China (International Christian Concern) – Two heavily targeted house churches in Beijing and Taiyuan are relieved as their members were released this week after detention. On Aug. 18, Zong Fang Fang from Beijing Zion Church was released after being detained for three days. Pastor Yang Jun, who was also detained on the same day as […]
(The Christian Institute) — An essay on the website of Shakespeare’s Globe arts venue suggesting Elizabeth I was “non-binary” has triggered a huge backlash. People took to social media in their droves to challenge the view, promoted by transgender activist Kit Heyam, that the monarch was “gender nonconforming.” The self-proclaimed “trans awareness trainer” made the […]
(Barnabas Aid) — Indian Christians have launched a formal challenge against the “anti-conversion” law in Karnataka. An appeal (known as a petition) against the law was filed with the Karnataka High Court jointly by two Christian organizations. The court issued notice to the state government of Karnataka on July 22, requiring the government to respond […]
BANGLADESH (Open Doors USA) — What do you do when the only church in your village is burned to the ground? This is the question a group of believers in Bangladesh is now asking. Believers are relatively few in Chattagram Hill Tracts, the southeastern part of Bangladesh. The population is dominated by indigenous peoples, with […]
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea (ChinaAid) — In the last several months, options dwindled for the Mayflower Church and Pastor Yonggang. The South Korean government refused to grant them asylum due to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence. Church members sought resettlement options, and American partners visited the Chinese church to protect them from potential kidnapping. […]
Afghanistan (Mission Network News) — Last August, all eyes were on Kabul as the United States rushed to leave Afghanistan. The withdrawal remains a black mark on U.S. President Joe Biden’s foreign policy record. Biden’s administration defends the decision, while opponents call for accountability and accuse the president of breaking promises to Afghan allies. Shahnaz*, […]
(The Christian Institute) — Distraught parents in the Australian state of Victoria fear prosecution if they do not encourage their children’s gender confusion. Six months after the state’s conversion therapy ban came into effect, parents say they feel powerless to step in while their children are subjected to radical transgender ideology encouraged by elected officials. […]
Haiti (Mission Network News) — Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, has descended into war. Gangs control the port, along with several neighborhoods. Police cautiously travel the streets in armored vehicles. In one neighborhood, ten days of violence left 470 people dead, injured, or missing. Many Haitians have desperately fled to the Florida Keys. The U.S. […]
GERMANY (The Christian Institute) — Children as young as 14 will be allowed to change their first name and legal sex through self-declaration in Germany. The German government’s proposed Self-Determination Act would remove the current requirements of two doctors’ reports and a court order. Minors between the ages of 14 and 18 will require approval […]
Indonesia (International Christian Concern) – On Aug. 11, state prosecutors held a hearing in South Jakarta where they demanded a one-year extension of a jailed policeman’s sentence. The policeman, Napoleon Bonaparte, was convicted of bribery in March of last year. In August of that year, the former inspector general reportedly broke into a fellow inmate’s […]