Israel Group Campaigns Against Messianic Jews, Missionaries
A hard-line Jewish ultra-Orthodox group in Israel has launched a campaign against Christian missionaries and Jewish Christians, known as Messianic Jews, who they view as a security threat.
Russia
Uzbek Christians Suffer as Regime Tightens Noose
At least four incidents of Christian persecution were reported from the former Soviet country of Uzbekistan this week. According to an analysis and report researched and written by Fernando Perez for the World Evangelical Alliance – Religious Liberty Commission, a Christian woman was beaten into concussion, another woman was fined $1,465 by a court for giving the New Testament to a child, a Christian man was threatened with axe attack by a police official and another man was assaulted by police.
Russia’s Missionaries Worried As Suicide Blast Rocks Moscow Airport
Christian missionaries in Russia expressed concerns Monday, January 24, about the future of the country after an explosion ripped through the international section of Moscow’s busiest airport, killing at least 31 people and wounding about 130 others.
Russia Sits Under Potential Radiation Cloud
Fires in Russia have scorched forests contaminated with radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, but it was unclear how dangerous the toxic smog might be according to Russian officials, Worthy News monitored on August 12.
BREAKING NEWS: Pentecostal Pastor Shot Dead In Dagestan
The pastor of the largest Pentecostal church in Russia’s violent, mainly Muslim republic of Dagestan, has died after being shot in the head, in an apparent bid to intimidate converts from Islam, Christian rights activists and police said Friday, July 16.
BREAKING NEWS: Kyrgyzstan Christians Receiving Death Threats As Ethnic Violence Kills 190
Kyrgyz Christians were risking their lives Thursday, June 17, to help and shelter Uzbek believers in southern Kyrgystan, where ethnic clashes killed at least 190 people, injured 1,800 others and uprooted some 400,000 residents, Christian aid workers said.
BREAKING NEWS: Poland Mourns President Killed In Plane Crash (Update)
Poles have begun mourning their president Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria who were among those killed in a plane crash in Western Russia.
BREAKING NEWS: Polish President Dies In Plane Crash (Update)
Poland’s president Lech Kaczynski has died along with all other 95 people on board an air plane that crashed in Western Russia, Polish and Russian officials confirmed Saturday, April 10.
Georgia Panics After Fake Report About Russian Invasion
The opposition in Georgia has condemned a fake television report about the invasion of the former Soviet Republic by forces from neighboring Russia. Georgia President Mikheil Saakhasvili has defended the report, following widespread panic caused by the broadcast.
NEWS WATCH: Ukraine’s Prime Minister Challenges Election Results
Ukrainian election officials say they will not consider Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s complaints of presidential election fraud. Results show opposition leader Victor Yanukovich defeated Tymoshenko by 3.5 percentage points in the February 7 runoff election.
BREAKING NEWS: North Korea Releases American Missionary
Amid international pressure, North Korea released an American missionary Saturday, February 6, and sent him to China after holding him for more than a month, officials confirmed.
NEWS WATCH: Lithuania Shuts Down Its Only Nuclear Power Plant
Lithuania has closed down its Soviet-built nuclear power plant as part of an agreement with the European Union, ushering in a new era of energy uncertainty for the country.
Nobel Prize Winner Wiesel Concerned About Hungarian Extremism
Nobel Peace Prize winner, author and activist Elie Wiesel has urged Hungary to consider banning Holocaust denials to improve its image abroad and has expressed concern about growing extremist parties in the country and Europe.
NEWS WATCH: US VP Warns Europe of Missile Threats
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has called on America’s European allies to step-up their defense efforts, saying they the face growing security threats from outside Europe.
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.
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.
Int’l Journalists Federation Condemns Murder Russian Rights Activist
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Thursday, July 16, “strongly condemned” the murder of Natalya Estemirova, a prominent journalist and human rights activist who was found dead in Ingushetia, following her kidnapping the previous day at her home in Grozny, the Chechen capital.
Russian President Shows “New World Currency” At G-8 Summit
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for a new global currency to replace the dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency.
Over Thousand Muslim Clerics Watch Gospel Film In Syria (Investigation)
A film about the life of the biblical Apostle Paul, which “clearly reflects the Gospel,” has been watched in Syria by over a thousand Muslim clerics and politicians, including a government minister, organizers said.
Bulgaria To Appeal European Court Ruling In Orthodox Row
Bulgaria’s government is planning to appeal a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which found Bulgaria guilty of violating religious rights of over 100 Bulgarian Orthodox priests, bishops and lay-workers, who were violently thrown out of their churches, Worthy News learned Monday, March 23.