09.02.2023

China: This Week: Zhang Zhan hospitalized

Sadly, ChinaAid's media team reported on the hospitalization of citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who is currently serving a prison sentence for reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.

Christians Object to Injustices following Attacks in Pakistan

Police arrest Christians as chief claims ‘foreign conspiracy.’

Nigeria: Please continue to pray for the return of the Du Merci children

Similarly, as we press on in prayer for the return of the Du Merci children in Nigeria, we remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness in the case so far. 

North Korean Christians report acts of healing

North Koreans know they can’t rely on their government to help them.

Forced Conversion/Marriage of Minority Girls Targeted in Pakistan

Supreme Court orders government to respond to complaint.

August Update, incl. India, Pakistan, Iraq, Nicaragua

Christian blood flows freely and frequently in the DRC

Terror plagues a majority-Christian nation in central Africa, and it goes by a three-letter name: ADF.

USCIRF Releases New Report on Religious Freedom and Women’s Rights in Afghanistan

Religious Freedom and Women’s Rights in Afghanistan – This report highlights the deterioration of religious freedom conditions in Afghanistan in the two years since the Taliban takeover of the country. 

How Afghan women fare two years after U.S. troop withdrawal

On this day two years ago, the United States ended its sloppy withdrawal from Afghanistan.

USCIRF News Digest - August 29, 2023

Terrorists Kidnap Two Christians, Kill Baptist Pastor in Nigeria

Kaduna state remains a hotbed of violence.

Humanitarian Crisis Lingers for Armenian Christians

With many conflicts globally, most prominently the Russian war on Ukraine, there has been little attention given to the present plight of Armenian Christians living in a disputed region referred to as the Republic of Artsakh. 

Mob Damages Church Building in Indonesia

The Pentecostal Missionary Church in Kabil Village, Indonesia, was recently destroyed by a radical mob that was protesting its construction in a majority-Muslim area.

Perpetrators in Nigeria Still at Bay, Arrests Rare

International Christian Concern (ICC) reported earlier this month on the brutal attack in Nigeria that left 21 Christians dead. 

Terrorists Kill Two, Burn Down Church and Ten Homes in Kenya

Suspected al-Shabaab terrorists killed two people in Kenya on Tuesday and burned down ten homes and a church.

USCIRF Releases New Report on Eritrea's Religious Freedom Violations

Eritrea Country Update – This report provides an overview of religious freedom conditions in Eritrea and highlights recent developments.

Protestors in Syria shut down ruling political party’s building

For over a week now, hundreds of protestors have taken over the streets in a southern Syrian province. 

Pakistani police blame “enemy” for August 16 violence

Pakistani police blame an unnamed “enemy” country for recent violence against Christians but offer no further details.

BELARUS: Is regime planning to liquidate New Life Church?

After the regime seized and later demolished its church, banned its website
and, on 23 August, a Minsk court declared two of its internet postings from
nearly three years ago "extremist", Minsk's New Life Pentecostal Church
faces an unclear future, a church member said.

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing:  Vietnam: Challenges and Opportunities for Religious Freedom

Despite improvements in both the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relationship and religious freedom conditions in Vietnam over the past decade, USCIRF has reported an increase in incidences of forced renunciation of faith and the intimidation, detention, and imprisonment of faith activists and leaders. 

War, hunger threaten to destroy Sudan

War and hunger threaten to destroy Sudan, the United Nations warns.