Asia
Turkey: third earthquake buries more people
Rescuers once again searched for people under rubble after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake and 5.8 aftershock struck near Antakya, where massive quakes had devastated communities two weeks earlier. Buildings weakened by previous tremors…
North Korea: food shortages
North Korea is teetering on the brink of famine. Their official newspaper urges economic self-reliance, arguing that relying on external aid to cope with the food situation would be like taking ‘poisoned candy’.…
Turkey: 113 arrest warrants
Turkey has issued 113 arrest warrants in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in recent earthquakes. Twelve people are in custody, with more arrests expected, but the action is seen by…
Cambodia / India: honest media opposed
Cambodia’s prime minister Hun Sen has shut down the last few independent media outlets in the country, six months before a general election. He cancelled Voice Of Democracy‘s operating licence after they published…
Brave Laos evangelists
A Christian Aid worker in Laos visited persecuted Christians in areas where no one would go. His activities challenged the authorities, and they arrested him for ‘illegal movement of religion’. In prison he…
Turkey / Syria: earthquakes
At the time of writing there are 19,300 dead after earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria. Rescuers are running out of time to find people alive under the rubble. The death toll will far…
Sri Lanka: assault on pastor leads to charges against him
Pastor Tony investigated a noise outside his gate and was assaulted by two men with a shovel, demanding he stop his religious activities. He crawled back into the house, then the men began…
India: Christian persecution increases
India’s government, under prime minister Narendra Modi, is increasingly adopting pro-Hindu nationalist ideologies fuelled by radical groups such as the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). Modi and the RSS are in the Persecutor of…
Israel: internal security
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is an Iran-supported terror organisation. On 27 January Israeli special forces conducted an unusually complex early morning raid in Jenin, eliminating a PIJ cell suspected of planning major attacks.…
Myanmar: deadly new tactic in civil war
As Zin Nwe Phyo and her classmates settled down with their teachers, bullets and bombs hit the school and children ran outside to hide. ‘Soldiers fired right through the school walls, hitting the…