How to make the most of church camp this June (June 1, 2023, Thirst)
Switch your crocs to Sports Mode, ‘cos church camp is on its way. With every June comes a new season of conferences and retreats, and here’s how to get yourself ready to make the most of them.
Vietnam to cut annual rice exports by 44% to 4 million tonnes by 2030 (May 27, 2023, Channel News Asia)
Vietnam is the world's third-largest rice exporter, after India and Thailand. The move is aimed at "boosting the exports of high-quality rice, ensuring domestic food security, protecting the environment and adapting to climate change", according to the government document dated Friday (May 26) and reviewed by Reuters.
South Korean pop culture is a hit worldwide. Now, video games are next (June 2, 2023, NPR)
It's the country that brought you your favorite boy band, drama series, fermented food, and more. Now, one industry leader wants to put the spotlight on video games.
India train crash: At least 80 dead after Odisha incident (June 2, 2023, BBC)
At least 80 people are now known to have been killed and 850 injured in a multiple train collision in India's eastern Odisha state, officials say. More than 200 ambulances were sent to the scene in Balasore district, says Odisha's chief secretary Pradeep Jena. One passenger train is thought to have derailed before being struck by another on the adjacent track late on Friday.
UN warns of aid shortage, looming food crisis in wake of devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar (June 2, 2023, AP News)
The United Nations warned Friday that far too little aid is reaching cyclone-hit areas of Myanmar and the country could face a major food crisis soon if farmers are unable to plant crops. Cyclone Mocha struck the western state of Rakhine and nearby regions last month, killing hundreds of people and damaging thousands of dwellings.
Nepali sherpa saves climber in rare Everest ‘death zone’ rescue (June 1, 2023, The Guardian)
A Malaysian climber narrowly survived after a Nepali sherpa guide hauled him down from below the summit of Mount Everest in a very rare high-altitude rescue, a government official has said. Gelje Sherpa, 30, was guiding a Chinese client to the 8,849-metre (29,032ft) Everest summit on 18 May when he saw the Malaysian climber clinging to a rope and shivering from extreme cold in the area known as the death zone, where temperatures can dip to -30C or lower.
A pop-up restaurant in Kabul is run by women for women. The Taliban is watching (June 1, 2023, NPR)
Inside, a woman in a hijab and a white apron is starting to clean up the balloons, ribbons and empty plates strewn across tables. She is a server at this rarest of Afghan businesses: a dine-in restaurant for women, called Banowan-e-Afghan (Dari for "Afghan ladies"). The restaurant is run by women, for women: While men can order takeout, only female customers are allowed inside.
Commentary: Some Singapore teens are getting high at home. What can parents do? (June 1, 2023, Channel News Asia)
A recent survey by the Institute of Mental Health showed that about four in 10 drug users in Singapore started on illegal substances before they turned 18. Two of the most common locations where people took drugs were at their own homes and at a friend’s home. This is worrying.
Singapore, China ink pact to set up secure telephone line between defence chiefs (June 1, 2023, Channel News Asia)
Singapore and China will work towards establishing a secure defence telephone link under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the two countries signed on Thursday (June 1). Under the MOU, the defence establishments in both countries will work towards setting up the secure line for high-level communications between their respective defence leaders, Singapore's Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a media release.
S Korea, Pacific Islands to boost ties after first-ever summit (May 31, 2023, Al Jazeera)
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and leaders of the Pacific Islands have agreed to expand cooperation, including in the areas of economic development, security and the response to climate change following a two-day summit in Seoul. The joint declaration from the first-ever Korea-Pacific Islands Summit, which ended on Tuesday, recognised shared values of “freedom, democracy, the rule of law, human rights” and the “rules-based regional and international order”.
Expecting Great Things from God: A Chinese Couple’s Testimony (May 31, 2023, ChinaSource Blog)
The following testimony was penned by Chinese Christians who came to faith in China but now reside in the US. This husband-and-wife team had ministered for many years in China. Although they are currently blacklisted and unable to enter the land of their birth, they continue to serve the Chinese church through their preaching and teaching ministry.
Chinese Muslims and police clash over partial demolition of historic mosque (May 30, 2023, The China Project)
Protesters clashed with police in Nagu, Yunnan Province, on Saturday, as the mostly Hui Muslim residents of this town feared that authorities were commencing with plans to remove the dome and minarets of the historic Najiaying Mosque.
《亲子共成长》Growing through Parenting: A New Resource for Chinese Parents (May 26, 2023, ChinaSource Blog)
With the pressure and stress of today’s world, we thought it was time to write another book emphasizing the importance of the parents’ own growth as they raise their children. This time we wrote from a Christian perspective to help parents realize that one of the important purposes of parenting is that they also grow and become more like Jesus.
Unprecedented Rain in Central China Wreaks Havoc on Wheat Fields (May 31, 2023, Sixth Tone)
China’s central Henan province has been hit by what local media are calling “the worst pre-harvest rainfall in more than a decade.” The torrential downpour has wreaked havoc on wheat fields, leaving farmers grappling with significant damage from both germination issues and blight.
Searching for Belonging Between China and Europe (May 27, 2023, Sixth Tone)
The author, host of a Chinese-language podcast about living abroad, on the false dichotomy between integrating into local life and maintaining one’s Chinese identity.
Xi Jinping tells China’s national security chiefs to prepare for ‘worst case’ scenarios (May 31, 2023, CNN)
The latest stern instructions from Xi, China’s most powerful leader in decades, comes as Beijing faces a host of challenges, from a struggling economy to what it sees as an increasingly hostile international environment. In face of what he called a “complex and grave” situation, Xi said China must speed up the modernization of its national security system and capabilities, with a focus on making them more effective in “actual combat and practical use.”
Chinese Translations of books by Tim Keller (Amazon)
Chinese Translations of books by Tim Keller (Amazon)
They Sang ‘a Heavenly Song’ in a Dark Chinese Jail (May 24, 2023, Christianity Today)
As Xiaohui moved from cell to cell, she told her new roommates about Jesus and his sacrificial love. She told so many prisoners about Jesus that a police officer reprimanded her. After he interrogated her about gathering to worship with her house church, he said, “You can’t gather here in the detention center either.”
Beyond the Golden Era (May 24, 2023, ChinaSource Blog)
As the experience of our brothers and sisters in China reminds us, suffering is not the end of the story. In many ways it is the beginning. It is in the unexpected interruption of our own plans that we see God’s plan unfolding. In the pain of loss and separation we experience the sufficiency of Christ.
Loneliness in the World, Unity in Solitude (May 22, 2023, ChinaSource Blog)
Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV) tells us “The Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’” But such instruction is rarely heeded or is hard to follow alone. Setting up the physical, emotional, and spiritual environment for obedience to “stand at crossroads” in unity—deciding which path to take together—allows followers of Jesus to practice both small and big decisions in the Christian life of unity.