Asia

• 
  25 May 2016
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Christian lawyer’s family members almost risked being kidnapped Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - Christian lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill’s parents and sister almost risked being kidnapped in Lahore last May 22 by a stranger. The lawyer, who in the past had received threats for his legal commi ...
• 
  24 May 2016
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Church and civil society against new executions Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - An urgent appeal and a campaign to stop new executions scheduled by the Indonesian government and announced as imminent: is what Catholic organizations and groups of the Indonesian civil society ...
• 
  24 May 2016
  ASIA/ISRAEL - Rabbis launch campaign against religious hatred fueled by "Price Tag" gangs Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - Israel-based Rabbis for Human Rights have announced that a new anti-'price tag' attack inter-party campaign will be launched in the Knesset this week. Tag Meir (the Light Tag Forum) is a coali ...
• 
  23 May 2016
  ASIA/SRI LANKA - Emergency for heavy rains and landslides continue Colombo (Agenzia Fides) - The death toll in Sri Lanka following the violent floods which have been ravaging the country for one week continues to increase. We are talking about the heaviest rains recorded in the last twe ...
• 
  23 May 2016
  ASIA/SYRIA - Yet another attack with three victims in the area of Qamishli inhabited by Christians Qamishli (Agenzia Fides) – The terrorist attack carried out in "Miami street", in Wusta district, inhabited mostly by Christians, in the late evening of Saturday, May 21 in the center of Qamishli, Syria's second larges ...
• 
  23 May 2016
  ASIA/CHINA - The death of Bishop Luke Thomas Zhang Huaixin, zealous and patient Pastor Jixian (Agenzia Fides) – On Sunday, May 8, 2016, around noon, His Exc. Mgr. Luke Thomas Zhang Huaixin, Bishop of Jixian (Weíhwei), Henan Province (Mainland China) died. He would have turned 91 on May 23. On May 6 he h ...
• 
  21 May 2016
  ASIA/INDONESIA - The Bishops: "The government must stop radical Islamic groups and preserve coexistence" Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - "We hope the government does its part to stop Islamic radical groups and preserve Indonesia's multicultural and multireligious identity, based on the Pancasila", the "five principles" at the ba ...
• 
  20 May 2016
  ASIA/JORDAN - Aid from the UAE for Iraqi Christian refugees Amman (Agenzia Fides) - The eleven Iraqi Christian refugee families in Mosul who found hospitality in Naur, western urban area of the municipality in Amman, will also receive this year material aid reserved for them from ...
• 
  19 May 2016
  ASIA/IRAQ - US set to arm "Christian" anti-extremist militias in Iraq? The Chaldean Patriarch: "It is a very bad idea" Baghdad (Agenzia Fides) - Christian anti-Islamic State forces in Iraq are set to benefit from a defence spending bill headed for authorisation by the US Congress and Senate, justifying this action as part of the fight ag ...
• 
  18 May 2016
  ASIA/HOLY LAND - Mine clearance of the area around the site of the Baptism of Jesus has been announced Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - The area of Qasr al-Yahud, which extends around the western bank of the Jordan River, a place which tradition identifies as the site of Jesus' baptism, will be cleared of mines and other ordna ...
• 
  18 May 2016
  ASIA/IRAQ - Christian refugees welcomed in Slovakia ask to be repatriated Bratislava (Agenzia Fides) - At least twenty of the 149 Iraqi refugees who have been in Slovakia for a few months on the basis of a "selective" welcome program reserved for Christian refugees, have decided to return to I ...
• 
  18 May 2016
  ASIA/CHINA - Solemn celebration of the Pentecost in the sign of Mercy Shi Jia Zhuang (Agenzia Fides) - During the Eucharistic liturgy of the Solemnity of Pentecost celebrated in the parish of Xiao Dian, 62 faithful delivered a copy of the Gospel of St. Mark that everyone had transcribed by ...
• 
  17 May 2016
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - The 'Robin Hood' of Pakistan to help the poorest Karachi (Agenzia Fides) - In Karachi, home to about 20 million people, almost half live below the poverty line and many families struggle every day to be able to get something to eat. A group of young people have joined ...
• 
  17 May 2016
  ASIA/SYRIA - "Stop sanctions against the Syrian people". An online petition launched by Bishops and religious of the local Catholic Churches Aleppo (Agenzia Fides) - A digital online petition to sign on change.org platform, aimed "at MPs and the mayors in every Country" to ask for "the iniquity of sanctions on Syria to be made known to the citizens of the Eur ...
• 
  17 May 2016
  ASIA/TURKEY - The frescoes in the ancient church of Trabzon destroyed, transformed into a mosque Trabzon (Agenzia Fides) - The ancient Byzantine church of Aghia Sophia (St. Sophia) in Trabzon, converted into a mosque in 2013, was severely damaged due to the work carried out for its transformation into a Muslim place ...