Displaying items by tag: Asia

On 12 October, Israel said there would be no humanitarian break to its ‘total siege’ of the Gaza Strip until all its hostages were freed, after the Red Cross pleaded for fuel to be allowed in to prevent overwhelmed hospitals from ‘turning into morgues’. Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement which rules Gaza, in retribution for the deadly attack on 7 October, when hundreds of gunmen poured across the barrier fence and rampaged through Israeli towns. The death toll in Israel is at least 1,300, with more than 2,700 injured and about 150 taken hostage: in Gaza it is at least 1,400, with over 5,600 wounded. The only power station in the enclave has run out of fuel, and already some 340,000 have been made homeless by Israel’s bombing campaign. Hamas militants holding Israeli soldiers and civilians hostage have threatened to execute a captive for each home in Gaza hit without warning. Meanwhile, Israel has shelled towns in southern Lebanon in response to a fresh rocket attack by Hezbollah: see

Dave Bookless of A Rocha writes: ‘On 4-5 October I spoke at a symposium on “Ecumenical Perspectives on Climate Change” held in Beirut by the Middle East Council of Churches. It was remarkable to see all the diverse cardinals, metropolitans, bishops and archimandrites, and hundreds of robed and bearded priests and seminary students, all coming together to address creation care. All the churches of the region were represented - an amazing witness to Christian unity. The whole event was televised across the Middle East. Amazingly, all the Churches of the Middle East have agreed to a joint statement and call to action which will be presented at COP28, due to be held in Dubai at the end of November.’

An exposé has shown that the Bank of Baroda made it simple and easy for its agents to steal money from customers’ accounts - and some of them did. The bank’s employees had linked unauthorised mobile numbers to accounts before uploading them onto the bank’s new mobile app. These numbers were of bank staff, managers, guards, their relatives, and bank agents in remote areas. Internal documents show that some of the bank’s agents withdrew tens of thousands of rupees from customers’ accounts. The bank’s head office has asked the managers concerned to do everything necessary to restore the money to the accounts. The  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ordered an audit, and has told the bank to stop registering new customers on its app.

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has struck western Afghanistan, four days after a series of deadly quakes left at least a thousand people dead. This second earthquake struck an area near Herat early on 10 October. There are conflicting reports about the number of casualties: one spokesperson reported at least 120 injured. It flattened all 700 homes in Chahak village, which was untouched by Saturday’s quakes. Rescue workers and volunteers have been working around the clock to try to dig out survivors and bodies from the ruins of the villages since the weekend. Relief efforts have been hampered by poor infrastructure in the impoverished country, following decades of war and a decline in foreign aid.

In the turbulent period of the Cultural Revolution in China, Bibles were confiscated, and churches forcibly closed. However, the Bible's journey has now evolved from being an underground rarity to becoming a cherished bestseller. Since 1987, the presence of the Bible Society's Amity Press in Nanjing has been nothing short of remarkable. This facility, the largest Bible factory in the world, has produced an astounding 90 million Bibles for dissemination within China, and 140 million copies in various languages for global distribution. The open availability of the Bible through authorised channels has played a pivotal role in the astonishing growth of the Chinese Church. Lay leaders and devoted volunteers often step forward to bridge the leadership gap, particularly in less affluent regions where a single ordained pastor may serve more than six thousand Christians. The Chinese Church's ongoing growth reflects the abundant harvest that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 9:37, where the workers are indeed few but filled with boundless devotion.

Over a hundred people, including ten civilians, were killed and another 125 were injured when drones carrying explosives targeted a graduation ceremony at a military academy in Homs. The army blamed ‘terrorist groups backed by known international forces’, and said it would respond with full force and determination against these terrorist groups ‘wherever they are’. There was no immediate claim from the rebels and jihadists battling the government in the country's civil war. The attack is believed to have been launched from opposition-held areas north-west of Homs. An eye-witness said, ‘After the ceremony, people went down to the courtyard and the explosives hit. We don't know where it came from, and corpses littered the ground.’ Syria's defence minister attended the graduation ceremony, but left minutes before the attack.

A fire at a Christian wedding celebration in Iraq's Nineveh province, near \Mosul,  has resulted in over 100 deaths and at least 150 injuries. The blaze reportedly started after fireworks were lit during the celebration. Witnesses reported that the bride and groom survived, contrary to initial reports. The fire broke out in a large events hall, with up to 900 people in attendance. The building, made of highly flammable construction materials, quickly collapsed. Preliminary findings suggest that the hall's exterior was decorated with illegal, highly flammable cladding. Ambulances and medical crews were dispatched to the site, and efforts are being made to provide relief to those affected. The number of Christians in Iraq has significantly decreased in recent years, with the current estimate at 150,000 compared to 1.5 million in 2003.

Azerbaijan has arrested former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan as he attempted to flee into Armenia amidst a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan recently regained control of Karabakh in a rapid offensive, causing widespread displacement and a humanitarian crisis. The region, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, has a predominantly ethnic Armenian population. Azerbaijan claims it wants peaceful reintegration and guarantees of civic rights, but faces accusations of ethnic cleansing as thousands of Armenians have fled in fear. The EU and Germany have expressed concern and called for international observers, and the UN has called for an investigation into alleged violations of the right to life. Vardanyan's arrest comes as Azerbaijan seeks to prosecute separatist leaders. The situation highlights Russia's diminished role as a security guarantor in the Caucasus region, with competing influences from Turkey, Iran, and the United States. As a result of the crisis, the current leader has said that the enclave will officially cease to exist with effect from 1 January 2024: see

After twelve days of closure, the border crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel was reopened at dawn on 28 September, causing thousands of Gazans to sleep overnight as they awaited the chance to resume the work for which they are authorised. It was the news which Amjad Hassan, a builder who is the sole breadwinner for 13 relatives had been praying for. ‘We work on a daily wage; if we don't work, we don't feed our families’, he explained. The border closure followed renewed demonstrations as young Palestinians have confronted Israeli soldiers, with the approval or even encouragement of Hamas, which controls the enclave. Protesters have burnt tyres, thrown stones and explosive devices, and released incendiary balloons and kites into southern Israel, There is a perception that Hamas is trying to distract attention from its own economic woes and also to gain leverage in indirect talks with Israel, being led by Egypt, Qatar, and the UN.

In an effort to protect survivors of bonded labour from further exploitation, the government in Tamil Nadu, India, has established an herb garden for families of the Irula tribal community. The garden provides ten survivor families and thirty other families with the opportunity to cultivate and sell a diverse range of herbs, medicinal plants and fruit-bearing trees. Having secure job opportunities will prevent them from obtaining loans from unscrupulous lenders who prey on their vulnerability. The herb garden is the result of a proposal which the Released Bonded Labourers Association (RBLA) had submitted with the help of IJM. It is part of many others that the government has been regularly creating, from helping survivors and other vulnerable families earn a stable income to establishing a first-of-its-kind, holistic community for survivors. The herb garden is significant as it preserves the knowledge of traditional medicinal herbs. Following the launch, an RBLA leader gave a tour of the herb garden and said, ‘I hope this will inspire other survivors to come forward and access government welfare measures’.