China: 'Modernising Tibet: Chinese journalist Lin Gu has just spent a month in Tibet, an intoxicating and spiritual place, where Buddhism remains a dominant force, despite Chinese Communist control. But, he says, modernisation and the influx of tourists and outside business interests threaten an ancient way of life.' (BBC)

Pakistan: 'Benazir Bhutto's husband rearrested over murder: The husband of a former Pakistani prime minister, Asif Ali Zardari, accused the country's government of running scared yesterday after he was rearrested only a month after his release on bail raised hopes of reconciliation with the President, Pervez Musharraf.' (Independent)

India: 'A Hindu fundamentalist group has accused a Christian school in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, of forcibly distributing copies of the New Testament to students with intent to convert them. In a complaint to Sukma district officials, the Dharam Jagran Manch (DJM) insisted that “Father Victor Manuel Raj and other school staff be criminally investigated and prosecuted for the distribution of 600 Bibles and other missionary literature to school students.” The DJM also demanded that the school ban Christian preaching and music, that it hire at least 50 percent non-Christian staff members and that an image of the goddess Bharat Mata (Mother India) be prominently displayed on the school grounds. District officials asked the school to comply, despite lawyers’ assertions that the demands violate India’s Constitution.' (Compass Direct)

UK: 'The manager of a second Birmingham theatre company says he is prepared to stage a play cancelled after a violent demonstration by the Sikh community. The city's Repertory Theatre dropped Behzti, which depicts murder and sex abuse in a temple, on safety grounds after protesters clashed with police.' An opinion piece can also be found here. (BBC)

Sudan: 'The British aid charity Save the Children is pulling all 350 of its staff out of the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan after the killing of four staff members in the past two months.' (CNN)

India: 'How India's boom has left its fishermen high and dry
A dispute over a theme park near the city of Bombay has pitted old lifestyles against new.' (Independent)

Morocco: 'A non-governmental organisation in Morocco says substance abuse among children has reached alarming levels. The Baiti association says 98% of children living on the streets in Morocco are now addicted to sniffing glue and the number is growing.' (BBC)

Egypt: 'Egyptian pope goes into seclusion: The top Coptic cleric has withdrawn to a desert monastery to draw attention to grievances among Egyptian Christians.' (BBC)

Nepal: 'Human rights defenders in Nepal face grave threats amid the country's deepening human rights crisis, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists said. The Nepalese government and the United Nations must begin effective implementation of an agreement signed Tuesday providing for U.N. assistance to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in monitoring human rights. Recently a number of human rights defenders, including journalists, lawyers, NHRC staff and local human rights activists, have faced increasing harassment from both security forces and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Human rights defenders have been killed, detained under anti-terrorist legislation, abducted, tortured and threatened, and the offices of human rights organisations have been raided.' (Human Rights Watch)

Turkmenistan: 'The government of Turkmenistan has hailed Sunday's parliamentary elections as a triumph of democracy. But official figures say that 76% of the electorate voted - less than the turnout that would normally be expected. No opposition candidate was standing for membership in what is seen as a powerless parliament. Foreign diplomats have called the election a sham and further evidence of Mr Niyazov's exclusive hold on power.' (BBC)

China: 'Chinese President Hu Jintao has praised the "one country, two systems" formula in the former Portuguese enclave of Macau, but says nearby Hong Kong has to do better to make it work.' (CNN)

Saudi Arabia: 'Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler is to boycott a Gulf summit on Monday after disagreements with the host, Bahrain, over its free trade deal with the US.' (BBC)

UK: 'A controversial play depicting sexual abuse and murder in a Sikh temple was at the centre of a clash between artistic freedom and religious sensitivities last night amid threats of more angry protests today following Saturday's violent demonstrations outside Birmingham Repertory Theatre.' (Independent)

Pakistan: 'In spite of his promise about a year ago and ongoing public protests, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf said he will not step down as head of the country's military on Dec. 31.' (CNN)

Lebanon: 'Syria has withdrawn some of its troops from three key positions in Lebanon, according to Lebanese officials.' (BBC)

Turkey: 'Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned home Saturday to an ecstatic welcome, with hundreds of supporters waving Turkish and EU flags at the airport to celebrate the agreement to start EU membership talks next year. But analysts warned there were tough times ahead with the country's EU membership negotiations taking years -- and the thorny issue of Turkey's attitude to Cyprus far from resolved.' (CNN)

Turkey: 'A European Union decision this week to begin membership negotiations with Turkey would ensure that essential human rights reforms in the country continue.' (Human Rights Watch)

