Bird flu: Pakistan orders the killing of millions of chickens, India bans livestock imports from affected countries, Bangladesh investigating suspicious chicken deaths. (BBC)

Afghanistan: The US military is planning a spring offensive against remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan, a senior Defense Department official has said. (CNN)

India: India's cabinet has passed a resolution to dissolve parliament on 6 February to make way for early national elections. (BBC)

China tightens web control: there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people detained or sentenced for internet-related offences in China, according to the London-based rights group Amnesty International. (BBC)

Saudi Arabia: 'Smouldering rebellion against Saudi rule threatens to set country ablaze'. (Independent)

Afghanistan: An explosion near a British military base in the Afghan capital of Kabul has killed a British soldier and wounded four others, the British Ministry of Defense has confirmed. (CNN)

Nepal: TIME interviews the King of Nepal.

China: A TIME article on The New Radicals - 'Young and restless linglei are breaking ranks and rules in a search for personal liberation. but they choose their battles carefully.'

Pakistan (text reproduced here; link to changing page):
In an apparent attempt to settle an old grudge, a Pakistani man who converted to Islam several months ago has implicated a Christian acquaintance for alleged blasphemy. Anwer Masih, 30, was arrested on November 30 by police officials in Shadhra, an industrial town on the northern outskirts of Lahore. Two days earlier, Masih chanced to meet a former neighbor who had become a Muslim about three months earlier and changed his name to Naseer Ahmad. Since becoming a Muslim, Ahmad has lived in Muridke at the Markaz-e-Tayyabba madrassah, an Islamic school linked with the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyabba militant group. According to local residents, Ahmad carried a grudge against Masih from an incident two years ago, when Ahmad was indicted for severely beating one of his Christian neighbors. Shahzad “Gora” Masih, 23, went into a coma and still remains paralyzed from Ahmad’s beating. Masih had angered Ahmad by encouraging the victim’s family to register a case against him, neighbors said. (Compass Direct)

Afghanistan: Canadian peacekeeper killed by suicide bomber. (IRIN)

Libya: US congressmen have had talks with Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi. (Washington Post)

Egypt: a high-rise building in Cairo collapses, causing deaths and injuries; the search for survivors continues. (BBC)

World: The World Health Organization has called for a united international effort - similar to the SARS response - to combat bird flu as the human death toll from the virus mounts. (CNN)

Human Rights Watch have published their World Report 2004. Subtitled 'Human Rights and Armed Conflict', it includes material on countries including Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as global issues.

Turkmenistan: Secrecy surrounds content of new religion decree. (Forum 18)

Central Asia: A Forum 18 article on state policy towards religious minorities in Central Asia.

Pakistan (text reproduced here; link to changing page):
A Pakistani Christian teenager kidnapped for more than two weeks in November has been forced into hiding to avoid recapture by Muslim extremists. Leaders of a fanatic Islamic school have vowed to send Zeeshan Gill, who just turned 16 last week, to fight in Kashmir as a newly-converted Muslim jihadi (holy warrior). Abducted November 7 on his way home from school in Sargodha, the boy was taken to the Jamia al Qasim al Aloom Islamic school. Kept there under guard, Gill was forced to recite the Islamic creed, an act that makes one a Muslim under the tenets of Islam. The boy was beaten by his captors, who declared that they would kill him if he tried to run away or convert back to Christianity. In late November, four days before they planned to send him to Kashmir, the boy returned home to tell his mother what had happened. Mrs. Gill fled the city with Zeeshan, who remains in hiding at press time. According to Joseph Francis of the Lahore-based Center for Legal Aid and Assistance Settlement, the Gill family’s dilemma is not unusual among Pakistan’s tiny Christian minority. (Compass Direct)

Cyprus: Turkey have asked the UN for help in reviving peace talks and plans relating to Cyprus, and say the ball is now in Greece's court. (Reuters)

India: Moderate Kashmiri separatists held their first-ever meeting with the Indian Prime Minister on Friday. (ABC USA)

Pakistan: President Musharraf hopeful of deal with India over Kashmir. (BBC)

Pakistan: Deadly bird flu detected in Pakistan, in addition to countries in East and South-East Asia. (Guardian)

