Displaying items by tag: Asia

Ashfaq Masih is a Christian falsely accused of ‘blasphemy’ and sentenced to death by hanging. He said, ‘Muhammad Irfan came to my shop for wheel balancing for his motorbike. I balanced the wheel and asked for my amount of labour as settled between us. Muhammad Irfan refused to give me money and said he was a follower of Peer Fakhir (a Sufi spiritual guide) and don't ask for money from me. A false FIR (First Incident Report) was made against me. I told the real story to a police officer but he did not record my version but conducted an investigation ex-parte. I neither uttered any derogatory word against Prophet Muhammad nor can think about it.’ The Muslim judge presiding over the case, said that it could not be believed that a Muslim will spin a story in this regard, describing the evidence of Masih's defense team as ‘not believable’. Masih’s is the third death sentence for blasphemy since January.

In a South Asian country, approximately 15,000 women and children are trafficked each year with 1,000 being rescued. Exploitation happens frequently and many rituals and practices are hidden from sight. Although there is a minimum age for marriage, it is still common practice for children to be married off as young as twelve. A ritual where menstruating women are expected to live in a small hut away from their families for the duration is still widely practised despite being difficult for women. Child labour is still common, and many children still work in the entertainment sector, brick factories and dance bars. The sex industry has gone underground but still exists with girls that have been tricked into working. Migrant workers have left their families in search of better incomes and find themselves locked into physical labour contracts, or working as housemaids in homes where they are often abused.

One of the root causes of poverty in Asia is corruption that diverts resources from the poor to the rich in a culture of bribes. Corruption and bribery are two sides of the same coin. Another root cause of Asian poverty is recurring natural disasters - floods, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, landslides, etc. ‘Asian countries are mostly dependent upon agriculture, forestry and tourism. All can all be affected by natural disasters. Education is affected by poverty because poor people stop going to school to work; leaving them without literacy and numeracy skills needed for a career. Poor people tend to believe not only that they are poor, but that they will remain poor, leading to psychological poverty - an unhealthy frame of mind that is usually self-inflicted. Spiritual poverty occurs when people’s incompleteness and dependency overwhelms them. In their brokenness they feel that something is wrong within themselves. They need God. Ask God to brood over and touch the impoverished Asian.

Joe Biden will visit Israel and Saudi Arabia from 13 to 16 July. The 16th is a Jewish fast day in remembrance of Jerusalem's walls being breached. On that day the president will visit Saudi Arabia where Washington has been brokering talks to transfer a pair of Red Sea islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, in a deal that would see Riyadh take small steps toward formal diplomatic ties with Jerusalem. It is also believed that Biden’s visit to the Gulf kingdom is to seek an increase in its oil production and coordinate with regional partners on Iran. The president’s schedule of two days in Jerusalem and Bethlehem indicates Washington also aims to solidify the two-pronged ties with Jerusalem while assuring the Palestinians that his administration is still proactively committed to the two-state solution.

The prime minister, the president with his family, and his brother the finance minister all fled the country after thousands stormed the president’s residence, demanding their removal for mismanaging the economy and causing Sri Lanka’s financial ruin. The nation hoped these departures would end the family dynasty that has dominated Sri Lanka's politics for two decades. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, speaking from the Maldives, said he would step down by 13 July but his resignation letter did not arrive, causing further clashes between riot police and protesters in which 84 were injured and one killed. A curfew is in place in a bid to ward off any further protests and troops secured the parliament building in armoured personnel carriers. If Mr Rajapaksa resigns as planned, Sri Lankan MPs have agreed to elect a new president on 20 July to serve until 2024. There is concern that if the president does not publicly quit, the people will continue demonstrating and the military will be increasingly involved.

85 million people, 98.6% of Iran’s population, are Muslim; only 0.2% are Christian. Massive numbers of Iranians have come to Jesus in recent years. From only 500 Muslim-background believers in 1979, many estimates suggest the number is even greater than one million. Large numbers of Persian people have also encountered the risen Christ outside of Iran. The Church has not grown this fast since the seventh century. In Iran, a person can receive a death sentence for abandoning their religious faith. This growth is a remarkable move of the Holy Spirit, with many signs and wonders, dreams and visions. But we still need to pray for a mighty move of God across the nation; for the Iranian believers to be protected as they share their faith; and for those who are translating the Bible into the many different dialects spoken in Iran to reach every lost tribe.

On 22 June, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 1,000 people and destroyed critical infrastructure - homes, health facilities, schools, water networks - leaving thousands vulnerable to further harm. On 3 July Mohammad, who lost 18 family members, believed one body was still trapped beneath bricks and mud where his home was. Mohammad’s home is now a very basic tent sheltering his sister with a broken leg, she still hasn't had a visit from a doctor and is in a lot of pain. Very little aid is trickling through to his village, the communication is poor, there are no health facilities in surrounding areas and above all else the routes there are incredibly tough. Aid agencies haven't found a safe landing zone for helicopters and so all survivors can do is watch as vital support flies past. Bodies remain in the rubble, impossible to reach without proper help and the smell is heartbreaking because it is from dead bodies.

Sri Lanka will soon have 60% inflation. The Prime Minister said the nation is bankrupt and he does not expect a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. He believes he can turn the economy around, but 2023 will be tough with improvements in 2024. People queue for days to get fuel. Sadly a man who had lived in his car for five days queuing for gas died in his car and no one realised it. Things became this bad due to political mismanagement and corruption. As food, fuel, and medicine prices increase, people are escaping by boat to India or Australia. In India, people are kept in refugee camps. Rulers have mismanaged Sri Lanka for 10 to 15 years and borrowed money from China, but up to 30% of it never reached its purpose. People have lost faith in the government and their traditional religions. Meanwhile, Christians meet to pray for economic and spiritual revivals.

Over 220,000 people live in cramped subdivided flats in Hong Kong. These units are found across rooftop houses, space capsules, cubicles, and loft spaces, and are sometimes not even bigger than a single bed space. Tens of thousands of families live in the city's darkest places. There are 110,000 subdivided flats in dilapidated buildings. Most are rented by singles or couples, but occupants also include single parents and their children, and three-generation households. Housing shortage drives people into tiny spaces with as many as 40 occupants. The most notorious are ‘cage homes’, also known as ‘coffin homes’, where partitioned boxlike units are stacked from floor to ceiling, separated by thin wooden boards or wire mesh. Beijing wants the local government to rid the city of these tiny units by 2049. John Lee Ka-chiu, who has been sworn in as the city’s leader, has pledged to resolve Hong Kong’s housing woes.

Japan is sweltering under its worst heatwave for almost 150 years. The city of Isesaki, northwest of the capital, saw a record 40.2C - the highest temperature ever recorded for Japan. There are official warnings of a looming power shortage and calls for people to conserve energy where possible. But the government is still advising people to use air conditioning to avoid heatstroke as cases of hospitalisation rise with the heat. Meteorologists warn the heat will continue in the coming days. Pray for the elderly and those with heart disease. In the heat blood vessels open up, leading to lower blood pressure. The heart works harder to push the blood around the body which could lead to a heart attack. Weather officials warn the heat is likely to continue in the coming days. See also