Asia

Pope Francis believes that Christianity and the Catholic Church can have a great future in this continent where two-thirds of humanity live.

Organizers of the Aug. 8 vigil said they hoped the faithful can remain solely a prayer movement so that tensions ease in the weeks long series of mass demonstrations by Hong Kong citizens opposing a controversial extradition law.

Thousands of train passengers were stranded in different areas of the city, Indian's financial capital, and in other suburbs and towns of Maharashtra state as two days of continuous rain began to submerge rail tracks, forcing authorities to cancel or divert services.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, said that he has no faith in the investigations to date—one by a commission and one by a committee—into the April 23 attack.

The country's Justice Department is set to open a preliminary investigation the week of Aug. 5 into sedition and cyber libel charges against church leaders.

Protests in Hong Kong have entered their eighth week and are showing no signs of abating. As the government has refused to acknowledge the protesters’ demands, tensions and tactics have escalated.