Fewer S.Koreans marry while number of newlyweds, childless couples hits new low

The number of newlywed couples in South Korea has fallen by more than 6%, to just over one million in 2022. The proportion for couples with no children has reached an all-time high, this according to Statistics Korea. A declining birth rate also touches North Korea, so much so that its leader, Kim Jong-un, in […]

Salesians elect Maltese priest Fabio Attard as Don Bosco’s 11th successor

Pope Francis does not accept Cardinal Koch’s resignation: could continue at least until anniversary of Council of Nicea