Fines and jail terms: Oman urges tourists to dress modestly and respect local customs (April 23, 2025, Gulf News)
Omani authorities have issued fresh guidelines urging tourists and visitors to dress modestly and respect local customs, especially when visiting villages, nature reserves, off-road areas and cultural sites.
South Korea admits to widespread adoption fraud. Here's one story (March 31, 2025, NPR)
Last week, South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that Korean adoption agencies were responsible for widespread fraud, malpractice and even human rights violations.
Why is nobody talking about the nearly 20,000 abducted Ukrainian children? (April 4, 2025, Christian Post)
Russia has abducted more than 19,546 Ukrainian children during its invasion of Ukraine. Some of those children have been forcibly adopted into Russia; others languish in a series of 43 camps spread across Russia and Russian-occupied territory. The majority of those camps are focused on “re-education,” military training, or both.
A small town in Tajikistan continues to live in fear of serial killers (January 31, 2025, Global Voices)
In 2024, residents of Khanibodom, a small town in Tajikistan’s northern Sughd province, lived under constant fear of being murdered in their own houses. A total of seven incidents took place throughout the year when a group of criminals murdered and robbed entire families and attempted to stage them as family conflicts.
Kazakhs and Uzbeks are happiest peoples in Eurasia – survey (March 24, 2025, Eurasia Net)
Their political systems may not be free, but Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have the happiest citizens in Eurasia, according to a newly released survey. Happiness in the Caucasus, meanwhile, seems to be a more elusive commodity.
From Hope to Chaos: South Sudan at a Crossroads (April 17, 2025, The Elephant)
The country is at a crossroads due to many political, economic, cultural and ethnic factors that have prevented South Sudan from making positive steps and joining the community of nations since its independence in 2011.
They sold their likeness to AI companies — and regretted it (April 17, 2025, The Japan Times)
Scores of people have licensed their image to artificial intelligence marketing companies, and then ended up with the unpleasant surprise of seeing themselves featured in deepfakes, dubious adverts or even political propaganda.
Hong Kong set to lead global education as U.S. visa issues shift student choices (April 26, 2025, Dimsum Daily)
Hong Kong is rapidly transforming into a premier global education destination as international students seek alternatives to increasingly unpredictable Western academic environments. It was recently highlighted how the city’s universities are benefiting from growing concerns about U.S. visa policies, attracting both top-tier students and faculty members looking for stability and academic excellence.
Beyond textbooks: A service-learning model inspiring others (April 24, 2025, University World News)
A university in Hong Kong has, over a decade, fine-tuned an ‘outside the textbook’ model of service learning that is inspiring universities in Asia and Africa to follow suit.
'I Don’t Want to Take the Risk': International Students Stay Grounded (April 26, 2025, Skift) (Subscription required)
Some international students in the U.S. are now thinking twice before leaving – they’re worried they won’t be let back in. Among the concerns: Reports that the Trump administration is considering a travel ban for citizens from dozens of countries and highly publicized incidents of students and scholars who have been sent back to their home countries by immigration and customs officials.
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Joann Pittman
Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs. Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University …View Full Bio
Blessing Asia
In October-2022 more than 500 Christian leaders from across Asia gathered in Thailand for the Asia 2022 Congress, sponsored by the Lausanne Movement and various partnering organizations. I had the opportunity to participate in the Congress virtually and was mightily blessed. From Bible exposition to K-pop worship, and through seminars and workshops, the participants were encouraged by the stories of what God is doing in countries all over Asia. Clearly, God is on the move.
A beautiful vision was portrayed in a video of the popular worship song The Blessing, featuring singers from all over Asia. Here it is:
Many of the sessions have already been posted on their website and to their YouTube channel.
One that I found particularly helpful considering all that is going on in China was a presentation titled Church and State Relationship in Asia Today. You can see the video here.
I encourage you to spend some time on their website; there are fantastic resources for understanding God’s work in Asia today.
Original link: https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/blog-entries/blessing-asia/
Image credit: Andrea Brucker, via Unsplash
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