Displaying items by tag: Asia

The map of disasters is immense, according to agencies tracking changes in climate and disaster events. In south Asia 45 million people have been adversely affected by floods and mudslides, with 16 million children and their families needing life-saving support. Pray for emergency aid to reach areas cut off by the floods and against the spread of waterborne diseases, such as cholera, amongst communities living in temporary shelters. On the African continent, 500 lives were lost in Sierra Leone and many are still missing after mudslides.  Hurricane Harvey caused flooding and devastation on the Gulf Coast, and Florida has declared a state of emergency as Hurricane Irma moves in its direction. According to reports, 95% of the island of Barbuda in the Caribbean has been ‘apocalyptically’ destroyed, and its prime minister blames this on climate change. He criticised world leaders who deny global warming. See also

The Rohingya Muslims have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. On 24 August the media reported clashes between Rohingya militants and Buddhist security forces in Rakhine state. Within two weeks the clashes escalated to a military operation, causing 15,000 Rohingya to flee daily to Bangladesh. The situation is becoming a humanitarian crisis in overstretched border camps, and 400,000 Rohingya are trapped in conflict zones where military ‘clearance operations’ continue. UN aid agencies are blocked from delivering food, water and medicine and humanitarian workers reported looting in warehouses stocking vital emergency supplies. Bishop Desmond Tutu has joined others criticising president Aung San Suu Kyi due to the ‘clearance’ actions of the army. In 2015, during a similar mass migration of Rohingya fleeing by boat from Myanmar, an estimated 25,000 were taken by human traffickers and many died at sea. This time an aid group rescuing refugees from the Mediterranean Sea is redirecting its ship to the Bay of Bengal. Pray for a greater international response. See also

Speaking to reporters on her way to Japan, Theresa May four times refused to rule out British action to stop North Korea’s illegal missile launches, as the rogue state threatened to increase its military tests. She called on China to do more to rein in dictator Kim Jong-un, and said such pressure was the key to easing the crisis. A British government source suggested that cyber-warfare might already be being deployed against North Korea, saying to reporters, ‘If we were doing that we certainly wouldn’t be telling you.’ Mrs May landed in Japan on 30 August, a day after a North Korean missile flew over Hokkaido. Her talks with President Shinzo Abe will focus on trade, security, and Kim’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

On 29 August North Korea launched a missile over Japan, saying that it was ‘the first step’ of military operations in the Pacific. State media also repeated threats to the US Pacific island of Guam, which it called ‘an advanced base of invasion’. Russia and China said that US military activity in the region was partly to blame for the increase in tensions. BBC correspondent Jonathan Marcus reported, ‘Launching a rocket over Japanese territory, with the possibility that it could deposit debris on Japanese soil, shows that Pyongyang is intent on maintaining its brinkmanship. However, it is noteworthy that North Korea did not make good on its threat to direct a missile towards the US Pacific territory of Guam - something that might well have precipitated a US military response.’ See also British Isles article 4, ‘Theresa May on North Korea’.

The IS terrorist group has released a disturbing propaganda video in which its fighters are shown stamping on a bust of Jesus, desecrating religious statues, and ripping up photos of Pope Francis, before the church went up in flames. The video, filmed in the Philippines, features a narrator speaking with an American accent; he praises ‘the truthful soldiers of Mohammed’ who have infiltrated the city of Marawi. About 200,000 residents have been evacuated from the city since the start of the conflict in May, but several hundred - many of them Christians - are held captive inside the city. The video narrator claimed that the Philippine government tried to subjugate the Muslims and expel them from the land, and said IS soldiers freed inmates from the local jail and attacked local churches. He added that ‘the religion of the cross’ would be broken.

Thousands of missionaries worldwide depend on our prayers for strength. Afghanistan is just one of the nations where people groups have not yet heard about Jesus Christ. Cultural traditions that have survived centuries of invasion are guarded and observed, like that of offering extraordinary hospitality. A strong national identity and their characteristic hard work ethic will doubtless serve community members well as Afghanistan rebuilds. In addition to Islamic beliefs, spiritism (using charms and amulets) is also widespread. Pray for the Christians in the extra American military soon to be deployed to Afghanistan by President Trump. May God inspire them with a spirit of evangelism as they meet the locals who have known frequent war and internal tribal strife. Ask God to restore political peace and stability among tribes, and call for more Christian workers who are trained in the various language dialects to enter Afghan’s mission fields. Pray for Christian relief workers in Pakistan as they witness among displaced Afghans. See also https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14372/AF

It is called the largest mass poisoning in history. Wells drilled in the Indian subcontinent in the 1970s exposed millions to arsenic leaching into their drinking water from surrounding rocks and soil; this has caused skin lesions, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodevelopmental delays. A new study now suggests that up to sixty million Pakistanis might also be exposed to contaminated water. The World Health Organisation warned in the 1990s that up to 77 million people in Bangladesh were in danger of drinking water with unsafe levels of arsenic, and 200 million people in Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam were exposed to concentrations exceeding the recommended limit. Experts hope this new study will motivate Pakistan’s authorities to test wells in high-risk areas and to warn communities. If people are aware of the risks they could use water from deeper aquifers that are in contact with older sediments, or invest in treating groundwater to remove arsenic.

The Commission on International Religious Freedom has issued a report on blasphemy laws globally. The five worst-scoring nations are Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Qatar, while 71 of the world's 195 countries penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment and death. In Indonesia the influence of radical Islam is being felt, with some districts adopting highly restrictive bylaws; but, praise God, a Jakarta Baptist pastor reports that Christianity is growing there. Pakistan’s Christians fear a rise in persecution after the removal of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Pray for God to cover them with His canopy, particularly the growing 24/7 prayer cells. The Iranian government is particularly concerned about the rise of Christianity, especially among youths. Islamic seminary officials are calling on the government to ‘stop the spread’ of the faith. Ask God to release even more of His angels into the battle between dark and light over Asia.

CBN News joined 46 Christians from Russia going to remote Mongolian provinces where few have heard of Christ's love. 17-year-old Alena Barsokov said, ‘What I am attempting to do is raise a new generation of Russian believers who will have an understanding of Christ's love for the world and the role they must play in bringing that Good News to the unreached.’ This is her third visit to Mongolia. She has wanted to be a missionary since the age of 9. Accompanying her was Natasha Gorodnuk, on her first trip. She wants to serve as a missionary to Nepal. ‘Every time I think about it, my heart breaks because I know the calling on my life and I know what I'm supposed to do,’ Natasha said. For several weeks Natasha, Alena and 44 other Russians partnered with Mongolian Christians to hold evangelistic camps for young people in remote regions of the country.

On 6 August Patriarch Louis Sako, head of the Chaldean Catholic church, called on Iraqi Christians to unite under one banner and work past their various political affiliations and differing doctrines. In his statement, issued after two armed Christian factions clashed in the Nineveh plains, he said that Christian political parties and armed factions are ‘responsible to a great extent for the suffering and disorder in which Christians live.’ He added, ‘We believe that a huge part of this ordeal is self-inflicted and caused by parties' divisions, their subordination (to Shi’ite and Kurdish groups), and their failure to unite efforts and ranks and make a unified decision.’ Internal Christian divisions have existed for a long time, but they deepened when a number of armed Christian factions formed after IS took over Christian territories in the Nineveh plains.