Authorities in Zanzibar, Tanzania Close Down Church
The pastor of a church on Tanzania’s semi-autonomous Zanzibar Island was preaching earlier this month when a plainclothes police officer and local officials strode into the church service.
Africa
Oman, Yemen prepare for hurricane-strength Cyclone Mekunu
Cyclone Mekunu is intensifying to hurricane-level strength in the Arabian Sea and is expected to hit Oman and Yemen later this week, forecasters said Wednesday.
Museum of the Bible Visitors Top Half a Million in First Six Months
The Good Book is shaping up to be a good draw on the crowded landscape of museums in the nation’s capital.
Rwanda Is 95 Percent Christian. So Why Is It Shutting Down Thousands of Churches?
Over the past two months, authorities have closed more than 7,000 churches across Rwanda for failing to comply with health, safety, and noise regulations.
US Complains After Chinese Lasers Injure 2 Air Force Pilots in Africa
Two U.S. airmen were slightly injured by laser beams directed at their aircraft from the Chinese military base in Djibouti, Pentagon officials said Thursday.
Algeria Launches Crackdown on Christians, Shuttering Churches
Authorities in the north African nation of Algeria are closing churches in an attempt to curtail the activities of minority Christians in this Muslim-majority nation.
China’s One Belt One Road economic investment also expands military footprint
China is using its $1 trillion-plus investment initiative in infrastructure projects as a way to expand its military footprint, projecting power and influence around the globe from the Horn of Africa into the Middle East and South Asia, says a report released this week.
Illinois Senate advances plan requiring public schools to teach LGBT history
The Illinois Senate has advanced a plan requiring public schools teach a unit on the role and contributions of gays, lesbians and other LGBT individuals in society.
Rwanda closes thousands of churches in bid for more control
Rwanda’s government has closed thousands of churches and dozens of mosques as it seeks to assert more control over a vibrant religious community whose sometimes makeshift operations, authorities say, have threatened the lives of followers.
Israel’s Netanyahu Zigzags, Puts African Migrant Deal With UNHCR on Hold
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he was putting on hold an agreement with the UN refugee agency to relocate thousands of African migrants to Western countries.
Extreme vetting: State Department to demand tourists’ social media history
The State Department will publish new rules this week to require most visitors and immigrants to the U.S. to divulge their recent social media histories, carrying out one of the key security enhancements from President Trump’s extreme vetting executive order.
US military says senior al Qaeda leader killed in Libya strike
The U.S. military has confirmed that a senior leader of an al Qaeda branch in Africa was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Libya on Saturday.
Israeli Technology Able to Make Water From Thin Air
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hailing an extraordinary water-generation technology invented in Israel that he declares ‘can change the world.’
U.S. House panel to probe China military footprint in Africa: chairman
U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said his committee will investigate China’s efforts to gain military and economic power in Africa.
Australia considering fast-track visa program for white South African farmers
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has announced he plans to examine ways to fast-track a visa program for white South African farmers.
Trump fires Rex Tillerson, will nominate Mike Pompeo to replace him
President Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and will nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him.
6 Pastors Arrested in Rwanda for Planning to Defy Gov’t Ban on ‘Unclean’ Churches
Rwandan police have arrested six Christian pastors on grounds that they are planning to defy a recent order that closed more than 700 churches that allegedly don’t meet safety and cleanliness standards.
U.S. sharpens focus on ISIS in Asia and Africa
U.S. officials expanded their targeting of the Islamic State beyond its Mideast stomping grounds Tuesday by adding three of the groups’ far-flung affiliates — in the Philippines, Bangladesh and West Africa — to the State Department’s ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorists’ list.
Christian refugees face new fears in unstable Central African Republic
Almost five years ago, when Muslim rebels calling themselves Seleka — ‘Coalition’ in a local language — overthrew Francois Bozize, the former president of the Central African Republic, Ms. Florence and other Christians fled to a camp for internally displaced people near Bangui M’Poko International Airport amid the fighting because she knew French peacekeepers could protect her there.
Democrats confident they can win government shutdown fight
The federal government barreled toward a partial shutdown Monday as the Democrats in Congress dug in their heels in a battle of political wills with President Trump and his Republican allies on Capitol Hill.