Asia/Pacific

By BosNewsLife Asia Service ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- A young Christian man was behind bars Saturday, January 23, after being sentenced to life imprisonment for having "insulted and desecrated" the Koran, seen as a holy book by Muslims.

By BosNewsLife Asia Center NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Indian police have released on bail Hindu militants who allegedly attacked a Christian prayer meeting in Western India, seriously injuring at least 11 Christians, a rights group said Friday, January 22.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- Last year was the worst period of persecution against Christians in Pakistan in thelast decade, with attacks, arrests and detentions that reportedly killed some 130 Christians across the Islamic country,an advocacy group said Thursday, January 21.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (BosNewsLife)-- A North Korean defector has been detained in China for helping an American missionary cross into North Korea, Korean media said Sunday, January 17, citing Free North Korea Radio.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife)-- Concerns remained Saturday, January 16, over the whereabouts of Chinese Christian human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, after Chinese authorities for the first time admitted he went missing amid reports that he was tortured to death, Christian rights activists said.

By BosNewsLife Asia Correspondent Santosh Digal BHUBANESWAR, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- About 100 survivors of anti-Christian violence in India's Orissa state have been ordered by the local government to leave a local market complex where they stayed since the closure of relief camps.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Jawad Mazhar in Pakistan LAHORE, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- Two Christians in Pakistan were recovering of their injuries Thuesday, January 14, saying they were were shot at a wedding party for refusing to convert to Islam -- the latest in a series of Islamic attacks on weddings across the country.

By BosNewsLife Center with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BAGHDAD/CAIRO/BEIJING (BosNewsLife)-- Rights investigators said Wednesday, January 13, there has been "a surge ofattacks" against Christians since December, with deaths, detentions and destruction reported in the Arab world, Africa and Asia.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (BosNewsLife)-- Malaysian police said Tuesday, January 12, they have identified their first suspect in attacks on some 10 churches and Christian buildings amid a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (BosNewsLife)-- Worshipers of a Pentecostal church that was burned by suspected Islamic arsonists in a suburb of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur have forgiven those who destroyed their building, a senior pastor said Sunday, January 10.