Hindu nationalists carried out another attack on Christians in southern India on January 31, International Christian Concern reports. Six of the twenty-eight Christians who were injured in the attack in the Ramnagara District of Karnataka required hospital treatment.
The US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled Tuesday that Indiana’s Jackson County courthouse is not violating the constitution by displaying a nativity scene at Christmas, the Hill reports. The 7th Circuit decision reversed last year’s District Court ruling that the display apparently endorses Christianity and has no secular purpose.
The Open Doors persecution watchdog has published its 2021 list of countries where it is most dangerous for Christians to practice their faith, Christianity Today reports. Published this month, the list is based on grassroots reports from Open Door workers between November 1, 2019, and October 31, 2020.
Pakistan said Wednesday that it had successfully test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile into the Arabian Sea, aimed at “revalidating” the weapon’s operational and technical parameters.
The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) has reported that, even in the midst of coronavirus lockdowns affecting the whole country for months, there were over 300 incidents of religious persecution against Christians in India last year, International Christian Concern said. In its report, EFI noted that Christian persecution has more than doubled since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and his right-wing nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.
A Hindu nationalist leader in India’s Madhya Pradesh state has demanded that local authorities shut down all churches in the state’s tribal areas, falsely claiming that Christians are carrying out mass conversions on “gullible indigenous peoples,” International Christian Concern reports. Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Azad Prem Singh threatened violent action if his January 11 demand is not met within 30 days.
European powers urged Iran to observe a nuclear deal after the Islamic nation test-fired long-range missiles and planned uranium metal production.
The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has charged and jailed its first Christians under a new anti-conversion law, International Christian Concern reports. A Korean Christian and three Indian nationals in the Gautam Buddh Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh were arrested under the new Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance on December 19, 2020.
Sen. Ted Cruz is leading a delegation of Republican senators who are planning to challenge the Electoral College certification and demand an emergency audit.
A new report forecasts that Christians in India will be subject to increased persecution in 2021, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday pardoned 15 people, but he did not extend amnesty to death row people.
Israel established full diplomatic relations with Bhutan for the first time on Saturday night.
A significant leak shows that at least nearly two million Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members work worldwide, including US government agencies and the biggest companies, Australian media reported Sunday.
A pastor in northeast India has been rescued after a gang of radical Hindus locked him in a room and left him to die because he was distributing Gospel tracts, Morning Star News reports. Pastor Shelton Vishwanathan was accosted by six men who knocked him unconscious and imprisoned him in a room in Bihar state’s Sheohar District on October 5.
The United States added Nigeria to a blacklist of countries that violate religious liberties Monday, DW reports. Joining Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and China, Nigeria is now listed as a country “of concern” “under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.”
Twenty-one Christians were taken to hospital after a large gang of tribal animists attacked a church hall and adjoining home in Chhattisgarh state, India last week, Morning Star News reports. The attackers accused the believers of influencing and converting people to Christianity. Several Christian families have gone into hiding since the attack.
A major congressional report has concluded that China is fast expanding its military such that in the next 10 years it will be capable of prosecuting wars in distant countries around the world, the Washington Times reports. In its annual report published Tuesday, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission concluded that the Chinese government is working to turn the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) into “a global expeditionary force in a matter of decades.”
A high court in India has ordered the district administration of Kondagaon to facilitate the safe return of Christians who were displaced from their villages by radical Hindu nationalists in Chhattisgarh state, Assist News reports. The order was issued by Bilaspur High Court on November 8.
Americans United for Life has reported that 13 states passed 19 pro-life laws in 2020, Lifesite News said Tuesday. Some of the new legislation includes provisions that require abortion providers to give women accurate information before they consent to terminate their pregnancy.
Authorities in Afghanistan said Tuesday an intelligence-led security operation had killed a key al-Qaida leader in a western region close to the Iranian border.