ICC’s 2025 Global Persecution Index offers an in-depth analysis of drivers of persecution in 20 countries, complete with stories of Christians enduring persecution for their faith in Christ. The new and improved report examines trends that have created the realities that Christians face worldwide and offers ways readers can support persecuted Christians through prayer, advocacy, and action.

South Asia—faced with new governments, deepening instability, fraught borders, and economic struggles—will have its hands full closer to home. Below, we lay out four key storylines to watch in 2025.

The nation-state was one of six countries which tied for the top spot in 2024 in the list produced by the migration consultancy Henley & Partners, which ranks passports by the number of destinations that holders can access without needing a visa.

As tourists prioritize convenience over bureaucracy in their journey choices, visa reforms will help determine the winners in Asia’s tourism rebound. Regions with rigid visa policies risk missing out.

South Korea starts the year in political limbo, having once again impeached a president in December; and China is again in the midst of a corruption crackdown, this time targeted at the country’s military. Japan may be heading back toward the days when it changed prime ministers with alarming frequency. Tensions are flaring up in the South China Sea while militancy creeps back in Pakistan. The geopolitical atmosphere is charged – where will the lightning strike next?

The brunt of the tsunami was felt in the Indonesian province of Aceh, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. More than a thousand miles apart, across the Indian Ocean, hundreds of coastal communities were united in their grief, and in facing years of rebuilding and regrouping.

Like the year before, 2024 seemingly offered up little to celebrate for many across the vast Indo-Pacific region. Amid uncertain economies and enduring geographic tensions, however, there was still hope and joy to be found.

The so-called ‘Asian century’ is a veritable jumble of contradictions. While the Asia Pacific is considered amongst the most dynamic in the world, its embrace of neo-liberal globalisation has thrust the region into the vortex of the ‘multiple crisis’ – a toxic fusion of political, economic, social and ecological crises that overlap and feed on each other. Many countries in the region are caught in the current global wave of far-right authoritarian nationalism even as they fail to combat economic inequality, unemployment, food crisis and climate shocks.

It’s a pain that comes with growing up; the older you get, the more baggage you have, and the more the magic of Christmas wears off — whether it is because they’re dealing with the loss of their loved ones, the struggles with high inflation, or having to deal with the rude customers of the season. Finding a remedy to the holiday blues isn’t that simple, and it feels almost mocking to witness the commercial haze of Christmas. That raises the question: when did the holidays become so complicated?

Like the rest of the world, Asian countries are all geared up to turn up the festive fun, with bustling Christmas markets, carnival-like festivals, and dazzling illuminations everywhere from Seoul to Singapore – yes, even the tropical countries are joining the jolly celebrations.