Displaying items by tag: Asia

Aftershocks are still shaking the eastern Mediterranean as far as Iraq, following on from the severe earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria which left over 50,000 dead and millions homeless. Amidst all the misery, death and destruction, we are hearing testimonies from people who were buried alive and rescued from the rubble after more than a week. They all experienced a bright figure in white who came towards them and gave them something to drink.

Scores of Jewish settlers stormed Hawara torching vehicles and houses in a ‘revenge’ attack after two Israeli brothers were killed by a Palestinian gunman. West Bank’s safety has deteriorated with deadly attacks in Israel, leading to raids on Palestinian terror cells by Israel’s army. Israeli defence forces are being criticised for not quickly quelling Hawara’s violence, revealing stark divisions in Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government; some even encourage the settlers. Meanwhile, Netanyahu called on Israelis not to take the law into their own hands and condemned ‘anarchy.’ Many analysts say that he, the strong-minded leader, fears he is losing control of the security situation in the West Bank. This is a sensitive issue that will deepen government fissures if it goes unchecked. Jews rioting in Huwara have been rightly condemned. But why does the world tolerate Palestinian terrorism? Palestinians regularly take to the streets to celebrate the murders of Jews.

In January we prayed for the 120,000 Christians stranded in Nagorno-Karabakh, a landlocked enclave between Armenia and Azerbaijan, asking God to halt the obstructions to one of Christianity's oldest communities. The situation continues and requires immediate action. Currently, inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh cannot travel freely out of the region; 954 are still stranded on either side of the corridor. Only the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers’ vehicles are allowed to travel along this corridor, which is clearly insufficient to fulfil the needs of the population. It is vitally important that goods can get through in time for the sowing season. Furthermore, the repeated disruption of gas and electricity supply to the territory has resulted in serious violations of the rights of the inhabitants: many have lost their jobs and children are deprived of education since schools had to close. Azerbaijani military positions are within Armenian sovereign territory, sometimes well beyond any disputed border.

‘Help me, I am being tortured by my employer. I'm covered in blood every day, help me!’ Meriance Kabu wrote, then folded the note and threw it out of the locked iron gates of the apartment where she worked as a live-in maid. A passer-by found it and took it to a retired police officer. ‘If she had stayed there, she would have died,’ he later said. That same day Malaysian police knocked on the door of the apartment Meriance hadn't left in eight months. ‘I felt as if I was falling,’ she says, recalling when she saw the officers. ‘They said, “Don't be afraid, we are here”. At that moment I felt like I could breathe again. The officers called me closer and I told them the truth.’ Her story contained distressing details. Nine years later she still fights for justice. Recently Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to improve the conditions of Indonesian domestic workers. Indonesia is lobbying for the case against Meriance's employer to be resumed.

The death toll is tens of thousands. The devastation and trauma is palpable, after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Turkey. Over several years, many foreign Christians have been expelled from Turkey. Most of those remaining are local Turkish believers, 0.5% of the population. Amid the suffering, Turkish Christians are helping one another and embracing Muslim neighbours with aid. In areas where rescue teams were slow to arrive, believers rushed in from other parts of Turkey to help. Their presence is opening doors to offer Gospel comfort. We pray for the grieving. We pray for the spiritually lost. Lord Jesus, break down deep-seated prejudices against Christianity. Move through your remnant church.

As China declares victory over the pandemic, the landmark protests in November which spelled the end for zero-Covid rules have begun fading from memory. But as the country moves on, many who took part in the demonstrations are missing, taken by authorities in a quietly deepening crackdown on dissenters. Thousands rallied against restrictive Covid policies in White Paper protests, holding up blank white sheets in a rare show of criticism of the Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping. Police made few arrests at the time. Now, months later, scores of those protesters are in police custody, say Chinese activists. International rights groups and foreign universities have called for their release. Activist groups have published lists naming the detainees from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Nanjing protests. Many prisoners are well-educated; some attended universities in the UK and America. They include writers, journalists, a musician, a teacher and a financial industry professional.

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 collapsed this time. The death toll is relatively low because the area was almost empty after being hit by previous quakes. 294 people were injured - 18 of them seriously. Pray for God to comfort survivors like Ali who was looking for the bodies of his family after the previous earthquakes when the latest tremors hit. He said, ‘We grabbed each other and right in front of us, the walls started to fall’. Pray for the 865,000 people living in tents, 23,500 in container homes, and the 376,000 in public guest houses and student dormitories. Meanwhile Turkey is widening investigations into building servicers violating safety standards. By 23 February 564 suspects were identified, 160 arrested, and many more were under investigation.

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’. A US thinktank said North Korea is reeling from floods, typhoons and global sanctions over its nuclear programme and is on the brink of famine. Food insecurity is at its ‘worst since the 1990s famine’, and food availability is likely below the bare minimum for human needs. Experts say the current food shortages, triggered by poor harvests amid extreme weather conditions, have been exacerbated by lockdowns and a sharp reduction in trade with China due to border closures during the pandemic. Pyongyang called for an ‘urgent’ meeting of the Workers’ Party on agriculture this month. It is rare for such a special meeting. They have also reduced daily food rations to soldiers for the first time since 2000.

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 many as an attempt to divert overall blame for the disaster. For years, experts warned that many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies that allowed so-called amnesties for contractors who swerved building regulations, in order to encourage a construction boom - including in earthquake-prone regions. With elections looming Erdogan’s future is on the line after spending 20 years in power. He has admitted shortcomings but, during one visit to a disaster zone, he appeared to blame fate, saying, ‘Such things have always happened. It is part of destiny's plan’. Modern construction techniques should mean that buildings can withstand quakes of this magnitude, and regulations following previous Turkey disasters were supposed to ensure these protections were built in. See also

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 an article which he claimed slandered his son. Amnesty International said this is slamming the door on what is left of independent media and a warning to other critical voices who still dare to ask questions about the government, the prime minister, and his family. Pray for Cambodians to have safe access to truthful news. Indian tax authorities searched BBC offices after it aired a story of prime minister Narendra Modi’s role in anti-Muslim violence when he was chief minister of the state. It was only broadcast in the UK. Modi is blocking Indians from sharing ‘the Modi question’ online, calling it hostile propaganda. A spokesman for him called the BBC ‘the most corrupt organisation in the world’.