Iran: Iran's hard-line Guardian Council has vetoed a bill that would have curbed its power, throwing elections into doubt in a historic confrontation between reformers and conservatives. (CNN)

Iran: At a press conference, President Khatami takes a question from an Israeli journalist, in what is believed to be the first time the Iranian leader has publicly spoken to an Israeli. Sometimes small things are very significant. (BBC)

India (text reproduced here; link to changing page):
Citizens of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh are enraged over the murder of a nine-year-old girl whose body was discovered in a mission school compound on January 14. Hindu protestors allege that Sujata, the daughter of a fruit-seller, was lured into the school compound and killed there. The day after the girl’s body was found, a mob gathered outside the school grounds demanding the arrest of mission school staff. Police later arrested Manoj Jadhav, who reportedly confessed to the crime of raping and killing Sujata before throwing her body into the mission compound. However, Khumsing Maharaj, local leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council), claimed Jadhav was not responsible for the crime and threatened to take drastic steps if the “real culprits” were not caught. Local government minister Kailash Vijayvargiya believes the violent clashes in Jhabua were the result of a “well-planned” conspiracy against the school. He has called for a judicial inquiry into the incident. (Compass Direct)

India: Historic talks took place today between the Indian government and Kashmiri separatists. (BBC)

Iran: The crisis over next month's election deepens as government ministers join the protest against the barring of thousands of reformist candidates. (Independent)

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority dealt a blow to women's rights by denouncing the easing of segregation rules at a recent economic gathering. 'Allowing women to mix with men is the root of every evil and catastrophe.' (Financial Times)

Pakistan (text reproduced here; link to changing page): Pakistani police arrested one suspect and seized a “huge” cache of explosives in Karachi over the weekend, declaring both were linked to grenade and car bomb explosions at a Bible Society shop on January 15. Suspect Shamim Ahmed, 25, a militant of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group, was arrested Saturday in a middle-class neighborhood of eastern Karachi. Information from Ahmed’s interrogations led police to a bomb-making factory in Karachi’s Mehmoodabad district, where Sunday night they discovered a store of heavy ammunition, detonators, grenades and two large bombs ready for use. At least 13 people were injured in last Thursday’s two blasts, occurring 15 minutes apart shortly after 3 p.m. at the Karachi branch of the Pakistan Bible Society. “The people who are doing this are not friends of Pakistan,” Bible Society director Anthony Lamuel told Compass. After touring the bombing scene with Lamuel and Anglican Bishop John Alexander Malik, the governor of Sindh promised that damages caused to the shop and the adjacent cathedral compound would be repaired at government expense. (Compass Direct)

Uzbekistan: Authorities trying to close Baptist church. (Forum 18)

Saudi Arabia: an interesting, though brief, article on a discussion panel in Jeddah, including John Cusack and Chevy Chase, talking about issues such as Arab stereotyping and violence in Hollywood. (Arab News)

India: a Time magazine article - 'Crafting a New Look. India's ruling Hindu-nationalist party is projecting a kinder, gentler image. Is its conversion for real?'

Tajikistan: Baptist missionary killed while praying. (Forum 18)

Turkey (text reproduced here; link to changing page): A judge of the Orhangazi Criminal Court in northwestern Turkey released two young nationalists jailed on assault-and battery charges against a convert to Christianity. The decision was based on a hospital report on the injured Christian, together with his failure to appear at the hearing. According to a hospital release order, Yakup Cindilli, 32, had emerged from his two-month coma and his life was no longer in danger. The judge accepted the state prosecutor’s recommendation to release Ibrahim Sekman and Huseyin Bektas for the duration of the trial against them. Cindilli’s sister told the court that her brother had just begun “like a baby” to walk again and that his speech did not usually make sense. “If you would ask him questions, he would not be able to answer them,” she told the judge. Cindilli was attacked and beaten on October 19 by right-wing nationalists linked with the Nationalist Movement Party for distributing New Testaments and “doing missionary work.” The next day he slipped into a coma, caused by a blood clot on his brain. (Compass Direct)

Afghanistan: The US aid co-ordinator for Afghanistan has warned that unless donors step up aid efforts, the Taleban will be back. (BBC)

Lebanon: Israeli war planes bomb Lebanon in strike at Hizbollah. (Independent)

