(Evangelical Focus) — Pro-Russian rebels seized parts of Ukraine’s Luhansk Region in March 2014 and the following month proclaimed what they called the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), which currently controls about a third of the region. The unrecognized LPR has banned worship in all Protestant churches and … courts punish individuals who lead worship meetings in […]
(Church in Chains) — The six students and two staff members kidnapped from a Christian-run school in Kaduna State on Oct. 3 were released on Saturday Oct. 26. Police did not say if a ransom was paid, but sources told Nigerian newspapers that a ransom of 13.6 million Naira (approximately €33,750) had been paid. The […]
HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – Police in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state have put several house churches under surveillance in order to stop worship, in violation of the country’s secular constitution, sources said. Police have told congregations to stop worship in homes in Anuperpalayem, Velampalayem, Kangeyam and several other villages in Tiruppur District, Vijaya Kumar of […]
(Bitter Winter) — In July, the government of a town under the jurisdiction of Huadian city in the northeastern province of Jilin sent out orders to administrations of each village under its authority to investigate and ascertain if there are any South Koreans in local Christian groups. “This investigation targets Christians, aimed at ensuring that […]
(ChinaAid) — A United Nations group has urged China to release North Carolina Pastor John Cao. The group, the United Nation’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), has released this statement. In it, the group has said it raised the issue of Cao’s arrest to the Chinese government earlier this year. The piece went on […]
Iran (Church in Chains) — Ebrahim Firouzi, 33, was released from Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj on Saturday, near the end of a five-year sentence. He had also spent time in prison previously on charges relating to his Christian activities. Ebrahim must now serve two years’ internal exile in the remote southeastern town of Sarbaz […]
(Christian Solidarity Worldwide) — CSW welcomes a ruling by Sudan’s Court of Appeal for land belonging to the Baptist Church, which has been confiscated by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), to be returned. In 2012, NISS seized the land in Khartoum Bahri, preventing the Baptist Church from using it for any purpose. The […]
(International Christian Concern) – Pastor Bryan Nerren, a Christian pastor from Tennessee, has been arrested and detained in India after being accused of violating the country’s Foreign Exchange Management Act. According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Pastor Nerren and two other pastors from Tennessee arrived in India on October 5 to […]
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – A pastor in western India suffered severe injuries to his head and back on Tuesday (Oct. 22) after Hindu extremists beat him unconscious for visiting a Christian in a neighboring village, sources said. The eight assailants left pastor Ramesh Pargi in a pool of blood after surrounding and assaulting […]
(International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on October 22, Gou Zhongcan from Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) in Sichuan was released and returned home to Bazhou city. Gou was detained in March and spent the last seven months in prison. Gou is currently recovering since his vision deteriorated in prison. […]