RIO DE JANEIRO (RNS) As Brazil counts down to the opening of the World Cup on June 12, churches in cities hosting the international soccer tournament are not content to sit on the sidelines and cheer. They’ve launched a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the hundreds of vulnerable children at risk of sexual exploitation […]
BELFAST, Northern Ireland – A 75-year-old Irish preacher was subjected to a police probe after he condemned Islam in a sermon and was accused of ‘hate mongering.’ James McConnell, pastor of the Whitewell Metropolitan Church in North Belfast, Ireland, discussed the religion of Islam during an evening sermon on Sunday, May 18th. During the sermon, […]
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — In the days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, al-Qaida became a household name. But today, other extremist Islamist groups, many in Africa, are vying for headlines. Recently, the group Boko Haram gained international infamy after it abducted more than 250 schoolgirls. Since 2009, Christians in northern Nigeria have borne the […]
A mother whose daughter survived an abortion says she will “always regret” taking abortive drugs to end her baby’s life. Shannon Skinner, 20, followed medical advice to abort her unborn child after complications with her first baby, but baby Amelia survived and is now four weeks old. Skinner says she told herself “it wasn’t a […]
CHIBOK, Nigeria — The Nigerian military has announced that it has located the hundreds of schoolgirls that were kidnapped in April by Islamic militants, but is considering its rescue strategy carefully out of fears that the use of force could place the teens in danger. As previously reported, the notorious Muslim group Boko Haram had stormed an […]
KHARTOUM, Sudan – A Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death by hanging for refusing to convert to Islam has given birth in prison, reports state. As previously reported, Meriam Ibrahim, 27, was officially sentenced on May 15th after she was convicted of apostasy against Islam for professing to be an Orthodox Christian. Ibrahim was born to […]
SYDNEY — A woman who refused to abort her conjoined twins, diagnosed with a rare condition in which they share the same head, has given birth. As previously reported, Renee Young and Simon Howie have seven children, and were excited about their new pregnancy when they were informed in January that their unborn baby, a girl, […]
Authorities in China’s coastal Zhejiang province ordered Wenzhou-area house churches to stop gathering on Sunday. Meanwhile, more than 10 additional church buildings have been demolished or had their cross demolished. Local Christians also told China Aid that pastors in the area have been threatened with financial measures should they attempt to defend their church’s building. […]
An American pastor incarcerated in Iran was recently beaten at a local hospital and returned to prison, according to reports. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) issued an update on Tuesday that the family members of Saeed Abedini confirmed that the pastor had been “severely beaten” at an Iranian hospital and “forcibly returned […]
Iranian-born Muslims who converted to Christianity are breathing new spiritual life into communities across Germany, where they are fleeing to in increasing numbers to escape persecution back home. Men and women, who have been sentenced to the lash or worse for apostasy – converting from Islam – are forming a thriving community of Christian ex-pats […]