India

Two Hindus who pretended to be Muslims were detained by Indian special forces after posting messages announcing attacks at the disputed holy site in Uttar Pradesh where Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate a new Hindu temple on 22 January. Their social media profiles show links to the Bharatiya Janata Party. For the bishop of Lucknow, it is a serious thing “to fuel further tensions in a society already polarised along religious lines.” Meanwhile, in Ayodhya, preparations are underway to consecrate the prime minister rather than the holy place.

Four Muslim Meitei were killed in Thubal district. Seven members of the security forces were wounded by armed Kuki in Moreh, a city on the border with Myanmar. A curfew has been reimposed in five districts of the northeastern state rocked by ethnic strife for months.

Today's news: Muslim prisoners in Siberian jails went on hunger strike against religious discrimination. In Seoul over 1,000 military personnel carried out a series of defence drills, simulating an attack by North Korea. The Philippines will open four new medical departments in universities in as many provinces of the country.

In 2014 - when the current prime minister was first elected - there were 147 incidents of violence against Christians in India. Also due to the 'anti-conversion laws' of 2021, there were 687 cases of attacks and indiscriminate arrests of Christians - from January to November 2023. The Christmas meeting and the premier's words are a first step towards the hope of a distinction in relations, especially in the northern states

Today's news: Israeli raid in Damascus kills Iranian general Mousavi. Russian dissident Aleksej Naval'nyj has been tracked down, secretly moved to a camp for lifers. Eighteen dead in Indonesia nickel smelter fire, President Widodo calls for more security. Malaysia at risk of flooding, as in 2014: displaced 25,000 people.

He was arrested for defending other Christians arrested under the state’s anti-conversion law, adopted three years ago by the governing Hindu nationalist party. Bishop Louis Mascarenhas of Allahabad welcomed his release as an unexpected "Christmas gift”.

Today's headlines: Laos’s debt tops 112 per cent of its GDP. Chechnya starts to take in Palestinian refugees. Malaysia wants to attract more wealthy foreign retirees. All of Japan’s prefectures, except Tokyo, will see a population decline by 2050 over 2020. China blocks some flights between Russia and China.

Today's news:IAEA, Pyongyang activated a second nuclear reactor in Yongbyon; New, gruesome feminicide in India; Vietnamese vice-minister of industry and trade arrested for corruption; Thousands of Afghan migrants in prisons in Pakistan and Iran forcibly repatriated; Russian oil companies increase deliveries to China and India.

In his Christmas letter to the Catholics of the Indian state shaken by ethnic violence, Archbishop Linus Neli asked his community to share their goods with the poor and needy, praying that India's north-eastern state may regain peace and harmony. The Supreme Court has ordered the local government to identify and draw up a list of places of worship to be restored after being damaged by the violence in recent months.

Today's news: more and more children in Gaza suffer from dizziness due to lack of food. Bangkok blocks the granting of new gun licences for a year. Burmese women fleeing war imprisoned, beaten and forgotten in Indian prisons. Katholikos Karekin II, Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, against peace talks with Azerbaijan.

David Minz, 35, was accused of molesting a girl with learning disabilities and killed by her family. The police quickly charged three people. According to several reports, Christians continue to be victims of violence.

Today's news: Japan's new Industry Minister wants to revive microchip production; Tehran executes child bride Samira Sabzian; India - the world's former second largest sugar importer - risks having to import this raw material from 2025 due to climate change;. Fighting continues in Gaza UN postpones (again) Security Council vote on truce; Joint patrol operations on the border between China and Laos.