Asia/Pacific

By BosNewsLife Asia Service DHAKA, BANGLADESH (BosNewsLife)-- Eleven of 16 Christian children who were rescued from Muslim traffickers in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on January 2 have gone missing, raising concerns they were abducted and taken to Islamic training centers, a Christian rights group said.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service BANGALORE, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Police in India's southwestern city of Bangalore continued searching Thursday, April 4, for murder suspects after the priest and rector of a major Catholic seminary was found beaten to death.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- At least 18 people were   injured Wednesday, April 3, when angry Muslims attacked a dozen Christian shops and churches in Pakistan's city of Gujranwala, Christians told BosNewsLife. Among the seriously injured people was one man who was earlier reported to have died, but he survived, investigators said.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent with BosNewsLife Asia Service LAHORE, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- A Pakistani appeals court on Wednesday, April 3, overturned the conviction and death sentence of Younis Masih, a Christian man who spent nearly eight years behind bars on charges of 'blasphemy', a lawyer involved in the case told BosNewsLife. Masih, 32, was sentenced in May 2007 in the city of Lahore for making "derogatory remarks" about Islam's Prophet Mohammad.

Listen to BosNewsLife shorter report via Vatican Radio:  By BosNewsLife Asia Service with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos at BosNewsLife News Center PYONGYANG/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- North Korea's autocratic leader has announced the restart of all nuclear facilities for both military use and electricity, adding to concerns about hundreds of thousands of inmates, including many Christians, who remain trapped in prison camps.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service LAHORE, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- Muslims in Pakistan's Punjab province have threatened to kill a young woman as well as her husband, child and in-laws because she abandoned Islam and converted to Christianity, BosNewsLife learned Monday, April 1. Maria and her Christian husband Emmanuel Masih said they are hiding with their "beautiful one-year-old daughter" Yarusha Emmanuel after receiving death threats.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- An evangelical Indian pastor who spent eight years in prison on "false charges of being a rebel" can celebrate Easter with his family Sunday, March 31, after he was unexpectedly released, missionaries said.Pastor Samuel, who uses only one name, is "finally free", explained his mission group Gospel for Asia.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service HANOI, VIETNAM (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Vietnam's Central Highlands faced suffering on Good Friday as anti-Christian villagers and security forces killed at least one church leader and injured several families, local believers and rights activists said.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife LAHORE, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- Pakistani authorities have reopened the trial against a mentally challenged Christian girl on charges of "blasphemy" while a Christian mother faces a possible death sentence for allegedly making "derogatory remarks" about Islam's prophet Mohammed, lawyers told BosNewsLife Saturday, March 23.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos NAYPYIDAW, BURMA (BosNewsLife)-- Rights groups urged the world Friday, March 22, to pressure Burma to end a crackdown on ethnic and religious minorities after government troops reportedly killed and raped dozens of mainly Christian civilians while burning hundreds of churches and homes.