(Mission Network News) — Only a few weeks ago, Iran was in the news as a hotspot for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, now that the pandemic has touched almost every corner of the world, Iran has mostly fallen out of headlines. But according to David Curry of Open Doors USA, there’s still plenty to […]
(Church in Chains) — The appeal hearing for Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, his wife Shamiram Issavi Khabizeh and three Christian friends, scheduled for June 1, has been canceled, with no new date set. Each of the five Christians has been sentenced to at least ten years in prison because of their house-church activities, and their appeal […]
Malaysia (International Christian Concern) – The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will resume the public inquiry into the disappearance of Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his Indonesian wife Ruth, who were last seen in November 2016, once the conditional movement control order (CMCO) is lifted. According to Suhakam Commissioner Jerald Joseph, they would first wait […]
(Barnabas Aid) — Christians were among those targeted and killed when armed jihadists launched three separate attacks within 24 hours in Burkina Faso that left at least 58 dead. … A Barnabas contact reported that it was clear from the testimony of a survivor that the militants were targeting Christians and humanitarians taking food to […]
South Korea (Mission Network News) — Gospel workers in South Korea woke up this morning to a test: would they obey God or man? Last night, “The police contacted us because they know we’re going out for the rice bottle launch,” Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO Pastor Eric Foley says. “They’ve said that all […]
WASHINGTON — President Trump issued an executive order on Tuesday directing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator John Barsa to develop a plan to prioritize religious freedom in U.S. foreign policy and in foreign assistance funding. “Religious freedom, America’s first freedom, is a moral and national security […]
JOS, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – A Christian in north-central Nigeria who led a team of civilians that apprehended Muslim Fulani herdsmen after they allegedly killed five Christians on Thursday night was blunt about their motives. “These Muslim Fulani herdsmen have been attacking our communities because we are Christians,” Ibrahim Agu Iliya told Morning Star News. “Their […]
(Article18) — Four Iranian Christian converts have been summoned to begin their five-year jail sentences for leading house-churches, for which they were convicted of “acting against national security.” Hossein Kadivar, Khalil Dehghanpour, Kamal Naamanian and Mohammed Vafadar were summoned on May 28 and told they must submit themselves at Tehran’s Evin Prison by June 2. […]
Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – On May 9, Fulani militants kidnapped a pastor named Reuben Danbala, a cross-cultural missionary in southern Kaduna state. The militants are demanding that he converts to Islam or pays a ransom of 2 million naira (US$5,144) before he is released. Pastor Danbala was abducted from his office at Global Glorious […]
(International Christian Concern) – On May 27, a member from Chengdu’s Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) was forcibly kicked out by his landlord and the police after they removed his belongings from his rented apartment. Hao Gui Ru and Cheng Xiangxi, both from ERCC, signed a lease with their current landlord on Nov. 14 […]