A federation of Indian American Christian groups says it documented at least 761 incidents of violence against Christians, including lynching and armed assaults last year. It is recommended that the U.S. and European governments impose sanctions on officials who promote violence and exclusion of religious minorities.
An Indonesian Christian YouTuber has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for posting a video that purportedly offended people across the Muslim-majority country.
Five Chinese Christians from a house church in Shanxi Province, who were sentenced to prison for “illegally crossing the national border” after attending a Christian conference in Malaysia where Pastors Tim Keller and D.A. Carson were speakers, have been released, according to a report.
Myanmar’s military has destroyed at least 47 churches and more than a dozen affiliated buildings in its attacks in the predominantly Christian states of Chin and Kayah since it staged a coup last February, human rights groups have said.
As more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, evangelist Franklin Graham is urging Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to agree on a ceasefire during the 10 days of Easter observances.
International Christian relief groups Samaritans’ Purse and World Help are standing alongside the Ukrainian Church to provide aid to victims as Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine enters into the third day Saturday with Russian troops storming toward Ukraine’s capital.
The Taliban controlled-government of Afghanistan is holding at least nine foreign nationals in custody, including one United States citizen, according to various reports.
Tsunami waves crashed across the shore of the Pacific nation of Tonga after the eruption of a huge undersea volcano Saturday, causing “significant” damage in the capital city of Nuku’alofa and bringing the entire U.S. West coast under a tsunami advisory.
A security agency in Nigeria has ordered a prominent Catholic bishop to appear for questioning over his remarks that the country’s government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, has failed to check kidnappings and persecution of Christians, according to media reports.
Islamic extremists are gaining ground in Africa’s Sahel region and Afghanistan, which are set to become hotspots for Christian persecution in 2022, religious freedom charity Release International warns in a report, which says India and North Korea are also “countries of growing concern.”
A magistrate’s court in central England has thrown out a case against a female Christian pastor whom police had fined $21,000 for holding a church gathering for the homeless in a car park during the CVID-19 lockdown.
A Maryland appeals court has rejected a challenge brought by 37 churches against the United Methodist Church’s Baltimore-Washington Conference over property and financial requirements connected to leaving the denomination. A three-judge panel of the Appellate Court of Maryland unanimously ruled in 'The Methodist Church of Cape St. Claire et al. v. The Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc., et al.'
U.S. Protestant pastors are delivering somewhat longer sermons than they did several years ago, while most churchgoers remain generally satisfied with the amount of time their pastors spend preaching, according to Lifeway Research. Four in five pastors, or 80%, said their typical sermon lasts less than 40 minutes. About half, or 52%, said they usually preach for under 30 minutes, while 28% reported messages lasting between 30 and 40 minutes.
Christian artists gathered at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the 57th annual GMA Dove Awards, held under the theme “Together For One,” drawn from Colossians 3:14. The event brought together artists from worship, gospel, contemporary Christian, country and other genres, celebrating both their musical achievements and the Christian faith at the heart of the ceremony.
Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, who spent nearly nine months imprisoned in China before being released to the United States in July, is set to receive a human rights award marking one year since his arrest. Jin said he intends to use the recognition to keep drawing attention to eight leaders of Beijing Zion Church who remain in detention.
A Canadian woman in her 70s received approval for assisted suicide after becoming unable to cook for her family and feeling that she no longer had value, according to two Toronto psychiatrists who say Canada’s MAiD system has expanded too far. University of Toronto psychiatry professors Madeline Li and Gary Rodin described the case in a New York Times op-ed published Monday while warning about the direction of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying program.