Tensions Rise As Controversial Islamic Clerc Returns to Indonesia
Christians and moderate Muslims in Indonesia fear new tensions after a hardline Islamic cleric returned from exile and held a massive wedding despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Indonesia
World Health Organization Admits Lockdowns Were Wrong
In a major policy shift, the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged world leaders to stop “using lockdowns as your primary control method” against the coronavirus amid fears they lead to as many as 100 million deaths.
Official Condemns Indonesia’s Ban on Bible App
A senior Indonesian expert has condemned authorities for removing a mobile phone application that enabled an Indonesian ethnic group to read the Bible in their language.
UN welcomes Afghan talks with the Taliban, urges cease-fire
The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Tuesday welcoming the start of negotiations between Afghan representatives and the Taliban, encouraging the warring parties to engage in good faith and aim for a permanent cease-fire and political settlement to their 19-year conflict.
US Vetoes UN Resolution That Does Not Require Countries to Take Back Their Foreign Fighters
President Trump has long expressed exasperation at European governments’ reluctance to repatriate captured ISIS fighters who are their citizens, and on Monday that frustration led to the U.S. veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution that failed to address the issue.
UN security council rejects US call for sanctions against Iran
The president of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration’s demand to restore all U.N. sanctions on Iran, a move that drew an angry rebuke from the U.S. ambassador who accused opponents of supporting “terrorists.”
Wycliffe Associates Reports That Bible Translators in 21 Countries Risk Starvation Due to COVID-19 Food Shortages
Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Bible translation, reports that Bible translators and their families in remote and poverty-stricken areas are facing starvation due to food shortages resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
US Mission Pilot Dies In Indonesia Crash
An American mission pilot flying much-needed coronavirus test kits to a remote village in Indonesia has died in a plane crash, her Christian aviation organization confirmed.
Naikon, Group Tied to China’s Military, Deploys Debilitating New Cyberattack Tool
On the morning of Jan. 3, an email was sent from the Indonesian Embassy in Australia to a member of the premier of Western Australia’s staff who worked on health and ecological issues. Attached was a Word document that aroused no immediate suspicions, since the intended recipient knew the supposed sender.
Journalists Suffer Arrests and Attacks In Pandemic
A survey by the world’s largest journalism group shows three in every four journalists have faced official restrictions, obstruction or intimidation in reporting on the new coronavirus disease COVID-19. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also noticed that most staff and freelance journalists have “suffered pay cuts, lost revenue, job losses, canceled commissions, or worsening working conditions.”
U.N. Agency: ‘Half of World’s Workers Lose Jobs Over Coronavirus’
A principal United Nations agency warns that nearly half of the world’s working population may lose jobs and incomes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate lives and economies. The International Labour Organization (ILO) said some 1.6 billion people are in “immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed” by the economic impact of the virus outbreak and related measures.
Indonesia Islamists Break Up House Church
Indonesia’s hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) group broke up a house church meeting in the country’s West Java province, prompting an angry response from the governor. Video footage obtained by Worthy News showed two men bursting into a home Sunday in Cikarang, 48 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Jakarta, the nation’s capital.
Jakarta Pastor Baptizes Muslims as Church Expands
Peter Tumbelaka wasn’t in a hurry to become the pastor of Jakarta’s largest Pentecostal churches where many Muslims convert to Christianity. “I thought I could remain an architect and an engineer. But God had different plans,” the 52-year-old preacher told BosNewsLife in Indonesia’s bustling capital.
Indonesian Baptist Church takes legal action in fight for freedom of religion and worship
The Indonesian Baptist Church of Tlogosari has resorted to legal action in fighting local opposition to the construction of its church house. Referring to pressure being placed on the government to block his church’s legitimate building work, Pastor Wahyudi told Beritasatu.com: “We will continue to fight for this, because if left unchecked it will set a bad precedent for freedom of religion and worship in Semarang.”
Ex-Terrorist Leads Indonesia’s Christian Convert Movement
The married-father-of-three has come a long way since he nearly blew up a Protestant church in Jakarta. Author Ahmad Quraisy, which isn’t his family name, was a commander of the feared Islamic State of Indonesia (NII), an Indonesian militant group. But the former Islamic terrorist now leads an underground movement in Indonesia converting Muslims to Christianity or, in his words, ‘personal faith in Christ.’
Gospel Spreads as Coronavirus in Indonesia’s Jungle Villages
They suggest their faith in Christ spreads as fast as the new coronavirus. Pentecostal pastors of several Muslim dominated jungle villages in Indonesia’s South Sumatra province report church growth. That’s despite local protests, poverty, and occultism. ‘I even received one hundred boxes of tiles from the village chief to complete our church building,’ explains Pastor Frani Pondaag.
Most evangelical Christians live outside of North America and Europe, researcher says
Evangelical Christians make up a huge swath of the world’s population. But most of them reside in Asia, Africa, and Latin America — not in North America, a new study has found.
US celebrates withdrawal of UN Security Council resolution against peace plan
After a rancorous UN Security Council debate Tuesday, during which every member nation except the United States and Israel distanced themselves from President Donald Trump’s peace plan, the White House celebrated the withdrawal of a resolution rejecting the proposal.
Diplomats say Abbas, lacking votes, pulls request for UN vote against Trump plan
The Palestinians have abandoned their request for a vote at the UN Security Council Tuesday that they hoped would reject the peace plan of US President Donald Trump, whose administration has put heavy pressure on critics, diplomats said.
Thousands in Asia Marvel at ‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse
People along a swath of southern Asia gazed at the sky in marvel on Thursday at a ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse.