New Events
North-West Africa
Algerian protestors want a democratic government free of the military; amazingly, the military is letting them protest. Details
Egypt / Sudan
Families, lawyers say prisoners are being tortured into confession as authoritarianism sets hold again in Egypt. Longread
A third of Egypt’s population lives in poverty, causing significant instability. Data
Languages are going extinct; Siwi Berber is an example. Assimilation and languages of governance and business may reduce us to a few hundred languages effectively spoken worldwide. More
More protests and worries set off in Sudan after four teenage school children are shot and killed at a protest rally. Details
Sudan extends cease-fire with southern rebels – Link
Sudan’s fragile transition: many things could disturb the power-sharing deal – Briefly
Nigeria
Boko Haram: 10 years, 10s of thousands killed: “Nigerians crave peace.” Link
But there is no peace. The latest bombing: more than 60 killed in northeast – Link
The Nigerian military clashed with a Shi’ite Islamic movement over the 2015 imprisonment of a cleric – More
Ethnography from Nigeria: “I married my husband after he died.” BBC Video (h/t Mission Catalyst)
Saudi / Israel / Lebanon / Syria / Gulf
Government approves rule allowing women to have passports, those over 21 to travel alone. This is not only a social change; it could change the demographic of Saudis abroad. More
Unseen in most press, Syria’s civil war continues to grind. Around Idlib, the battle is between Turkey & various jihadists vs Syria and Russia. 3 million people live in the Turkish-controlled zone. Portions of this is under control of IS groups; Christians endure murder and persecution. More, briefly.
In northeast Syria, Kurds are in control of the area around the Euphrates, somewhat under US protection. There are Kurdish-Arab power struggles. More
Lebanon is “sick and tired” of Syrian refugees: it is intentionally making life harder for them. More
And, thousands of Syrian refugees are being deported from Turkey. More
Iran / Iraq
After seizing a British tanker, Iran says a “European fleet” to protect ships from such seizures would be “provocative.” (The fleet is being debated, but if another serious attack were made, such a fleet would rapidly coalesce). Link
Iran performed a ballistic missile test, which traveled 621 miles: enough to hit either Saudi Arabia or Israel. Link
And, Iran announced plans to restart activities at the Arak nuclear reactor, enriching uranium far in excess of the 2015 agreement. Link
Mission Network News judges rising US-Iran tensions have led to a crackdown on religious minorities in Iran- Link
After defeat of ISIS, Iraq’s Assyrians and Yazidis are adjusting to an uneasy peace – Link
Afghanistan / Pakistan / Pashto
The Afghan Presidential campaign begins “amid rising violence and peace talks” – Link
… “why take the risk? Running elections and going to polls can be life-and-death decisions”
As an example: attackers stormed the Afghan VP Candidate’s office, 2 killed – Link
A peace deal between the US and the Taliban is likely imminent. The US wants to reduce its force commitment to Afghanistan, and the Taliban wants a victory. The most likely scenario: the US will trade a staggered draw down of US forces for a Taliban commitment to not host terrorist groups and to engage in talks with the Afghani government on power-sharing. Link
Direct talks between the Taliban & the government could begin in less than a month – Link
Ethnography: Fear and defiance among Pakistan’s Hazaras – in pictures – Link
India / Bangladesh / South Asia
Yet another analysis charting rising attacks on Christians in India since the Modi government came to power – Link
Ethnography: the Tibetan Muslims of Kashmir: “a mostly forgotten population of refugees, living in Kashmir valley for 60 years” – Link
Bangladesh charges 90 over 2016 attacks on Christian minorities, but Christians fear masterminds left off the hook – Link
Between Myanmar and Bangladesh, the security challenges of the intractable Rohingyacrisis: Islamist civil society organizations are stepping into the camps, providing education, medical assistance, food; hardline militant groups have established over 1,000 madrassas in the camps – Link
China / East Asia
“Christian fever has taken hold in the working class communities around Shenzen, China
… increasingly popular among rural migrant workers…”
This is a public data point on a long-known trend. – Longread
The Hong Kong protests continue, without an easy end in sight. The worst end is the PLA steps in. Any other result between here and there is growing progressively less likely. One way or another, the protests will eventually have to stop.
… Beijing tells Hong Kong to punish radical anti-government protesters – Link
… Call for a citywide strike for 5 August, affects business – Link
… Hong Kong braces for potential Saturday ‘anti-triad’ protest – Link
… Voices accuse Taiwan, US of ‘fanning the flames’ of protests – Link
… China’s PLA strongly ‘suggests’ it could step in to restore order. Link
… 190k police officers in drill to ‘prep for 70th anniversary’ – in Guangdong, near HK – Link
Yet another recounting of China ramping up religious persecution – Link
Uighurs: “All the Muslims have been released from camps, and returned to society.” World: “Right…” Link
A story: “My Uyghur family is quietly living in fear. This is how we became lost.” Link
Koreas
N Korea fires more missiles, but has told US they aren’t intended to disrupt talks, only to intimidate S Korea – Link
The N Korean economy has “shrunk the most” since 1990s famine: “The country’s sanctions-hit economy shrank in 2018 by its largest margin since the country’s devastating famine in the 1990s, the South’s central bank said at the weekend.” – Data
Southeast Asia
As West retreats over human rights violations, China surges in Myanmar: it’s the largest investor, and Chinese tourists are likewise increasing in the area – Link
Ethnography: Indonesian Haul festival recalls pre-Islamic culture – Link
Indonesia President says Islam in Indonesia is ‘tolerant,’ but rights groups warn of rising fundamentalism. This story is a public data point to a well known trend in increasing persecution. Link
Notable Europe / Americas
Russia arrests over 1,000 in Moscow election protest. Link
New Data
MissioNexus releases new 2019 Attrition Data Report. Link
USA: majority of Millennials report having ‘no friends’, ‘no close friends’ or ‘no best friends.’ Clear implications for disciple-making. Link
Longer reads
Some new “missions explainer videos” (H/T Mission Catalyst)
Futuristics/Technology
Another analysis of the disintermediation of friendships, family and church out of meeting potential mates: More couples meet online than meet through friends, family, church, etc. – Link
How Facebook is using machine learning to map the world’s population: I would like to understand the underlying tech and data a lot better than I do – Link
Another look at Beijing’s capacity to monitor millions of sites in Xinjiang – Link
… One chilling quote: “The system is capable of instantly identifying people’s faces from different angles and under poor lighting, even when they are in constant motion, such as riding an escalator or driving a car. Its computer banks are fast enough to scan China’s entire population in just one second, or two seconds to remember and recognize everyone on the planet, with an accuracy rate of up to 99.8%.”
We all know China’s surveillance system operates outside Xinjiang. This article is an example: “wanted man caught by facial recognition cameras” trying to board a train in southern China – Link
Iranians manage to surf the web despite the tide of censorship: “a cat-and-mouse game that has become second nature” – Link
USA: 80% online daily, 28% online “almost constantly”, 10% “never.” A generational divide, too: 48% of 18-to-29 year olds are “almost constantly” online. Link
Another view on China’s Social Credit System: ‘far from cutting edge’ – Link