Asia
Facebook removes Russian and Iranian accounts
Facebook has identified and banned groups and pages engaged in misleading political behaviour and removed 652 pages, groups, and accounts linked to Russia and Iran, for ‘coordinated inauthentic behaviour’ that included the sharing…
Turkey: Erdogan refuses to release pastor, lira plunges
The Turkish currency is in freefall after President Trump escalated a feud with Ankara by doubling tariffs on metals imports. The lira has long been falling due to worries about President Erdogan's influence…
Yemen: mass funeral for boys
On 12 August, a Saudi-led airstrike on Yemen killed 51 people (including 40 children) and wounded 79. The next day hundreds of mourners gathered for a mass funeral for the schoolboys. By the…
Pakistan: poverty and persecution
Pakistan plans to seek its largest ever bailout from the IMF as Imran Khan takes office. The loan is to resolve the country’s escalating foreign reserves crisis. However a loan would see IMF…
Sri Lanka: ‘They took everything from us’
A Sri Lankan brick-maker is living with death threats after his conversion to Christianity, often seen as a ‘foreign’ religion, even though Christianity arrived in the Indian sub-continent almost two thousand years ago.…
Laos: dam collapse forces thousands to flee
On 23 July a fault in the structure of a dam in Laos was discovered and alerts went out to evacuate villages downstream as repairs were started, but the dam’s walls broke. Residents…
Pakistan: election in disarray
Pakistan’s election results are in doubt, with the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League (PML) rejecting the result amid widespread allegations of ballot rigging in favour of Imran Khan’s PTI party. With most of the…
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…
