Asia
Middle East churches' symposium ahead of COP28
Dave Bookless of A Rocha writes: ‘On 4-5 October I spoke at a symposium on “Ecumenical Perspectives on Climate Change” held in Beirut by the Middle East Council of Churches. It was remarkable…
India: bank agents steal money from customers
An exposé has shown that the Bank of Baroda made it simple and easy for its agents to steal money from customers’ accounts - and some of them did. The bank’s employees had…
Afghanistan: two earthquakes within a week
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has struck western Afghanistan, four days after a series of deadly quakes left at least a thousand people dead. This second earthquake struck an area near Herat early on…
China: transformation through Bible outreach
In the turbulent period of the Cultural Revolution in China, Bibles were confiscated, and churches forcibly closed. However, the Bible's journey has now evolved from being an underground rarity to becoming a cherished…
Syria: drone attack kills over 100
Over a hundred people, including ten civilians, were killed and another 125 were injured when drones carrying explosives targeted a graduation ceremony at a military academy in Homs. The army blamed ‘terrorist groups…
Iraq: 100+ dead in wedding blaze
A fire at a Christian wedding celebration in Iraq's Nineveh province, near \Mosul, has resulted in over 100 deaths and at least 150 injuries. The blaze reportedly started after fireworks were lit during…
Azerbaijan arrest as exodus tops 50,000
Azerbaijan has arrested former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan as he attempted to flee into Armenia amidst a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan recently regained control of Karabakh in a rapid offensive, causing…
Gaza-Israel tensions spiral
After twelve days of closure, the border crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel was reopened at dawn on 28 September, causing thousands of Gazans to sleep overnight as they awaited the chance…
India: herb garden helps survivors of bonded labour
In an effort to protect survivors of bonded labour from further exploitation, the government in Tamil Nadu, India, has established an herb garden for families of the Irula tribal community. The garden provides…
India / Canada: spiralling tensions
Canada's high commission in India has said that it has decided to ‘adjust’ staff presence in the country temporarily after some diplomats received threats on social media platforms, adding to spiralling tensions between…
