Freed Priest Denies Islamic Rebel Group Kidnapped Him
A frail 79-year-old Irish Catholic priest, who was released after one month of captivity in the Philippines, denied Friday, November 13, that an Islamic rebel group had kidnapped him.
Christian
Iran Closes Friday Church Services, Detains Pastor
Iran’s government has ordered one of the country’s largest Protestant churches to halt Friday services, while a pastor remains detained for protesting plans to “impose the reading of the Koran” on Christian children, Worthy News monitored Monday, November 9.
Millions Pray For Persecuted Church
Millions of Christians from Vancouver to Vladivostok were praying Sunday, November 8, for persecuted Christians, amid reports of increased repression in several countries around the world.
Armenia, Turkey Sign Landmark Accord Despite Tensions
The former Soviet republic of Armenia and Turkey have signed a historic accord on normalizing relations after a century of hostility.
Palestinians Remember Murdered Christian Bookstore Leader
Palestinian Christians on Tuesday, October 7, urged prayers as they observed the second anniversary of the day that militants murdered the director of the only known Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip.
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.
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.
Iranian Women Demand Release Christian Converts
Women dressed in white have gathered outside the Iranian embassy in London as part of a prayer vigil to highlight the plight of two female Christian converts from Islam who have been held at Evin Prison in Teheran “without charge”for the last six months, organizers said.
EU Ambassadors Discuss Belarus Threats To Close Megachurch
European ambassadors to Belarus have met with the leader of New Life Church in the capital Minsk to discuss “threats” by authorities to “destroy” one of the country’s largest evangelical churches by confiscating its building, a former cowshed, church officials said in a statement obtained by Worthy News Thursday, August 27.
China Forces Raid Bible School
Security forces raided a Bible school in eastern China run by the vice-president of the Chinese House Church Alliance (CHCA) and briefly detained a dozen people, a Christian advocacy group said Monday July 20.
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.
100,000 Protest Detention Chinese Christian Lawyer
A petition calling for the release of a prominent Christian human rights lawyer, which was signed by some 100,000 people around the world, has been delivered to the Chinese embassy in Washington and the U.S. State Department, organizers said Friday, July 17.
NEWS ALERT: Tense Stand-Off Between Christians And Chinese Security Forces Reported
A tense stand-off continued Friday, July 10, in China’s Shandong Province between Chinese security forces and Christians who have tried to prevent the destruction of their church building, representatives said.
NEWS ALERT: Chinese Pastor And Wife Sentenced To One Year Labor Camp
The pastor of a major Chinese evangelical church and his wife have been sentenced to one year “re-education through labor” for “engaging in illegal religious activities,” trial observers confirmed Wednesday, July 1.
BREAKING NEWS: Pop King Michael Jackson Dies
Michael Jackson, who became known as ‘the king of pop’, has died of cardiac arrest at the age of 50.
China Arrests Overshadow Release Of Long-Time Prisoner
News that China released a Christian woman after serving over two and a half years in prison for protesting the destruction of a mega-church has been overshadowed by the ongoing detention of Christians in a similar case, Chinese Christians and rights investigators said Wednesday, June 24.
Vietnam Continues Crackdown On Protestant Christians, sources
Several Protestant Christians in Vietnam, including Degar-Montagnards, were uncertain Monday, June 22, where to worship as government forces raided and destroyed churches in recent weeks, church sources and rights investigators said.
Austria, South Africa Mourn Murdered Missionary
Austrian and South African Christians mourned the death of a third priest known to have been killed in South Africa this year, BosNewsLife learned Sunday, June 14.
BREAKING NEWS: Iran President Ahmadinejad “Losing” Election, Mousavi Claims Victory (Developing Story)
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has lost the presidential election, his challenger said, a development that was expected to be welcomed by Christians seeking more religious rights and the United States, where President Barack Obama seeks new relations with the strict Islamic nation.
BREAKING NEWS: Burma Army Attacks Christian Orphanage; Many Flee
A Christian-run orphanage in Burma near the border with Thailand has been attacked by the Burmese army, amid a fresh crackdown on the predominantly Christian Karen people in the area, officials and children told Worthy News Friday, June 5.