Asia

Syria: oil shortages and pipeline sabotage

27 Jun 2019
Five underwater pipelines off Syria’s coast were sabotaged on 22-23 June. No group claimed responsibility for this ‘terrorist attack’. Syria has been beset by fuel shortages since the EU, UN and US imposed…

Church learning to love enemies

21 Jun 2019
‘It was as if God had prepared us for this,’ said Pastor Hikmat Kashouh of his congregation. He is recalling the time when over a million Syrian refugees started pouring into Lebanon, fleeing…

Help and hope for Iraqi Christians

21 Jun 2019
17 June 2019 marks five years since IS told Christians living in Mosul to ‘convert, pay or die’. Three thousand Christian families were among the half million citizens who left Mosul. Most of…

Gulf of Oman: escalating tensions

21 Jun 2019
On 16 June the Saudi crown prince said he would ‘deal with’ threats to his people and vital interests following attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. America blamed Iran for the…

Saudi Arabia: youth faces execution for actions when aged 10

21 Jun 2019
Amnesty International reported that the Saudi public prosecutor has sought the death penalty for Murtaja Qureiris for offences and participating in protests when he was ten years old. This prompted a global outcry…

North Korea / China: sex trade trafficking

21 Jun 2019
China’s president Xi Jinping visited North Korea on 20/21 June. It is the first visit by a Chinese president in over a decade. While the world ponders Korea’s denuclearisation issue, the plight of…

China: earthquakes and fracking

21 Jun 2019
On 17 June buildings collapsed, trapping people underneath in a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in the south-west Chinese province of Sichuan. Thirteen people have died so far, and 4,000+ people have been relocated from…

China, Hong Kong: Catholics urge restraint

13 Jun 2019
A proposed bill allowing mainland China to pursue government critics and criminals in Hong Kong and extradite them to China drew protest marches by thousands on 9-11 June, causing a debate on 12…

India: Cyclone Vayu

13 Jun 2019
Powerful tropical cyclones rarely make it this far north in the Arabian Sea. Gujarat has not had a strong storm make landfall in twenty years. However, the state's additional chief secretary has appealed…

Gulf of Oman: oil tankers attacked

13 Jun 2019
Two oil tankers have been attacked off the coast of Iran. They were evacuated, and search and rescue teams from Iran saved 44 sailors. The Front Altair, carrying crude oil, is believed to…