MYANMAR
Reverend William, a Baptist pastor in Chin State, Myanmar, was killed by the military junta, along with a Christian colleague of Chinese ethnicity, Nam Ceu. The death occurred on 4 June, and the funeral is reported to have taken place some time later, on 26 August, but the news has only emerged in recent days.
According to International Christian Concern (ICC), the pastor had led the congregation for more than 25 years before the military arrested him in May; the basis for the arrest was the accusation – against both men – of having collaborated with the armed group Hakha Chinland Defence Force. Rev. William’s church, the Chungchung Baptist Church, was ransacked and burnt down in October 2021, and the village has suffered repeated violent raids.
VIETNAM
The People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City has sentenced to death 11 people in one of the largest drug trafficking cases, the result of an investigation that began when four flight attendants were caught transporting narcotics. The case dates back to March 2023 and involved 227 people who were either under investigation or implicated in various ways. Law enforcement officers had discovered over 10 kg of drugs hidden in 157 tubes of toothpaste, being carried by crew members on a Vietnam Airlines flight arriving from Paris.
SAUDI ARABIA – IRAN – PHILIPPINES
Riyadh, the world’s largest exporter of crude oil, has accused Iran of having attacked a ship owned by the national flag carrier, killing two Filipino sailors. The Sidr, owned by Bahri, was one of two supertankers carrying Saudi crude oil and is reported to have been struck on the evening of 31 August whilst passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has threatened to target vessels attempting to pass through the area without authorisation, thereby hindering exports from the Gulf states.
KOREA
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has addressed the North with a renewed call for dialogue. The Seoul leader has urged Pyongyang to replace the armistice of 1953 with a permanent peace agreement, arguing that the country cannot continue to commit its resources to the prospect of a confrontation with North Korea. Lee spoke at a meeting of the US branch of the Advisory Council for Peaceful Unification in Incheon. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice rather than a genuine peace treaty, leaving the two sides technically still at war today, more than 70 years on. Furthermore, Seoul should create the conditions for renewed dialogue between the United States and Kim Jong-un’s regime. This appeal follows the North’s decision to shut down communication channels, reject Seoul’s overtures and regard the South as a hostile state.
INDONESIA
At least 800 people have fallen victim to food poisoning in isolated incidents, as part of a programme initiated by the government and President Prabowo Subianto with the aim of providing free meals to tens of millions of children and young people. Among them are over 500 students in East Java province and a further 237 in the West Sumatra region. This was reported by MP Charles Honoris, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which is not part of the governing coalition. The National Nutrition Agency declined to comment on or deny the reports of food poisoning, the latest in a series of incidents to hit the ambitious $12.94 billion presidential programme, which is also dogged by allegations of corruption and inflated costs. Since 8 August, there have reportedly been around 37,600 cases of food poisoning.
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan has endured over 40 years of continuous war, resulting in death, displacement and destruction. This is according to a report by the United Nations, which states that between 2009 and 2021 – during the war between the Taliban, militant groups and government forces – the UNAMA mission documented more than 40,000 civilians killed and over 77,000 wounded as a result of the conflict. Of the more than 200 victims of armed conflict and their relatives, 95 per cent of respondents said they had suffered emotional or psychological harm, reporting depression, anxiety, memory loss, flashbacks and other trauma-related symptoms. Nearly 60 per cent had also suffered physical harm, with injuries persisting for months or years.
RUSSIA
As the new school year begins, schools in Russia and in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia will introduce new textbooks written by Vladimir Medinsky, an associate of Vladimir Putin and a war propagandist, and by former President Dmitry Medvedev. Schools will also reduce the number of hours devoted to teaching foreign languages and introduce a new compulsory subject: ‘Fundamentals of Russia’s Spiritual and Moral Culture’, officially abbreviated to ‘DNA of Russia’.
ARMENIA
Armenia is undergoing a period of infrastructural transformation. Everything is changing: transport, housing, energy supply, water treatment, healthcare and the digital environment. Almost all of Armenia’s infrastructure, including gas networks, railways and nuclear power stations, has been built or controlled by Russian companies. Replacing Moscow with new partners (the United States and the European Union) would take decades and cost billions; therefore, Yerevan’s current strategy is to reduce military spending in favour of implementing modern digital technologies and renewable energy sources.
