Communist authorities are continuing to tighten their grip on practising Christians with at least four regional governments across China issuing notices that restrict children from joining Christian groups and attending religious activities.

The ban includes turning children away from churches even if they attend with their parents and teachers. Additionally, the ban includes promises that officials will launch investigations into both government approved churches and underground congregations who operate outside the tightly controlled official Beijing-run Catholic and Protestant churches.

The latest move comes as part of a concerted crackdown on religion that began with a three-year cross removal campaign in the Christian stronghold province of Zhejiang. The state’s move against religions became official last year when Chinese leader Xi Jinping instituted formal plans to “sinicize” religion with the intention of bringing more religious followers under the control of the ruling Communist Party, which itself is officially atheist and forbids members from practising.

“An emergency notice from the higher authorities strictly forbids all secondary and primary school teachers, students and toddlers to join Catholic or Protestant churches,” the school district of Yonglin in Wenzhou, eastern Zhejiang, said in a note to all primary schools, adult educational institutes and kindergartens.

Maria, a Catholic laywoman in the district who identified herself by her baptismal name, told ucanews.com that about her daughter’s teacher sent an audio and written message to the parents’ chat group “asking us not to bring children to the church.”

The teacher indicated the education bureau issued that instruction while adding that an inspection team would launch open and undercover investigations to find out how many children went to the church.

On Aug. 12, the local street committee office also sent officials to churches to persuade parents not to take their children there. However, Maria said, there were still many children participating in the procession for the feast of the Assumption of Mary, one of the four most important feasts for the China Church, on Aug. 15.

In another incident,  a church-run summer camp that two Protestant classmates of her niece attended, was eventually disbanded and all participants sent home, Maria said.

“The move by the authorities is unnecessary. Even if they are not allowed to go to church, we parents can pass on our religious belief to our kids at home,” Maria said while admitting that recent events had her concerned.

Religious communities in Hindu-majority Nepal need to press for changes to a new law impacting on religious freedom, which is inconsistent with the nation’s international commit-ments. While there has been ongoing discussion of some specific aspects of the law, many Christian leaders have yet to grasp its wider implications.

On Aug. 9, amendments were made to the country’s 164-year-old general criminal code, known as the Muluki Ain. The revised criminal code imposes sanctions for several offences not included in the old law.

Aspects of the new law can be considered as reforms.

However, it also incorporates ‘anti-conversion clauses’ which effectively narrow religious freedom, notably for minorities.

One government repre-sentative previously main-tained that the criminal code amendments would protect freedom of religious belief, but within certain limits.

A critic of this justi-fication compared it to allowing a bird to fly freely, but only within a narrow cage.

In late 2015, Kamal Thapa, then deputy prime minister, maintained that changes to be introduced to the criminal code would ensure full religious freedom.

Bishops in Sri Lanka have condemned a government move to allow abortion in some circumstances. Cabinet has approved presentation of a bill to parliament to legalize abortion when a pregnancy is due to rape or if a fetus is diagnosed with a “lethal” congenital malformation. The Sri Lankan bishops’ conference stressed that the church believes life begins at conception. A person could not safeguard their own rights at the expense of violating somebody else’s rights, said Bishop Valence Mendis of Chilaw, secretary general of the bishops’ conference.

Bishop Mendis, in a joint statement with Bishop J. Winston S.Fernando, president of the bishops’ conference, defended the “right to life” of an unborn child. An estimated 600 illegal abortions take place in Sri Lanka every day, including many in factory zones where large numbers of women work.

Classmates beat a Christian student in Pakistan to death three days after starting his new school because he drank water from a cup meant for Muslim students, his family says. Sheron Masih was a Grade 9 student at a govern-ment-run school in Burewala, in Punjab province.

He was killed because he was a Christian, the student’s father, Elyab Masih, told ucanews.com by phone. “On his first day at his school, a teacher called my son a chuhra and kicked him out of the class for not wearing school uniform,” he said. “My son was so terrified, he skipped school the next day.”

Chuhra is a derogatory term aimed at Christian sanitary workers.

“I bought him a new uniform after which he agreed to return to school. Later in the day I was told that my son was dead after being assaulted by his class-mates,” he said.

The vicar-general of the Prelature of Marawi and several other Catholic hostages taken by militants inspired by the so-called Islamic State (IS) are still alive after more than three months of fighting in the southern Philippine City.

At a press conference announcing the retaking of St Mary’s Cathedral, Major General Carlito Galvez, commander of government forces in Marawi, denied social media reports that terrorist gunmen may have spirited Father Teresito Soganub out of the city. The military presented gold-plated religious items including chalices and crucifix recovered by troops from the cathedral, which rebels abandoned on Aug. 25. Some of the items were damaged when the terrorists stormed the church on May 23, the first day of the conflict.

Marilyn Suganob-Ginni-van, a younger sister of the priest, said the family was glad to hear the information. “We are continuously praying for his safety and the other hostages. May God spare them [from death],” she told ucanews.com in a text message. “In two or three weeks’ time,” Galvez said the military expects the city to return to normal, as the battle zone has narrowed to just “400 to 600 square meters.” Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, spokesperson of Joint Task Force Marawi, said the cathedral needs repairing after many bullets struck the building. “It’s not totally wrecked. There was damage to the walls [from bullets],” she added. Earlier, IS-linked websites released a video showing fighters toppling over statues and desecrating icons before trying to set fire to the cathedral.