CHINA: At least 279 Christian leaders across China have issued a statement decrying the government’s crackdown on Christians, calling it “an abuse of government power” that has led to conflict. “For the sake of the gospel, we are prepared to bear all losses—even the loss of our freedom and our lives,” they said. Read it all here.

SYRIA: Turkey is arming rebels in Idlib.

CHINA: A new Human Rights Watch report details the scaled-up efforts to eradicate Uighur Muslims, Kazakhs, and other minorities behind a wall of secrecy in Xinjiang province—in state parlance, “to cure ideological diseases.” Most disturbing, according to the report, for its widespread implications:

EGYPT: At least eight churches have been closed in Luxor governorate, and one near Minya was destroyed by Muslim mobs. Yet the government has kept 3,500 churches that predate a licensing law waiting—some for 20 years—to be legalized.

SYRIA: Drones crowded the skies over Idlib Province overnight after bombings Tuesday in a long-anticipated offensive by Russian-backed government forces left 10 civilians dead, including five children from one family.

IRAN: Authorities reportedly have transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Shiite proxies in Iraq capable of hitting Tel Aviv or Riyadh. The move underscores this map showing Iran’s growing influence in the region. As Geopolitical Futures notes, in the war to defeat ISIS, Iran is emerging the victor.

INDIA: Private donors are stepping up more than the state to provide relief from the worst flooding in a century in Kerala state. Thus far, local and expat Indians—using online and GoFundMe campaigns—have donated $103 million versus the central government’s $85 million (with an estimated $3 billion in damage).