Pakistan Sentences Christian To Death For Blasphemy
Christians have appealed for prayers after a Pakistani court sentenced a Christian man to death by hanging for sending “blasphemous” text messages.
Pakistan
Russia, China, Iran to hold massive joint military exercise
China, Russia, Iran and a handful of other nations will hold massive joint military drills later this month in what Beijing dubs a “comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in a new era.”
Pakistan Christian Girls Forced To Marry and Convert
There is growing anxiety about the plight of several teenage Christians girls who were forced to marry and convert to Islam, according to rights activists familiar with their plight.
US Embassy says Afghan leaders are close to talks with Taliban on ending war
The US Embassy in Pakistan announced Thursday that Afghanistan’s political leaders are close to starting negotiations with the Taliban about the future of the country, the Military Times reports. The development follows a peace agreement signed between the US and the Taliban in February this year. As part of the deal, US Peace Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is in the region to help facilitate intra-Afghan negotiations.
Christian Family Shot and Injured in Pakistan
Two members of a Christian family have been shot and wounded after buying a house in a Muslim neighborhood, Christian activists said Friday. The shooting happened after Nadeem Joseph reportedly purchased a home in the TV Colony in Pakistan’s volatile northwestern city of Peshawar in late May.
Muslim Fulani in North-Central Nigeria Slaughter Nine Christians, Including Women and Children
Muslim Fulani herdsmen hacked to death and shot nine Christians in Nigeria’s Kaduna state on June 3rd, Morning Star News (MSN) reported. Women and children were among those slain and seven other people were kidnapped at gunpoint during a Muslim Fulani assault on the predominantly Christian Tudun Doka village in Kajuru County. MSN sources said this latest Fulani attack occurred while the bodies of over 30 Christians murdered in previous invasions still lay in nearby villages: surviving residents had to flee and have not been able to bury their loved ones’ corpses.
Locust Devastating Much of India
Authorities in India say the nation is facing its worst swarm of locust on record, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Brother-in-Law of Christian Asia Bibi Killed in Pakistan
The brother-in-law of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who faced the death penalty for “blasphemy” against Islam, has been killed, local Christians confirmed Wednesday.
Pakistan Plane Crash Kills 97 (Update)
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crashed into a residential area of Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi on Friday, killing all 107 people on board, the city’s mayor confirmed.
Christian School Director Killed and His Family Shot in Nigeria
Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria’s Plateau state shot a Christian school director in the head before shooting his wife in the back and his two children in the feet on May 5, sources told Morningstar News.
Pakistan Province Announces Compulsory Study of Quran in All Universities
The governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province has announced it will be compulsory for all students in all provincial universities to attend lectures on the Quran, The New International reports. The announcement has raised concerns for the welfare of the many Christian students in Punjab.
India Christians Forced To Become Hindus For Food
Aid workers say Christians, including pastors and their families, are excluded from government food aid in several parts of India despite an ongoing lockdown to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
Russia, Pakistan Report Coronavirus Spike As Lockdown Protests Grow
Pakistan and Russia have reported their most significant one-day rise in new coronavirus infections. Their announcement Saturday came after some other countries and U.S. states where case numbers are stabilizing allowed businesses and public activities to reopen.
Nigerian Christian Couple Abducted at Their Wedding by Muslim Fulani Herdsmen in Ongoing Violent Attacks
Christians in Nigeria continue to be murdered and kidnapped by Muslim Fulani herdsmen who also burn down homes and invade churches in their communities. One Christian couple was recently kidnapped from their own wedding ceremony in Niger state, Morning Star News reports.
U.N. Agency: ‘Half of World’s Workers Lose Jobs Over Coronavirus’
A principal United Nations agency warns that nearly half of the world’s working population may lose jobs and incomes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate lives and economies. The International Labour Organization (ILO) said some 1.6 billion people are in “immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed” by the economic impact of the virus outbreak and related measures.
Ongoing murderous attacks on Christians by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria
In ongoing vicious attacks by Muslim Fulani herdsmen against Christian communities in Nigeria, two more people were killed and two others were kidnapped on April 22-23, Morningstar News reports. The herdsmen also burned down 25 homes and a church building in the raids.
Pakistan Church Has Rooftop Services Amid Lockdown and Saves Slaves
An evangelical church and mission group has launched rooftop services in Pakistan after authorities banned regular church meetings amid a national lockdown to halt the coronavirus pandemic. Besides providing alternative worship, the church also saved 100 Christian families from slavery in some of Pakistan’s notorious brickyards, a pastor said in an extensive interview.
Christians killed by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria
Four Christians were killed last week in an attack by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Kaduna state, Nigeria, Morningstar News reports. This attack is the latest in a string of murders committed by herdsmen targeting Christians: Nigeria ranks second after Pakistan on the Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List for countries where Christians are killed for their faith.
‘Pakistan Christians Starving For Rejecting Islam’
Christians and other minorities in Pakistan face starvation as they are denied food aid for refusing to convert to Islam, aid workers say. The Emergency Committee to Save the Persecuted and Enslaved (ECSPE) confirmed that authorities and government-backed groups refuse to provide relief to non-Muslims despite a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Christians in Pakistan denied food during coronavirus lockdown
Christians in Pakistan have been denied food by authorities since the country’s COVID-19 lockdown began on March 21, Arutz Sheva 7 reports. In four incidents recorded this month by International Christian Concern (ICC) and Jihad Watch, Christians were told food aid was for Muslims only.