Afghanistan: The Taleban's fight against opium production in Afghanistan was the "most effective" drug control policy of modern times, research suggests. Global heroin production fell by two-thirds in 2001. (BBC)

Algeria: gas explosion kills 20. (CNN)

India: tiger census begins, carried out by surveyors wearing fibreglass vests and steel helmets. (Guardian)

China: Kentucky Fried Chicken are moving into Tibet. Hurrah. (Yahoo)

Nepal: Monkeys have invaded the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. (Boston Globe)

Bangladesh: The governing coalition has agreed to expand the country's parliament and set aside more seats for women. (BBC)

China: women are trying to delay the birth of their children until the more auspicious Year of the Monkey begins on the 22nd. (Yahoo)

A Time article on Kashmir. A Glimmer of Hope: After decades of darkness, can the peace talks planned between India and Pakistan save Kashmir?

Kazakhstan: The UN has warned that Lake Balkhash, the second largest lake in Central Asia after the Aral Sea, could dry up, creating another major environmental crisis in the region. (BBC)

The rail link between India and Pakistan has been reopened. (CNN)

Bangladesh: Bomb kills journalist in Khulna. Reporters Without Frontiers has described Bangladesh as "by far the world's most violent country for journalists". (BBC)

Iraq: Shia Muslims, fearful of being denied political power, demand early elections. (Independent)

Pakistan: A car bomb has exploded outside the Pakistan Bible Society in Karachi yesterday, leaving 15 people injured and damaging the wall of a nearby church. (CNN)

Turkey (text reproduced here; link to changing page): After being beaten into a coma three months ago for alleged “missionary propaganda,” Turkish Christian Yakup Cindilli has been slowly improving from a nearly helpless state. Cindilli, 32, was hospitalized the third week of October after four men linked with the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) beat him severely on his head and face for distributing New Testaments and “doing missionary work.” At a court hearing on December 17, about 60 MHP sympathizers gathered outside the courthouse in a show of support for two of Cindilli’s assailants who remain in jail. Metin Yildiran, president of the local MHP chapter, was released at an earlier court hearing. The crowd of sympathizers began shouting angrily when they learned that the defendants had been remanded back to jail custody following the hearing because, a defense lawyer stated, there was “hard evidence” against them. Cindilli, discharged on December 2 from the intensive care unit of Bursa State Hospital shortly after he began to emerge from total unconsciousness, is now at his family’s home and starting to speak, although he is still unable to care for himself, his attending doctor confirmed. (Compass Direct)

The latest issue of the Carnegie Endowment's Arab Reform Bulletin has articles on politics and society in several countries in the Middle East & North Africa and in the region as a whole.

Never mind all the rest, this is the top story of the week: The Foreign Office refused a Russian student a visa to study English in Scotland on the grounds that she would have difficulty understanding the accent. (Guardian)

Cyprus: top-secret military plans found in rubbish dump. (Reuters)

Iran: President Mohammad Khatami has threatened to resign in a row over Iran's conservative Council of Guardians' ban on about 2,000 reformist candidates from standing in upcoming elections. (ABC - Australia)

Algeria: Opposition parties have called for the formation of an interim government ahead of the country's elections due in April. (BBC)

Water is a key issue in the Middle East. Israel and Turkey have just agreed an arms-for-water deal; Turkey gets the arms, Israel gets the water. (Guardian)

Turkmenistan: Heavy fines on Balkanabad Baptists following a police raid on an unregistered church. (Forum 18)

Kyrgyzstan: Forum 18 have produced a survey analysis of religious freedom in Kyrgyzstan.

Pakistan (text reproduced here; link to changing page): A Protestant pastor in Pakistan’s Punjab province was murdered in the early hours of January 5, just minutes after he left his home to catch a train to Lahore. Pastor Mukhtar Masih, 50, was shot once in the chest at close range with a 32 caliber pistol sometime after 3 a.m. in Khanewal, 180 miles southwest of Lahore. Police officials ruled out robbery as a murder motive because 3,500 rupees ($58) were found untouched in Masih’s pockets and there were no signs of struggle. Police suspected it was a grudge killing. As pastor of the local Church of God, Masih regularly conducted 10 minutes of prayer and Bible reading over the church loudspeaker each day at 6 a.m., a common practice in areas which, like Khanewal, have large Christian populations. Parishioners from Masih’s congregation confirmed that Muslims had threatened their pastor “on many occasions” and several times tore down the speakers. Nonetheless, they could not identify any recent incident that might have provoked his murder. (Compass Direct)

