Judge blocks Ohio law requiring burial or cremation of aborted babies
A judge in Ohio has temporarily blocked the enforcement of a state law requiring abortion clinics to give a proper burial or cremation to aborted fetal remains.
Christian
Somaliland Christians Face Jail After Leaving Islam
Authorities in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland seek long prison terms for at least six people who converted from Islam to Christianity, Worthy News established Thursday.
Nigeria: Pastor found dead after being abducted; ‘please pray for grieving family and all believers in danger’
A few days after being kidnapped by gunmen in Ondo state, Nigeria, fifty year-old Pastor Frederick Ojo Aramuwa was found dead in the bush near his hometown of Ifira, International Christian Concern reported Wednesday. Pastor Aramuwa was killed even though his family paid his captors $5,000 in ransom.
Malaysian government urged to release report on disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh
The Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED) organization is calling on the Malaysian government to release the results of a public inquiry into the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh, who was abducted in broad daylight in February 2017, International Christian Concern reports. It is believed the pastor was disappeared for involvement in matters against Islam.
California colleges required to give training on gender identity and sexuality
In compliance with a recent state law, Christian colleges in California are now giving employer training on gender identity and sexuality that may not reflect the Biblical perspective on these issues, Just the News reports.
Kidnapped Christian Girl Forced To Marry, Convert in Pakistan
A Christian girl abducted in Pakistan more than six weeks ago was forcefully converted to Islam and married to her kidnapper, Christian activists told Worthy News.
Vietnam Urged To Free Jailed Pastor and Rights Activists
Christian rights activists and other advocates urged Vietnam Tuesday to release four prisoners of conscience in Vietnam, including pastors, amid concerns about their health.
India persecution: Gujarat passes anti-conversion law
Gujarat has become the latest Indian state to pass anti-conversion legislation which primarily targets Christians and Muslims accused of forcing poor Hindus to convert to their respective faiths, International Christian Concern reports. Gujarat is currently led by the Hindu nationalist party Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP), which is also India’s governing power.
Federal Court: University in Michigan violated rights of Christian student group
A federal court ruled Monday that Michigan’s Wayne State University (WSU) officials violated the constitutional rights of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship student club in 2017: the officials revoked InterVarsity’s registered status saying it was “discriminatory” for the group to require its leaders to be Christian. The lawsuit was filed against the university’s board of governors, board members, and administrators.
China reported to brainwash Christians held in “transformation” centers
Reports emerged last week that China is working to brainwash its Christian citizens by imprisoning them in mobile “transformation facilities,” Fox News reported. The reports came through Radio Free Asia, which has published accounts of abuse told by a man given the name Li Yuese to protect his identity.
Increased Christian persecution in Ethiopia
While Christians in Ethiopia were already subject to persecution, they have seen intensified attacks against them amid the extreme violence of the current conflict between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), International Christian Concern reports.
UK court: Franklin Graham festival was discriminated against by local authorities
A British court has ruled that the 2018 UK Lancashire Festival of Hope featuring Franklin Graham was subject to discrimination by local authorities which removed festival bus advertisements reading only “Time for Hope,” Assist News reports. The Blackpool Borough Council and Blackpool Transport Services were found to have violated the UK’s Equality Act 2010 by discriminating against the Festival specifically because of Graham’s religious views on homosexuality.
Canada pastor ejects COVID-19 health inspectors
Pastor Artur Pawlowski of the Cave of Adullam Church in Alberta, Canada has been filmed ejecting coronavirus health inspectors and police who arrived at his church during a Passover service Saturday.
LGBT coalition files class action to end discrimination in federal-funded religious institutions
Thirty-three current and former LGBT students of federal-funded religious colleges have filed a class action suit asking an Oregon District Court to rule that the religious exemption to Title IX as applied to ‘sexual and gender minority students is unconstitutional. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that protects students in federal-funded education programs from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Algerian Christian becomes suicidal following persecution and imprisonment
Algerian Christian Slimane Bouhafs has struggled with suicidal thoughts after being imprisoned for violating Algeria’s blasphemy laws and then being further persecuted for his faith upon seeking refuge in Tunisia, Morning Star News reports. Algeria ranked 24th and Tunisia ranked 26th on the Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
Increased persecution in India; Christians attacked by Tribal Animists
Rights groups report that Christian persecution in India has worsened since Hindu nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. Whereas in 2013 India ranked 31st on the Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of countries where Christians are persecuted, it now ranks 10th.
Abducted Church Worker Rescued From India Brothel
The wife of an evangelical pastor in eastern India has been freed after she was abducted, sold, and locked up in a brothel for nearly a month, Worthy News learned Monday.
Wycliffe Associates Providing Satellite Internet Connections and Technology that Helps Protect and Accelerate Translation Efforts
Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Bible translation, is helping protect and advance the work of church-owned Bible translation by providing its translators with crucial technology.
Floods Hit Indonesia’s Christian-Majority Island; Dozens Killed
Easter celebrations on Indonesia’s only Christian-majority island were overshadowed by flash floods that killed scores of people and displaced thousands, officials and Christians said.
Scores Die In Taiwan Train Disaster
Scores of people died Friday in Taiwan’s worst rail disaster in four decades as a passenger train smashed into a truck on its tracks and partially derailed.