Jordan: 'An Islamic court in Jordan postponed until January 10 a final verdict on Christian widow Siham Qandah’s legal battle to prevent a Muslim guardian from taking custody of her two minor children. Today’s delay is the second postponement within the past three weeks on the drawn-out lawsuit. Qandah said she did not know why her lawyers had asked for the delay, although so far as she knew, the courts still did not have any address or direct contact information for the guardian, Abdullah al-Muhtadi. Al-Muhtadi had refused to attend a previous hearing on November 23, despite a summons from the Al-Abdali Sharia Court in Amman requiring his presence. Instead, he sent word to the judge that he feared for his life if he came to the court. “I do not know what he is trying to accomplish, since this is a lie,” a Christian friend of Qandah told Compass. Al-Muhtadi is Qandah’s estranged brother who converted to Islam as a teenager. Qandah has appealed to King Abdullah II and Queen Rania for a just resolution of her case.' (Compass Direct)

Middle East: an opinion peace on democracy in the Middle East. 'People in the Middle East want political freedom, and their governments acknowledge the need for reform. Yet the region appears to repel democracy. Arab regimes only concede women’s rights and elections to appease their critics at home and abroad. If democracy arrives in the Middle East, it won’t be due to the efforts of liberal activists or their Western supporters but to the very same Islamist parties that many now see as the chief obstacle to change.' (ForeignPolicy.com)

India: 'Members of St. John’s church in Jatni, Orissa, India, have made an official complaint about a Hindu temple built on land given to the church in the 1900s. The original owner of the land, Alfreda Elen Hardy, died without making a will. She was survived by her brother Gerald who left the property in the hands of the church, but again died without making a will. In 2002, a Hindu temple was constructed on part of the land, approximately 50 meters away from St. John’s church. Church members complained to officials but no action was taken. In October this year, the temple took over the boundary wall between itself and the church, prompting church members to make a second complaint. St. John’s church has also laid claim to the land under the Christian Succession Act.' (Compass Direct)

Tunisia: 'Police Use Force to Block Rights Meeting: Government Brands Human Rights Group’s Gathering ‘Illegal’.' (Human Rights Watch)

Uzbekistan: 'In a continuing campaign in north-western Uzbekistan against Christians, a Protestant medical student, Ilkas Aldungarov, has been expelled from the Nukus branch of the Tashkent Paediatric Medical Institute, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. The expulsion was allegedly because of poor academic performance, but in reality seems to have been because of Aldungarov's Christian faith. The dean of the Medical Institute, Bekbasyn Absametov, categorically denied to Forum 18 that religious persecution happened, but was unable to explain the persecution of Christian students by his colleagues. Expulsions of Protestant students have also taken place at another local higher education institute, the Berdah Karakalpak State University. "Each time, students are expelled for their supposed failing performance. My daughter used to be a good student, but since the campaign against Protestant students began, she has suddenly become a failing student," a local Christian told Forum 18. It is thought that the student expulsions from both institutions may have been organised by the NSS secret police.' (Forum 18)

China: 'China 'no longer needs food aid': The UN World Food Programme is urging China to become a bigger donor instead of a recipient of its aid.' (BBC)

Turkey: 'Turkish membership of the EU can bridge the gap between the West and the Islamic world and avert a clash of civilisations, says Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who warned of the danger of rebuffing his country.' (Independent)

Afghanistan: 'About 18,000 American troops have started a winter-long operation against Taliban rebels in Afghanistan, vowing to eliminate insurgents who could threaten parliamentary elections slated for the spring.' (CNN)

China: 'The Chinese Church's Delicate Dance: A conversation with the head of the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement.' (Christianity Today)

India: 'US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said his country will build stronger defence ties with India. Mr Rumsfeld was speaking in the Indian capital, Delhi, after meeting senior officials, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.' (BBC)

India and Pakistan: 'India and Pakistan have failed to resolve their differences over a proposed bus service linking the two portions of divided Kashmir. A statement after two days of talks in Delhi said the sides had agreed to meet again at a "mutually convenient date".' (BBC)

India: 'The arrest of one of India’s most revered Hindu leaders has led to accusations of a Christian conspiracy. Jayendra Saraswati was arrested in mid November and accused of conspiring to murder a temple priest. Hindu nationalist groups immediately launched protests and hunger strikes, saying the arrest was a conspiracy organized by “Christians and Sonia Gandhi” to defame Hinduism -- a charge vehemently denied by Christian groups. Prosecutors say Saraswati admitted to arranging the murder in a “moment of weakness,” but devotees believe their leader is innocent. Lal Krishna Advani, chief of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, said he believed Saraswati’s arrest would lead to renewed support for the party.' (Compass Direct)

UK: 'David Blunkett faced a growing revolt over plans to make incitement to religious hatred a crime. MPs from all parties denounced the measure, which has been condemned by legal experts, Christians, secular organisations and writers and comedians led by Rowan Atkinson.' (Daily Telegraph)

