President Joe Biden on Thursday rescinded a regulation that barred U.S. foreign aid from being used to perform or promote abortions. His decision, while expected, was cheered by abortion-choice advocates and some humanitarian groups and denounced by anti-abortion groups.
Eritrea has released a further 10 Christians from one of its notorious prison facilities bringing the total to nearly 80 freed believers since September, Worthy News learned.
A Christian online writer who already received lashes for expressing her faith in Christ and criticizing Iran’s human rights abuses has been detained again, supporters said Thursday.
A US B-52 heavy bomber flew over the Persian Gulf, the US military said on Wednesday, in the sixth such flight since November 2020 — and the third this year.
Leaders in Oregon and Washington are finally pledging an end to near-nightly chaos caused by antifa and other radical groups they gave free rein to while former President Donald Trump was in office.
President Joe Biden has issued an executive order that reverses the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people joining the US military, Voice of America reports. Transgender citizens had been allowed to serve in the military and receive transitioning treatment under former President Barack Obama, but new transgender recruits were subsequently banned under former President Donald Trump.
Supporters of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have called for new protests after thousands were detained in the largest rallies against Russian President Vladimir Putin in years.
The deputy vice-chancellor of the Christian Anchor University in Lagos state, Nigeria has reportedly been released after being kidnapped by suspected Muslim Fulani herdsmen on Jan. 18, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. John Fatokun is understood to have been released on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Nevertheless, Nigeria ranks number one on the 2021 World Watch List for countries in which Christians are killed for their faith.
The international Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) human rights organization has called for the immediate release of a pastor who is in custody in Cuba on what the group says are “trumped-up charges.” Cuban pastor Karel Parra Rosabal was arrested in Las Tunas on January 12 apparently because of his involvement with the Apostolic Movement, a network of independent churches that the Cuban government refuses to register, rendering them effectively illegal.
A group of right-wing militia members arrived in Washington bent on breaching the U.S. Capitol and booked a room for two in a motel in Arlington, Virginia, for at least six fellow Oath Keepers.
Syrian state media reported Israeli airstrikes near the western city of Hama in the predawn hours of Friday morning.
The more than 25,000 National Guard troops called to provide inauguration security remained in place Thursday and will continue to patrol the near-vacant capital city until federal agencies release them, military officials said.
US President Joe Biden has dismantled the Trump Administration’s 1776 Commission and has deleted the final report it released two days before the end of Mr. Trump’s presidential term. While the stated aim of the 1776 Commission’s report was to give future generations an understanding of US founding principles, and encourage citizens to take pride in their country, critics say the report excuses America’s history of slavery and undermines the legacy of the civil rights movement.
The U.S. security chief imposed a 100-day pause on deportations Wednesday, rejecting concerns it could lead to a migration surge.
President Joe Biden signed three documents in the President’s Room at the U.S. Capitol shortly after his swearing-in ceremony, his first official act as the 46th president.
Police and government officials last week raided a homeschool house run by the highly persecuted Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China, the Christian Post (CP) reports. Following the raid on January 14, members of the 5,000-strong ERCC congregation took to social media imploring Christians around the world to pray for them.
An Iranian media network has said nine Iraqi army soldiers were killed and dozens were wounded in airstrikes near Baghdad, Iraq on Monday night, Israel National News (INN) reports. Citing an Iraqi security source, the Al-Alam network said the strikes had targeted Iraqi army and Shiite militia positions.
A Russian court has jailed the nation’s most prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for 30 days despite several countries’ calls to release him immediately. The decision came shortly after Navalny was detained following his return from Germany, where he received medical treatment for nerve agent poisoning.
A Hindu nationalist leader in India’s Madhya Pradesh state has demanded that local authorities shut down all churches in the state’s tribal areas, falsely claiming that Christians are carrying out mass conversions on “gullible indigenous peoples,” International Christian Concern reports. Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Azad Prem Singh threatened violent action if his January 11 demand is not met within 30 days.
Germany and France attacked Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. after U.S. President Donald Trump was shut off from the social media platforms, in an extension of Europe’s battle with big tech.