Asia
Uzbekistan: criminal prosecution for sharing beliefs
Uzbekistan has an ‘Administrative Code’ which states it is illegal to produce, store, or import religious materials into Uzbekistan. ‘Proselytisation’ and other missionary activity is illegal, and people are being arrested for sharing…
Thailand: rescue mission is not over
Twelve boys and their coach were rescued from a flooded, dark cave, and we thank God that they were brought out into the light. BUT the people of Thailand remain in spiritual darkness.…
Brunei: prayers for the nation
In a population of 430,000 only 5.2% are Christian; everyone else is a Sunni Muslim. Churches in Malaysian territories bordering Brunei have been bold in their evangelism directed at Bruneians who come across…
Gulf States: economic boom expands Christian witness
‘I am sure that in the Arabian peninsula there are easily ten million Christians’, says Bill Schwartz, OBE, Anglican Archdeacon in the Gulf and Chaplain of Qatar. Most notable is how the region’s…
NATO focusses on Afghanistan
NATO leaders moved beyond the demands of Donald Trump for higher defence spending, and focussed on ending the long war in Afghanistan, in the second day of a summit in Brussels underscored by…
Japan: record rainfall causes disaster
Mudslides and flooding caused by torrential rain have killed 195, with the toll expected to rise further. 75,000 responders have been deployed for search and rescue operations. Further storms and landslides are expected,…
Thailand: Cave rescue
Efforts continue to extract a Thai youth football team (aged 11-16) and their 25-year-old coach from a flooded cave in Thailand. Water is being pumped out and officials hope the lowered water levels…
India: National Health Care scheme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to provide healthcare and insurance to half a billion Indians, a people-mass larger than the entire population of South America, is facing serious hurdles. Almost five months after…
Saudi Arabia:Things women still can’t do
Saudi Arabia is issuing driving licences to women after abolishing its ban on female drivers. 2,000 women want to complete a driving course now offered at all-female university campuses. However women are still…
Iran: Street protests
On 24 June protesters forced two major shopping centres in Tehran to close after the Iranian rial dropped drastically, despite government attempts to control currency rates. On 25 June more protesters swarmed Tehran’s…
