Asia/Pacific

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- A 70-year old Christian man who was detained in Pakistan on controversial charges of "blasphemy" against Islam has died, a friend and rights lawyer told BosNewsLife. "Mukhtar Masih, who was released on bail in May this year, died Tuesday, November 2," confirmed Sardar Mushtaq Gill who leads the Pakistan-based Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD) group.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service DHAKA, BANGLADESH (BosNewsLife)-- A British Christian aid organization wants to build homes for the first group of thousands of homeless Christian Santal people in northern Bangladesh, a year after security forces destroyed their houses killing several villagers. "Next Monday will be the first anniversary of a night of terrible violence against Christians in Bangladesh when over 5,500 lost their homes and three were killed," Barnabas Fund told BosNewsLife.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service YANGON, BURMA (BosNewsLife)-- A Burmese court has sentenced two ethnic Kachin Baptist pastors to prison terms for "supporting rebels and defaming the military" after they guided journalists around a church which was bombed by the Burmese military, trial observers told BosNewsLife.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife)-- Prominent Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who was jailed after defending prosecuted Christians and other minorities, says China now faces its “harshest and most brutal political oppression since the end of Mao Zedong’s rule.”

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest, Hungary BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungary's anti-migration government says it wants to shelter a limited number of Christians facing persecution after mounting criticism that this heavily Catholic and Protestant nation is closing its borders to most refugees.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service KATHMANDU, NEPAL (BosNewsLife)-- Four Nepali Christians who were sentenced in December 2016 to five years imprisonment for "violence and witchcraft" after praying for a mentally ill woman have been released, rights activists confirmed Friday, October 6.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife)-- Chinese Christians say authorities in China have shut down a church-run academy in the central Henan province as the ruling Communist Party has intensified government control over religious activities ahead of an important political meeting next month.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife DHAKA, BANGLADESH (BosNewsLife)-- A young Christian evangelist who is being hunted by Islamic militants in his native Bangladesh and elsewhere in Asia has urged the world not to forget non-Muslim minorities in the region including the indigenous Jumma who face a new wave of "murders" and "torture."

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife PYONGYANG/TORONTO (BosNewsLife)-- A Canadian pastor freed from a North Korean prison camp says he has forgiven those who wrongfully caused his prosecution by posting comments on the internet. Hyeon Soo Lim made the remarks in an interview with 100 Huntley Street, Canada's longest running daily television show after he was unexpectedly released last month following two and a half years of hard labor.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- A Pakistani Christian has been sentenced to death by a court in eastern Pakistan for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad in text messages, a human rights official, and his lawyer said.