Row Over Dutch Support For Hindu Goddess
Citizens in the Dutch town of Amstelveen have condemned plans by local authorities to support a controversial Hindu festival that would involve praying to a Hindu goddess from India, in the heart of the town.
Christian Persecution – Asia
URGENT BREAKING NEWS: Nepal Church Collapse Kills 24; Dozens Injured
A makeshift three-storey church building has collapsed on attendees of a major Christian conference in eastern Nepal, killing at least 24 people, and injuring over 60 others, police said Wednesday, September 30.
India Court Acquits Politician In Killing Of Catholic
An Indian court on Thursday, September 24, acquitted a prominent legislator and another suspect in the killing of a Catholic Christian in a trial that underscored concerns over sectarian violence in the Indian state of Orissa.
NEWS ALERT: Iran Releases Christian Converts On Bail
A group of ex-Muslims who converted to Christianity were preparing Wednesday, September 16, for an upcoming court hearing in Iran on suspicion of “apostasy”, after they were temporarily released on bail from one of the country’s most notorious prisons, BosNewsLife learned.
Nepal Detains “Mastermind” Of Deadly Church Bombing
Authorities in Nepal say police in Nepal have detained an alleged leader of a feared militant group who was seen as the mastermind of a deadly attack on a church and other institutions.
Pakistan Christian Army Officer Sentenced To Life Imprisonment
A Pakistani Christian army officer was in jail Monday, September 7. after a military court sentenced him to life imprisonment for allegedly murdering his wife, despite claims from his family that he is innocent.
BREAKING NEWS: Christians Sentenced To Long Prison Terms For Aiding North Koreans
Christian Li Mingshun has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for helping North Koreans fleeing to South Korea, while her fellow Christian, Zhang Yonghu, received a seven-year sentence for organizing transportation for the refugees, trial observers said.
China’s Government “Orders” Crackdown On House Churches
China’s government has issued a secret directive to dismantle at least six major house churches in and outside the capital Beijing ahead of the upcoming 60th anniversary of Communist rule in the country, according to Christian right investigators.
Pakistan Jails Christian Teenager for “Blasphemy”
A Pakistani Christian teenager was behind bars Wednesday, August 26, after being beaten on “false” charges of “blasphemy” and several Muslims have demanded a death sentence for him, his family and supporters, rights investigators said.
Indian Christians Pray And Fast A Year After Orissa Massacre
Indian Christians and churches prepared to fast and pray this weekend for peace, a year after anti-Christian violence killed over 100 people in India’s troubled state of Orissa and left tens of thousands displaced.
2,000 Evicted Pakistani Christians Fear Death And Infection, aid workers say
Some 2,000 Christians in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, many of whom were evicted from their homes, face the prospect of “dying from dehydration, infection or the cumulative effects of poverty” Christian aid workers told Worthy News Thursday, August 20.
China Bans Church, Christians Detained
Two members of the Laojie Christian Church in the village of Sangdong in China’s Henan province have been detained, just days after authorities officially banned their church for a second time, Worthy News learned Tuesday, August 18.
Vietnam House Churches Report Police Crackdown
Christians in Vietnam anticipated more raids on house churches Saturday, August 8, after a police crackdown on several congregations in recent weeks.
Pakistan Police “Torture, Kill” Christian Man
Police in a slum area of northeastern Pakistan “tortured” a Christian man to death on trumped up charges of bootlegging, his family said Thursday, August 6.
Americans Free But Thousands Still Jailed, Executed In North Korea
An international Christian advocacy group welcomed Wednesday, August 5, North Korea’s decision to release American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling but warned that at least 200,000 religious and political prisoners remain behind bars in labor camps across the isolated Communist nation, where executions of inmates continue.
NEWS ALERT: Pakistan Christians Mourn Eight Killed In Violence
Christians across Pakistan closed their schools Monday, August 3, to mourn the killings of at least eight fellow believers in troubled Punjab province, as the Vatican condemned what was the second incident of violence against Christians in a week.
BREAKING NEWS: Prominent Vietnam Pastor Flees Encircled Home; Wife Beaten, Dissidents
A prominent Mennonite pastor and religious rights advocate has escaped from his besieged home in central Vietnam after “several months of police encirclement” to seek “help, food and medication” for his children and frail wife, who has been abused by police, dissidents said in messages obtained by BosNewsLife Monday, July 20.
Laos Christians Pressured To Worship “Local Spirits”
Dozens of Christian families in a village in Laos have been warned they will lose their homes and remaining live stock unless they abandon Christianity and start worshiping “local spirits” in accordance with Lao traditions, rights investigators said Thursday, July 16.
Indonesia Muslim Groups Oppose Church Construction
Muslims have protested the construction of a Protestant church in the capital of Indonesia’s South Sumatra Province, the latest in a series of obstacles against church projects in the mainly Muslim nation, news reports said Wednesday July 15.
Laos Authorities Slaughter Livestock Christian Families
Several impoverished Christian families in a rural area of Laos were without livestock Sunday, July 12, after authorities slaughtered the animals because they refused to renounce their faith, religious rights investigators said.