A smouldering civil unrest that has troubled the eastern Indonesian province of Irian Jaya for years threatens once again to harm Christians and others caught in the war between a growing independence movement and the Jakarta government.
In what was seen as an answer to the prayers of thousands of Christians around the world, eight Christian aid workers detained in Afghanistan arrived safely in neighboring Pakistan, Thursday November 15, after more 100 days in captivity.
Last church in Songkorn District targeted for closing, Lao authorities are pressing toward their goal of completely shutting down Christianity in their Communist regime.
Taliban authorities arrested 35 more Afghan aid workers over the weekend, bringing the total to more than 50 Afghans jailed by the strict Islamist regime since early August on suspicion of aiding covert Christian missionary work.
More than 50 foreign staff members of the US based Christian aid organizations International Assistance Mission (IAM) and Serve began leaving Afghanistan Saturday, September 1, after the Islamic Taliban regime closed their offices Friday.
A high rank military official here who spoke on condition of anonymity told ASSIST News Service that American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Bunrham will have a white Christmas as they will have their freedom from their captors before Christmas.
Parents of two American women have seen their daughters for the first time since they and 22 other aid workers were arrested August 5th on charges of spreading Christianity in Islamic Afghanistan. The Bakhtar News Agency (BNA) described the visit as an “emotional reunion” between the mother of Dana Curry, and the father of the other woman, Heather Mercy.
AgapePress) – The underground church in Vietnam is planning to plant some 10,000 new churches in the next five years.
Joseph Lee is founder of Tribes and Nations Outreach based in Manila, Philippines. He tells Assist Communications that the underground church in Vietnam is composed of 21 major groups, and their leaders have requested his outreach to print 20,000 sets of worker training books in Vietnamese.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (ANS) — Tribes and Nations Outreach (TNO), a mission organization committed to build the “Body of Christ” in Asia, and based in Manila, Philippines, has launched an ambitious five-year church-planting program in Vietnam.
Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have visited in Kabul eight Western and Sixteen Afghan aid workers, who face possible execution for allegedly spreading Christianity in war ravaged Afghanistan. The Sunday visit was the first contact the prisoners had with the outside world, since being detained three weeks ago under the Taliban regime’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.
“When we came to the village, these little girls–only four or five years old–started pulling our hands, wanting us to go to their mothers,” says Arun Massey, director of Rahab’s Trust, an indigenous ministry in India that works with temple prostitutes.
GARDEN GROVE, CA (ANS) — A former North Korean prison guard has revealed that Christian prisoners are “treated more harshly than are other prisoners” and regarded by authorities as “insane.” This was stated in the latest persecution updates from the World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF.)
The Philippines military has theorized that the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf, which is holding American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham of Kansas City, has opened its communication lines with officials of the White House in the United States to negotiate for the safe release of the Burnhams.
BAMAKO, Mali (Compass) — For some time, Muslim city authorities in Magnambougou planned for a beautiful new mosque in this new suburb of Bamako, the Malian capital. They acquired land in the middle of the urban dwellings and began to build a mosque that would dominate the area and accommodate more than 2,000 Muslims for prayers, much to the distress and dismay of local Christians.
NEW DELHI, India (BP)–Another day, another bombing.
That’s the impression being created, at least, by a mounting wave of attacks on Christians and churches in India.
Vandals recently broke into the office of a Bible school in India, tied up the schools’ cook, and destroyed the office.
The vandals seem to have thoroughly planned their attack. The school is housed in two buildings, and both buildings were ransacked at the same time. About thirty-five people live at the training center.
by Michael Fischer HONG KONG (Compass) — A fundamentalist Hindu mob attacked a church in the eastern Indian state of Tripura on February 25. Church leaders say the Krishnanagar Baptist Church in the capital Agartala was attacked as Christians were attending the Sunday service. The mob forced the pastor to stop the service. The church is registered under the Tripura Baptist Christian Union. Delegates from the Union met with the chief minister of Tripura on February 27. Another meeting to resolve the issue was held on March 3 with the chairman of the Agartala municipality, officials and church members. But … Read more
LOS ANGELES, August 23 (Compass) — A Christian community center in Malaysia was set ablaze on July 21 by suspected Muslim extremists. The building was unoccupied during the alleged arson attack, reported local fire and rescue officials.
ISTANBUL (Compass) — The supreme leader of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia warned on January 8 that his regime will apply the death penalty to any Muslim who converts to another faith.
Afghanistan’s ruling Taleban authorities have ruled out pardons for eight foreign aid workers detained for allegedly spreading the Christian faith, declaring that they and their 16 Afghan colleagues must stand trial on charges of promoting Christianity. Western diplomats have been unable to meet with the prisoners. Fifty-nine Afghan school children who were also taken into custody on the belief that they had been influenced by Christian teaching have been released, but their fathers were jailed for several days for failing to supervise their children.