Egypt (text reproduced here; link to changing page): An Egyptian Christian was killed and two others seriously injured on January 5 when a confrontation erupted between a military contingent of about 300 soldiers and the staff of a Coptic Christian center for handicapped children near Cairo. The military blocked the Patmos Center’s main entrance and the road leading to the center, using construction equipment to knock down several meters of wall on either side of the gate. Some of the Patmos workers moved onto the Suez highway, stopping traffic in a sit-in protest against the military action. A fast-moving bus came off the highway onto the adjacent service road, careening directly into the crowd. Thirteen staff workers surrounding Bishop Botros, the Coptic Orthodox cleric directing the center, were struck down. Military officials contend that the driver simply lost control of the vehicle, but church sources accused army officers of ordering the driver to run over the bishop and his staff. (Compass Direct)

World: The reappearance of Sars is a signal to the world of the threat from emerging infections, says the Royal Society, which predicts that at least thirty new diseases will appear over the next three decades as a result of environmental disruption, global warming and behavioural change. (Independent)

Uzbekistan: Thirty-seven people, including the UN envoy died in an Uzbekistan Airways plane crash in Tashkent. (CNN)

China (text reproduced here; link to changing page): Registration is still a hot issue for China's long-suffering house churches. The government insists on registration as the only means of legal existence for churches. Registration means subjection to the Communist Party's Religious Affairs Bureau and other bodies controlled by atheists. Evangelism, finances, pastoral appointments and Sunday sermons are all ultimately managed by the Religious Affairs Bureau. A house church leader in Jilin province recently wrote a letter that vividly illustrates the dilemma Chinese Christians face. "Several of our church workers have searched the Scriptures and believe it is not right for the church to register. Now our church is scattered and under persecution. ... But in a neighboring village, there is a big registered church set up 10 years ago. Their leaders believe the church should obey the higher powers and register with the government. ... Because the viewpoints of these two churches are so different, the leaders have no spiritual fellowship. ... Does our lack of fellowship with the Three Self church constitute schism?" (Compass Direct)

Syria has been asking for peace talks with Israel. Israel said alright then, with conditions. Syria said Israel's response wasn't a serious one. (BBC)

A pro-democracy conference for leaders of the Arab World was hosted in Yemen. Democracy is a 'rescue ship', said the Yemeni President. (Independent)

India: The US has announced it will increase cooperation with India on civilian nuclear energy, civilian space programmes and high technology trade; they will also step up talks on missile defence. (CNN)

China: a couple sent their twin boys to school on alternate days, pretending they only had one son, to save money. This may or may not be true. (Sydney Morning Herald)

China is spending $45 billion to prepare two state banks for the free market to come by turning them into corporations. (CNN)

India (text reproduced here; link to changing page):
The Indian government has rejected demands that social benefits be extended to Dalit Christians and Muslims. A clause in the 1950 Constitution of India enshrined the right of Hindu Dalits to "social reservations" for jobs and educational placements. At that time, the Dalits, also known as Untouchables, comprised 15 percent of the population. The right to social reservations has since been extended to Dalits who become Sikhs and Buddhists; however, the government has not done the same for Christians. Social Justice Minister Satyanarayan Jatiya justified the policy, saying that Hindu Dalits suffered most from the social and economic discrimination under India's caste system. The All India Christian Council and a number of human rights organizations plan to take the issue to court and lobby high government officials." Separate treatment of Dalit Christians on the basis of religion amounts to discrimination by the government and a violation of constitutional principles," said Pappu Yadav, leader of the opposition party Janata Dal. (Compass Direct)

Pakistan and Afghanistan: The Pakistani PM is visiting Kabul for talks on security and economic issues with the Afghan President. (BBC)

Egypt: President Hosni Mubarak dismisses suggestions that his youngest son, Gamal, may inherit the presidency. We're not like Syria, he implies. (Al-Ahram)

China's state oil company is offering compensation to victims of a gas drilling accident in December in Chongqing, in which 243 people were killed, more than 9,000 injured and over 60,000 evacuated (most have since returned). (Guardian)

