Anti-Christian violence Israel on the rise: 111 attacks on people or property in 2024
Today's headlines: The provisional death toll from yesterday’s earthquake in Myanmar (and Thailand) has topped a thousand deaths. Trump restores military aid to the Philippines. In Chhattisgarh, Maoist violence breaks out again, with several deaths. In China, a Uyghur rapper was sentenced to three years in prison for lyrics that “promoted extremism”. In Nepal at least two have died and dozens injured in clashes between police and monarchists.
ISRAEL
Anti-Christian attacks are up In Israel, amid the indifference of the authorities, this according to the 2024 Annual Report by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, which documents at least 111 violent incidents against the minority (up from 89 the previous year). Almost half of Christians under 30 would like to emigrate. Specifically, there were 46 physical attacks, 35 attacks on church property and 13 cases of harassment. Most of the perpetrators seem to belong to the ultra-Orthodox and national-religious communities, while the victims tend to be members of the clergy or wear visible Christian symbols.
MYANMAR – THAILAND
Rescuers are racing against time to find survivors buried in buildings that collapsed from the devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar and Thailand yesterday. In Myanmar, where the earthquake’s epicentre is located, the ruling military junta reported the latest but still partial toll with more 1,000 dead and more than 2,300 injured. Ten people are confirmed dead in Bangkok, Thailand. According to US geologists, this was the strongest earthquake in the former Burma in over a century.
PHILIPPINES – UNITED STATES
The United States has fully restored military aid to the Philippines, worth US$ 500 million. For analysts, it is a move by President Donald Trump to dispel doubts about Washington's reliability as Manila’s ally (against Beijing) in the Indo-Pacific. The announcement was made yesterday during US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth’s visit to the Philippine capital.
INDIA
Security forces killed at least 16 Maoist rebels in a gun battle yesterday in Chhattisgarh. For decades, the far-left movement has been waging guerrilla attacks against the government, especially in central and eastern India. During searches in Sukma, several weapons were found. The rebels are fighting to give poor farmers and landless labourers greater control over their land.
CHINA - ISLAM
Yashar Shohret, a 26-year-old Uyghur rapper and songwriter, who has not been heard from since his arrest 20 months ago, is in prison serving a three-year sentence for lyrics that “promoted extremism”. The advocacy group Weiquanwang reports that the young artist was sentenced on 20 June 2024. In 2022, he had participated in protests organised by the White Paper Movement against the lockdowns imposed by the authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NEPAL
Yesterday violent clashes between Nepali security forces and pro-monarchy protesters in Kathmandu left two people dead, a protester and a journalist, and at least 112 injured, including 77 security agents. Riot police tossed tear gas, fired water cannons and used rattan sticks to disperse the demonstration. Protesters demand the restoration of the monarchy. The authorities have launched an investigation.
RUSSIA
In 2024, 209,000 people received Russian citizenship, a significant drop in the last five years, Kommersant reports citing data from the Ministry of the Interior. Temporary residence permits also dropped to 44,500, half of 2023, while 215,000 permanent residence permits were granted, 21.3 per cent fewer than the previous year. Finally, a record number of Russians, almost 200,000, returned home.
ARMENIA - TURKMENISTAN
Yerevan has decided to diversify its natural gas imports, to be less dependent on Russia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's advisor, Artashes Tumanyan, announced that the government is in negotiations with Turkmengaz for deliveries through the swap system via Iran.
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