Ukraine Helicopters Strike Rebel-Held Airport
Ukrainian government helicopters have launched an unprecedented airstrike against pro-Russian rebels who seized an airport terminal in the eastern city of Donetsk, with reports of civilian casualties.
War
Leader of Sinai jihadist group which fired rockets on Eilat killed in Egypt
Shadi al-Menei, the head of a Sinai Peninsula Islamist militant group, was shot dead on Friday by unknown assailants, security sources said, days before Egypt holds elections to vote for a new president.
House passes curbs on NSA phone surveillance
In an overwhelming vote, the House moved the U.S. closer to ending the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records Thursday, the most significant demonstration to date of leaker Edward Snowden’s impact on the debate over privacy versus security.
Syria: Maaloula’s Christian Sites Sacked By Rebels
An official report by the Directorate General of Antiquities has documented the destruction inflicted on Maaloula and its historical sites by Islamist rebel fighters after pro-Assad forces had regained the Syrian city, according to International Christian Concern.
Homes of Christians Fleeing Iraq Seized by Gangs
Gangs in Baghdad are seizing homes left vacant by Christian families who have been forced to flee from sectarian violence, according to Barnabas Aid.
Abedini: God has chosen us for this ordeal
The wife of an American pastor serving eight years in Iran for his Christian faith said God had chosen their family for this ordeal to reach people in despair.
Syrian Islamists Kill 80 Christians, Displace Thousands More
Eighty Christians were killed and thousands more displaced after Islamic militants attacked the strategic Syrian town of Kessab near the Turkish border on March 21, according to Barnabas Aid.
Call to Protect Syria’s Christians
The World Evangelical Alliance has called for the protection of Syria’s Christian population ahead of the upcoming peace conference in Geneva, according to International Christian Concern.
Charges Dropped, but Pastor Remains in Prison
Although charges of “propagating extremism” leveled against a 67-year-old Presbyterian pastor were dropped Wednesday by a court in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana, the minister still remains in prison, according to International Christian Concern.
Pastor’s transfer to Iran’s Rajai Shahr Prison a “Death Sentence”
International Christian Concern has just learned of the abrupt transfer of American Pastor Saeed Abedini from Iran’s Evin Prison to a single cell with five death row inmates in Rajai Shahr Prison.
Iran decries plans for synagogue in Temple Mount
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sunday decried an Israeli plan to build a synagogue near the Al-Aqsa Mosque and called on the international community to prevent any further desecration of the Temple Mount, according to the Tehran Times.
Jews arrested for praying on Temple Mount
About a dozen Jewish men were removed by police while touring the Temple Mount after praying and singing Monday, according to The Jewish Daily Forward.
Pastor Kashkumbayev Mistreated by Kazakhstan Gov’t
After his arrest in May, International Christian Concern reported that Pastor Bakhytzhat Kashkumbayev has been severely mistreated by the Kazakhstan government while it continues to hide his whereabouts.
Syria: Christian village now a ‘ghost town’
Homes have been vandalized and plundered while the bodies of Christians lie along the roads of a small Christian village north of Damascus after it was invaded by Islamist insurgents last Thursday.
More Christian Clergy Missing in Syria
Last week’s disappearance of an Italian Jesuit priest in Syria suggested foul play following the kidnappings of two other clergy in April, according to Morning Star News.
Eritrea Punishes Christians for their Faith
Eritrean authorities are punishing 39 Christian high school students by subjecting them to beatings and hard labor, according to Open Doors.
Iran Releases Pastor Of Largest Pentecostal Church; Congregation Remains Closed
The pastor of Iran’s largest Persian speaking Pentecostal church has been “conditionally released” from prison but his congregation in the capital Tehran remains closed, Iranian Christians told Worthy News.
Syria Militants Behead Catholic Priest And Two Others
A Catholic priest has been publicly beheaded by suspected Islamic militants in northern Syria after accusations of collaborating with President Bashar Assad’s government, Worthy News established Tuesday, July 2.
Iraq Christians Fear More Violence After Church Attacks, Killings
Minority Christians in Iraq feared more violence Saturday, June 29, after several Assyrian Christian shops and one church were attacked, killing two people and injuring a dozen others, church representatives said.
Four Iranian Converts Convicted of Christianity
While the world’s attention was focused on Iran’s presidential election, four converts to Christianity were found guilty by an Iranian court of no longer being Muslims.