Asia
Hong Kong: John Lee wins rubber-stamp election
John Lee replaced Carrie Lam as Hong Kong's leader after a closed voting process in which he was the sole candidate. His appointment is seen as China’s move to tighten its grip on…
Pakistan: vaccination campaign stalling
Health workers in Pakistan are marking children’s fingers as having had a polio vaccination, when in reality parents have refused the vaccine after believing conspiracy theories that they are harmful, blasphemous, or a…
North Korea: sudden lockdown ordered
In late April, North Korea confirmed its first Covid cases and suspended overland trade with China (which had been resumed in January) after a surge of Chinese cases. The reclusive nation has repeatedly…
Israel: renewed terror threat
There is nothing more horrifying than acts of terror. As wars rage and radical terrorists aim to harm those who are unlike themselves, the biggest casualties are often people who wanted nothing to…
Myanmar: soldiers deserting the army
People's Embrace is a Facebook page helping soldiers defect. The banner says 'Assistance to police and military personnel’. Myanmar is engulfed by an increasingly deadly civil war, which began when the Tatmadaw, the…
Global: anti-Semitism in worldwide surge
A study by Tel Aviv University found anti-Semitic incidents dramatically increased across the world last year. The USA, Canada, Germany, Australia and the UK experienced the sharpest rise fuelled by radical left- and…
Turkey: devastating blow’ for human rights
On 25 April Turkish philanthropist and human rights activist Osman Kavala was found guilty of attempting to overthrow the government and sentenced to life without possibility of parole. He had spent the last…
India: another pastor tortured in police custody
Last week a Christian pastor was arrested on false charges of conversion activities in Uttar Pradesh and tortured for 24 hours. ‘I could not walk out of the police station. My two legs…
Afghanistan: internal strife and Pakistan tensions
In March the anti-Taliban group NRF started preparing a 2022 spring offensive against the Taliban government. Meanwhile tensions with Pakistan are high due to Pakistan security forces being targeted from Afghanistan. Islamabad has…
India: authorities arrest 36 Christians
A congregation of 100 Christians celebrating a Maundy Thursday service in Uttar Pradesh’s Fathepur District were threatened by a radical Hindu mob who surrounded the church and subsequently locked the doors. A First…
