PAKISTAN – Earlier this month officials in Abbottabad closed six unregistered house churches within the district for security reasons. It had not been clear what those security issues were. Meetings between officials and members of the All Pastor Association Abbottabad have clarified the security issues. As a further result, officials agreed to re-open the churches…
PAKISTAN – Earlier this month officials in Abbottabad closed six unregistered house churches within the district for security reasons. Abbottabad is located about 75 miles north of Islamabad, the district captured the attention of Americans when it was discovered that Osama bin Laden had been residing there. The district is home to the Pakistan Military…
Police in the aftermath of the attack. (Source: BBC, EPA) CAIRO (MENAFN – Jordan Times) – Egypt will extend its nationwide state of emergency for three months from January 13th to help tackle ‘the dangers and funding of terrorism,’ state news agency MENA said on Tuesday. Egypt first imposed the current state of emergency last…
News from the nation’s capital has Americans attuned to the battles between Republican and Democrats and liberals and conservatives over immigration, tax reform, healthcare, and government spending. Regardless of the subject at hand, until the recent passage of the tax reform bill, issues that many believe should be of major importance to America and the…
Hyderabad, India – When Jesus told his disciples that the gates of Hell would not prevail against the church, He didn’t say that the church would never come under attack. The concept of prevailing implies attack. Christianity has been under attack for 2,000 years. There is no indication, from the Bible or from current events,…
Photo by aflaanta std In March, there was an attack on a boat holding Somali refugees. At least 46 people were killed and 39 were injured. CNN reported, “At least 42 people died and 39 were injured in the Friday incident, the United Nations’ refugee agency said. Some 160 people reportedly were on board, according…
Photo by Firdaus Latif Pope Francis traveled to visit the Rohingya in Myanmar to see the conditions they live in. There he prayed for them and condemned the violence against them. Per CNN, “Pope Francis prayed for Rohingya refugees during a general audience on Wednesday, decrying violence against them ‘simply because they uphold their Muslim…
Photo by Yaroh Dauda In May, 82 of the Chibok girls that were kidnapped by Boko Haram were released by their kidnappers. Per CNN, “Eighty-two Chibok schoolgirls have been released after negotiations between the terrorist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government, the President’s office said.” One father was skeptical of the news of their…
Photo by Firdaus Latif The children of the Rohingya are disappearing off the street. The Rohingya are one of the most oppressed people, who have no homeland. Voice of America reports, “A spate of disappearances among the children of displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh is raising fears the children have been abducted into the region’s human…
SA 3.0 Kim Jong Un sends laborers into countries such as Russia to work and make a profit for the government. Per Fox News, “Brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is shipping tens of thousands of impoverished citizens to Russia for the hard currency his cash-strapped regime desperately needs, Fox News has found.” The…
Photo by currybet Recently, it was uncovered that Qatar, a Middle Eastern country, has ties to Hamas. Hamas is a Palestinian terrorist group, which seeks to eradicate the Israeli state. Qatar provides funding for Hamas. Per CNN, “‘Qatar is quite important for Hamas,’ said H.A. Hellyer, a senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. ‘Qatar…
Photo by Samoano One child named Rosmaida Bibi was born in a Rohingya refugee camp. She is malnourished and hasn’t grown like most children her age do. Per Fox News, “Ever since she was born in this squalid camp for displaced members of Myanmar’s ethnic Rohingya minority, Rosmaida Bibi has struggled to do something most…
Photo by PH1 R. ORIEZ There has been a Civil War raging in Somalia between the Somali military and a terrorist group, known as Al-Shabaab. In June, Al-Shabaab attacked two restaurants in a car bombing and sniper attack. Per Fox News, “Al-Shabab, a Somalia-based extremist group that often targets popular areas in the country’s capital,…
Photo by European Commission DG ECHO Last October, Typhoon Sarika hit Vietnam and the Philippines, causing flooding to the region. It had the strength of a Category 3 hurricane. Accuweather explains, “The powerful typhoon made landfall in Luzon with sustained winds over 180 km/h (112 mph) on Saturday night, local time. This strength is…
Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas Last November, a terrorist in Indonesia bombed a church. This was not the first time he had done terrorist activities. In this case, the terrorist threw a Molotov cocktail at the church. Per Time Magazine, “A man formerly convicted of terrorist offenses has been arrested for allegedly throwing a Molotov…
By Kok Leng Yeo from Singapore Last August, North Korea was flooded. This was due to Typhoon Lionrock hitting the country. Fox News reports, “Typhoon Lionrock, amplified by a low-pressure system in the region, created floods that submerged, severely damaged or destroyed 30,000 homes and displaced 70,000 people.” North Korea tried to get aid, only…
Photo by Christiaan Briggs Iraqi refugees have returned to their homes in the Nineveh region. Yet, what they discovered deeply grieved them. According to Fox News, “There were gasps, followed by tears at a small church in northern Iraq as a group of Christians returned to their parish Sunday to find that everything had been…
Photo by Medina Dauda One of 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram along with their baby returned to Chibok. According to NewsWeek, “One of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by jihadist group Boko Haram from their school in northeast Nigeria’s Chibok in 2014 has been found by soldiers, a Nigerian army spokesman said on…