Sudan (text reproduced here; link to changing page): More than 10 Christian churches and a church-run vocational training center at the sprawling Wad el Bashier camp in West Omdurman , Sudan, have been demolished within the past two months. According to sources in Khartoum, authorities ordered the destruction of the makeshift worship centers erected by displaced Christians as part of an urban re-planning exercise. Demolition crews razed centers affiliated with the Anglican, African Inland and Roman Catholic churches, as well as the Sudan Church of Christ. Some mosques have also been destroyed, as well as latrines, shops and bakeries. A recent U.N. report said brick and concrete structures, such as the main Catholic Church in the area, are not expected to be demolished. The camp serves as a temporary home to some 50,000 Sudanese. Residents affected by the re-planning exercise are slowly being allotted plots of land; but in many cases, they are rendered homeless for months. (Compass Direct)

The governing coalition in India is talking about holding elections in April/May rather than October. "The party rank and file want to cash in on the feel-good factor." (BBC)

Last month, the soon-to-retire head of India's election commission described the country's politicians as poorly educated, impolite cheats. (BBC)

Pakistan has launched another offensive against terrorists in their Afghanistan border area. (CNN)

Update: and now it's over. (CNN)

Sudan: in a significant step towards peace, the government and southern rebels have signed an agreement to share the country's wealth. (BBC)

Two background items from the BBC on the situation in Sudan can be found here and here.

Kashmir rebels plan to fight on despite the planned talks between India and Pakistan. (CNN)

Waitress becomes second new SARS victim in China. (Independent)

Turkmenistan: Baptist freed after international pressure. (Forum 18)

Interesting times in the Middle East:

Iran and Egypt are poised to restore ties after twenty-five years (Reuters),

Libya and Israel hint at new ties (BBC),

and President Assad of Syria appeared to concede that his country has weapons of mass destruction, but will give them up if Israel does the same (Independent).

India and Pakistan announce they're going to start talking next month about a wide range of issues, including Kashmir. (CNN)

India: "India's economy and stock market are booming. Is the country finally emerging as a global powerhouse to rival China? Or is it destined to stumble and fall?" (Time)

Pakistan: "President Musharraf has survived assassination attempts and fierce Islamic opposition. Can he tame Pakistan?" (Time)

President Assad of Syria is on a three-day visit to Turkey, which is seen as a very positive thing; Syria and Turkey haven't been the friendliest of neighbours, but have been drawn together by the issue of Iraq. (BBC)

As advertised, the leaders of India and Pakistan did indeed meet yesterday. They 'huddled for about an hour'. (CNN)

India (text reproduced here; link to changing page):
India’s Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), known as the ”World Hindu Council,” held a re-conversion rally on Christmas Eve in Dangs district, south Gujarat. The VHP claimed that 500 members of tribal groups re-converted to Hinduism during the rally, although government officials present at the event said only one pastor and a handful of Christians attended. Praveen Togadia, General Secretary of the VHP, had applied for permission to hold the rally in Navapur Township, Maharashtra state. However the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission urged the government to revoke its permission, reminding them of a similar rally held in Dangs district on Christmas Eve 1998 which unleashed 10 days of anti-Christian violence. The re-conversion rally or sammelan was then moved to Lalmati on the Gujarat-Maharashtra border, just 2 kilometers away. Meanwhile, Togadia called for Maharashtra to adopt anti-conversion laws similar to those imposed in five other Indian states. (Compass Direct)

China: a patient has been diagnosed with SARS in Guangdong province, where SARS originated. The discovery has prompted a move to cull civet cats, as well as rats and cockroaches. (Reuters)

Iran: on 26 December an earthquake centred on the city of Bam left at least thirty thousand dead and a hundred thousand homeless. (IRIN)

The leaders of India and Pakistan are meeting during a summit today. (Guardian)

Egypt: 148 people, mostly French holidaymakers, died when their plane crashed into the Red Sea; mechanical failure rather than terrorism is thought to be the cause. (Independent)

Afghanistan: the constitutional convention has successfully produced a new constitution for the country; elections should follow later this year. (CNN)

World:The holiday period saw trouble with international flights being cancelled or delayed because of security concerns. (BBC)