World: 'In this personal commentary for Forum 18 News Service, Julia Doxat-Purser, Religious Liberty Coordinator of the European Evangelical Alliance http://www.europeanea.org , argues that French politicians are wrong to believe that the acquiescence shown by most schoolchildren to the law banning the wearing of prominent religious symbols signals their acceptance of the law. Many fear that limiting people's ability to express their religious faith and cultural identity is going to push some towards extremism. French religious communities have pointed out that France, the supposed home of human rights, now infringes people's free religious practice. In Germany too, the decision of some Federal States to pass 'headscarf laws' is controversial, former Federal President Johannes Rau condemning these moves as "the first step toward the creation of a secular state that bans religious signs and symbols from public life." One factor in debates about religious belief in society is that some politicians mistakenly assume that religious belief involves the imposition of views on others – an assumption that many religious believers would strongly dispute.' (Forum 18)

Afghanistan: 'Hamid Karzai has been sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president, as 150 foreign dignitaries -- including U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld -- looked on.' (CNN)

Saudi Arabia: 'A Saudi group linked to al Qaeda claimed responsibility early Tuesday for the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in which at least five employees and four attackers were killed.' (CNN)

Nepal: 'A United Nations fact-finding mission has begun an investigation into political disappearances in Nepal. This follows a sharp rise in the number of people missing in the conflict between the rebels and security forces. About 9,500 people, many of them civilians, have died since the Maoist insurrection began in 1996.' (BBC)

Pakistan: 'The war on terror has made the world less safe and is not addressing the underlying causes of conflict, Pakistan's president has told the BBC.' (BBC)

Bhutan: 'The widespread availability of technology is having a big impact on culture in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.' (BBC)

World: 'Rich nations need to do much more to overcome global poverty, the aid agency Oxfam says in a report. In real terms, the aid budgets of rich countries are half what they were in 1960, the charity claims. Oxfam also says that that poor countries are paying back $100m a day in debt repayments.' (BBC)

Iran: 'Secret squads operating under the authority of the Iranian judiciary have used torture to force detained Internet journalists and civil society activists to write self-incriminatory “confession letters”.' (Human Rights Watch)

Pakistan and India: 'Pakistani and Indian officials have agreed on principle to reopen a second rail link between their two countries.' (BBC)

China: 'China has warned the EU that it risks damaging bilateral ties unless it lifts a 15-year embargo on selling arms to Beijing.' (BBC)

Afghanistan: 'President Hamid Karzai should appoint a warlord-free cabinet after he takes office on December 7, Human Rights Watch said in an open letter to the newly elected president. The letter urges President Karzai to sideline militia leaders and other officials implicated in past and current human rights abuses and increase his government’s commitment to improving security and the rule of law.' (Human Rights Watch)

India: 'Ceremonies have taken place in the central Indian city of Bhopal where a toxic gas leak led to the world's worst industrial accident 20 years ago.' (BBC)

China: Introduction to Uyghur Culture and History - a website.

China: 'China finally faces up to suicide crisis: Record deaths driven by depression.' (Guardian)

China: 'Marriage and the 'Me' Generation' (china.org.cn)

China: 'China's explosive economic growth is outpacing environmental protection efforts, leaving the country awash in "out of control" acid rain, the China Daily said Tuesday.' (CNN)

China and India: 'China, India pledge AIDS action: The world's two most populous nations have promised to eradicate ignorance about AIDS, a disease that was at first dismissed by many as a Western evil confined to drug users, homosexuals and prostitutes.' (CNN)

Afghanistan: 'British officials in Kabul have been questioned by President Hamid Karzai after fields were reportedly sprayed with chemicals from the air two weeks ago, leaving farmers sick. The Kabul government is keen to find out who could have carried out the alleged spraying, which it considers illegal, despite a stated desire by the US and United Nations to wipe out the opium crop.' (Independent)

Nepal: 'Nepal is a Hindu state, with 86% of its some 26.5 million people practising Hinduism. Since 1990 it has been a democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Church in Nepal has grown steadily over its 50 years. There is a degree of religious freedom, but proselytising is still illegal. Maoist rebels, a serious problem, mainly target Nepal's political regime, but increasingly Christian churches and groups are embroiled in the conflict. Some rebels have said 'all Christians are spies'. Maoists attack Christian centres in search of boys to conscript into their army. Travel for ministry is hazardous due to rebel activity. A national missionary team was captured in a remote mountain village, but later released. Some Christian workers have reportedly had written orders to leave the areas where they minister. Please pray for peace in Nepal, the outreach of the Church, and protection of Christian workers.' (Religious Liberty Commission)

India: 'The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), desperately seeking its way back to federal power in India, is reverting to its anti-minority political platform of Hindu nationalism. If implemented, Christians and Muslims could face a backlash of Hindu extremism. In a speech last week to BJP leaders, L. K. Advani, who was once subpoenaed by a court for his involvement in the demolition of a mosque, called the party “a chosen instrument of the divine.” He also termed the conversion of tribal peoples to Christianity and Buddhism as “fraudulent.” Hindu orators have unleashed a series of sermons against Christian thought and mission work in the villages. Church leaders fear that this renewed hate campaign -- with the blessing of Advani’s BJP -- will lead to more conflict.' (Compass Direct)