Image by NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan In early February, there were avalanches in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which killed over 100 people. CNN explains, “At least 156 people have died along the Afghan-Pakistani border after three days of heavy snowfall caused a series of deadly avalanches Sunday.” The deadliest avalanche was in a village on the…
The Rohingya of Myanmar is one of the most persecuted group in the world. They have no home. Per Fox News, “Some 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have lived in Bangladesh for decades after fleeing there from neighboring Myanmar in the face of persecution by its military and majority Buddhists.” Many of the Rohingya are forced into…
Foudeelau China used to be on a one-child policy until 2016, when they realized the population was decreasing, due to the fact most of the population was elderly. Per CNN, “But the low birth rate created a number of serious demographic challenges. Today, China faces a rapidly aging population and a shortage of working-age residents,…
The Myanmar military is cracking down on Myanmar’s minorities, particularly the Rohingya. Many of them flee into Bangladesh. CNN reports, “Authorities in neighboring Bangladesh said dozens of people have attempted to flee across the border in recent days.” Those in Myanmar think that the Rohingya are Bangladesh citizens and as such are there illegally, even…
By Agência Brasil Fotografias The Rio refugee team was the first of its kind in the Olympics. Never before had there been a team of refugees in Olympic history. UNCHR reports, “Hailing the first-ever refugee team as “true Olympians”, UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner Kelly T. Clements has praised its 10 members of for helping to…
In a national vote, Colombians rejected a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army, also known as FARC, which was intended to end 52 years of guerrilla warfare. The referendum’s failure to pass follows four years of negotiations between President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC, which Cuba hosted and facilitated. Colombians rejected…
Introduction Richard Wurmbrand was imprisoned and tortured for 14 long years in a Communist Romanian prison. After his release to the United States, he was the voice of persecuted Christians around the world. Early Life Richard was born in 1909 to a Jewish background family. Richard was a militant atheist who opposed all religions. Despite…
Two Presbyterian pastors are on trial in the Republic of the Sudan on charges of waging war against the state, espionage, and undermining Sudan’s constitutional system. Each faces the death penalty if convicted. Sudan is holding two others, Czech aid worker Petr Jasek and Darfuri human rights activist Abduelmoneim Abdulmawla, on charges…
By Farhan from Karachi, Pakistan – Are they independent – Karachi Jail, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4292206 Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy, has had her appeal before the nation’s supreme court delayed pending a new hearing, after one of the judges recused himself from the case. The Bibi case has…
The migrant camp known as “the Jungle” is being demolished, even as Calais’ mayor warned the refugee crisis is not over. Protestors and police clashed as orange jumpsuit-clad workers tore down makeshift shelters in the camp. But Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart warned this will do little to resolve the refugee problem. “Migrants are continuing to…
In the midst of chaos and destruction caused by ISIS in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, reports of Christian conversion among ISIS fighters are emerging thanks to the distribution of Bibles by Open Doors. One pastor reports about an angry man coming to his door and threatening to behead him. The pastor remembered the words of…
After a wave of gruesome violence that included hacking victims to death, the Bangladesh government has arrested more than 11,000 people. Among those arrested were 150 members of Jama’atul Mujahedin Bangladesh, an Islamist group that the country had previously banned. The targeted victims include Hindus, Christians, Sufi Muslims, activists and foreigners. The group’s actions have…
Myanmar called an annual report issued by the U.S. State Department “sad and regrettable” after being named among the worst human trafficking offenders. Along with Iran, North Korea and Syria, the report cited Myanmar’s negligence to meet “the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking.” Reuters reported that Myanmar’s ranking, which got downgraded from the previous year,…
After an estimated 2,500 refugee drownings in the Mediterranean Sea and scores of immigrants settling in makeshift camps throughout Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced a new plan for her city. “Paris will not stand by and do nothing as the Mediterranean becomes a graveyard of refugees,” Hidalgo said as she announced the establishment…
“Top 10 countries for persecution of Christians: 1. North Korea 2. Iran 3. Saudi Arabia 4. Somalia 5. Maldives 6. Afghanistan 7. Yemen 8. Mauritania 9. Laos 10.Uzbekistan” ~ Open Doors World Watch List 2010 ~
Gunmen raided a retirement center in Yemen on March 4, killing 16, including four nuns from Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. Six unidentified gunmen stormed the facility to commit the atrocity. Pope Francis called the nuns “modern-day martyrs and victims of indifference.” Two nuns were Rwandans, one was Indian, and a fourth was Kenyan. A…
China’s President Xi Jinping has ramped up the persecution of Christian pastors and lay leaders while removing crosses and even destroying church buildings that the state had sanctioned. Pastor Joseph Gu Yuese from the Zhejiang province was leading a 10,000 member state-approved church when the government recently jailed him on embezzlement charges. The pastor had…
More than 70% of all Christians now live in countries where they are experiencing persecution. ~ Barrett and Johnson, World Christian Trends ~
“I have but one passion: It is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.” ― Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf Introduction It was a stormy night on…
