Asia
Iran: election on 19 May
Ethnic Persians are born Muslim. It is illegal to run Christian activities in Farsi, the national language. Despite this, Christians from a Muslim background make up the largest group of Christians in Iran.…
Saudi Arabia elected to UN women’s rights commission
The United Nations voted late last week to place Saudi Arabia on the Commission on the Status of Women for a four-year term beginning in 2018, despite that country’s appalling record on the…
Trump's sabre-rattling, but North Korea has nothing to lose
Donald Trump said the US would consider any lever, diplomatic, economic or military, to forestall North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and tweeted, ‘North Korea is looking for trouble.’ But experts say Pyongyang’s latest missile…
Turkey: referendum vote divides country
Half of Turkey is celebrating a win in a national referendum, the rest demand a recount. President Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory and sweeping new powers as head of government, head of state…
Easter in China
New Catholics are traditionally baptised on Easter Sunday. In recent years, there has been a large increase of baptisms in Catholic churches at Easter time. Chinese Catholic churches don't have an official connection…
Malaysia: full sharia law?
Moves are under way in Malaysia that could see parts of the country implement full sharia law with inhumane punishments; there are reports that the Deputy Prime Minister could agree to support this…
Turkey: constitutional referendum
In a referendum on 16 April, Turks will vote yes or no to constitutional amendments to shift Turkey from a system where executive powers lie with the prime minister and are checked by…
North Korea: US military action an option
The USA says its ‘strategic patience’ with North Korea is over, and suggests it might decide to take preemptive military action: the option was ‘on the table’ if the threat from North Korea’s…
Sharing Christ’s love with North Koreans
Some Christians study weather patterns over North Korea in order to choose the best time to launch helium-filled weather balloons, with a GPS transponder, carrying gospel tracts and New Testaments into the country.…
Afghanistan: a spiritually barren land
The Afghan government does not recognise any of its citizens as Christians, nor is anyone permitted to convert to Christianity. However, there are no laws forbidding proselytism, although the practice is contrary to…
