Asia/Pacific

By BosNewsLife Asia Service VIENTIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- Three Christian pastors have been jailed in southern Laos for spreading Christianity, their supporters told BosNewsLife Thursday, February 7. The jailed Christians, who lead evangelical congregations in Savannakhet province, were identified as Pastor Bounma of Alowmai Village Church in Phin district, Pastor Somkaew of Kengsainoi Village Church in Phin district, and Pastor Bounmee of Savet Village Church, in Sepon district.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service DHAKA, BANGLADESH (BosNewsLife)-- Nineteen Christian children who were to be sold to Islamic boarding schools ('madrassas') in Bangladesh have been rescued, a religious rights group said Thursday, February 7.Traffickers lied to the children's parents saying they would take the children to Christian boarding schools in the capital Dhaka, when in fact, they were intending to sell the children to the various madrassas, explained International Christian Concern (ICC).

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BAHAWALPUR, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- A Pakistani worker, who converted from Hinduism to Christianity, was expected to embrace his family later on Tuesday, January 29, after spending nearly 16 months in prison on "false charges" of "blasphemy", his defense team told BosNewsLife.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewslife)-- The wife of jailed Christian house church leader Uyghur Alimujiang Yimiti has been told that she can no longer visit her husband every month in a Chinese prison, rights activists reported Friday, January 25.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife)-- Family members of jailed Christian rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng have been allowed to visit him in a remote Chinese prison, providing the first confirmation in months that he is still alive, rights activists said Wednesday, January 23.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos LAHORE/MICHIGAN (BosNewsLife)-- The young daughter of a Pakistani evangelist remained in hiding Wednesday, January 23, after Muslim extremists allegedly threatened to kill her. "My 10-year-old daughter Shifa Gill is not going to school," said Reverend Kamran Gill, who survived an assassination attempt while evangelizing in Pakistan's Punjab province.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (BosNewsLife)-- Dutch Queen Beatrix has begun a two-day visit to Brunei, focusing on expanding economic relations despite concerns about the reported increased persecution of minority Christians in the gas and oil rich Islamic mini-state.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- Pakistan's Supreme Court has dismissed a final attempt to reopen a blasphemy case against a mentally challenged Christian teenager, Christian rights activists confirmed Wednesday, January 16.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- A Christian father of four who was sentenced to death in Pakistan for "blasphemy against Islam" has been rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack, his friends said Thursday, January 10.  

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MUMBAI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Impoverished Christian villagers in India's western state of Maharashtra were refused water and firewood Tuesday, January 8, after a Hindu attack on their house church injured some 30 believers, a chief investigator told BosNewsLife.