Asia
Sri Lanka: high alert after Easter bombings
Easter bombings in three churches and seven hotels have killed 253, with the death toll expected to rise further because 500 are seriously injured. Over sixty suspects have been arrested so far. Domestic…
Israel: Passover holiday - police on alert
Over 3,000 police will be deployed across Israel, with a focus on Jerusalem, in preparation for and during the Passover holiday, which begins on 19 April at sundown. A spokesman said that tens…
Middle East: Holy Week
Christians across the Middle East are now experiencing or preparing for Holy Week (those churches that follow the Eastern Christian calendar being a week behind the West). Streets and squares overflow with believers…
Malaysia: abductions organised by state
Malaysia’s human rights commission claims that both Pastor Raymond Koh (in 2017) and Amri Che Mat, a Muslim social activist (in 2016), were victims of state-sponsored enforced disappearances, carried out by a police…
Israel: new government facing challenges
On 10 April Benjamin Netanyahu emerged as the winner in Israel’s election, supported by right-wing and religious parties. However, one right-wing party, led by former education minister Naftali Bennett, seems not to have…
Middle East - special prayer effort (11 to 13 April)
International Prayer Connect write: ‘As worship and prayer have begun to rise across the Middle East, an unprecedented harvest is taking place among Muslim peoples. We hear the same testimony in multiple nations.…
China: arrests, journalist detained, pastor’s mother beaten
Journalist and church deacon of Early Rain Covenant Church, Zhang Guoqing, was missing for several days before it was discovered he was being held in police custody for ‘provoking trouble’. He had published…
Brunei: full sharia law from 3 April
Stoning to death and amputation as punishments - including for children - are provided for in newly-implemented sections of the Brunei Darussalam sharia penal code that came into force on 3 April, according…
Iran: disastrous floods, rising death toll
Over sixty people have died following floods across Iran. 78 intercity roads are blocked, 2,199 rural roads and 84 bridges have been washed away. 141 rivers burst their banks, and 400 landslides were…
USA offers Iran help (?)
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo extended condolences to the victims of the floods in Iran, and said his country was prepared to help. But in a sign that the offer may have…
