Armenia’s IVF strategy for the next generation of fighters (March 22, 2025, News.AZ International)
In post-war Armenia, state-backed IVF programmes for mothers of fallen soldiers are part of a growing militarised culture. With little psychological support and rising rhetoric of revenge, the country is preparing for future wars — starting with childbirth.
Sustaining a ‘super-aged’ society (March 12, 2025, Nature)
If asked to name a country with a super-aged society, many people would understandably mention Japan. Japan has a higher proportion of over-65s than most countries. But as well as a threat, the rapidly ageing society in Japan has presented an opportunity for scientists seeking to slow the symptoms of ageing and improve the final decades of life.
Why maids keep dying in Saudi Arabia (March 18, 2025, Deccan Herald)
While the departure terminal hums with anticipation, the arrivals area is where hope meets grim reality. Hollow-cheeked women return, often ground down by unpaid wages, beatings, starvation, and sexual assault. Some are broke. Others are in coffins.
12 new breakthroughs in the fight against cancer (February 27, 2025, World Economic Forum)
Cancer is one of the world’s biggest killers, with around 10 million deaths per year due to the disease. There is some good news, however. Medical advances are accelerating the battle against cancer. Here are 12 recent developments.
‘They goggled and gawped’: Bahrain gives its pearl-divers a sci-fi wonder – and four ‘filo pastry’ car parks (March 14, 2025, The Guardian)
The kingdom’s old capital is a world heritage site – and it has now honoured its once-biggest industry with a ‘pearling path’ wending through two miles of architectural marvels. But did its car parks really have to be so lavish?
The risk to women's health in Afghanistan: 'The consequences of this segregation are catastrophic' (January 31, 2025, Le Monde) (Subscription required)
In Afghanistan, only female healthcare professionals are allowed to treat women. Yet with their rights − including the right to study − being taken away, there are fewer and fewer women working in healthcare, putting half the country's population at risk.
Ryanair is flying into one of the world’s oldest conflict zones – it might be onto something (March 8, 2025, The Telegraph)
The low-cost airline thinks you should book a beach holiday to Dakhla in Western Sahara − a small desert and coastal city in either the Western Sahara, or the Moroccan Sahara. Since it is the capital of a region at the centre of the longest-standing territorial dispute in Africa, the country to which you attribute it will depend entirely on your politics.
Asia’s Animation Revolution Drives Upbeat Outlook (March 20, 2025, Variety)
The animation industry in Asia has expanded significantly in recent years and has a key role to play in boosting the entertainment sector in coming years.
Opinion | Why banning ‘space oil’ isn’t enough to save Hong Kong’s youth (March 23, 2025, South China Morning Post)
Teenagers in Hong Kong have found a new way to escape the gravity of their everyday lives. Their drug of choice? A synthetic narcotic they’ve nicknamed “space oil.”
‘I started to cry seeing the baby taken away’ (February 28, 2025, Radio Free Asia)
A Lao surrogate for Chinese parents gives rare insight into an illegal industry that continues to thrive. With its proximity to China, steep rates of poverty and high levels of corruption, the country has become the latest in Southeast Asia to attract those seeking commercial surrogates.
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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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