Conservatives Targeted by IRS Celebrate Settlement
The group that led a lawsuit against the IRS for illegally targeting conservative non-profit organizations celebrated the Justice Department’s multi-million dollar settlement on Thursday.
Police
Five Church Leaders in Sudan Arrested after Refusing to Cancel Worship Service
In an ongoing bid by the government of Sudan to take over leadership of the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC), police on Sunday (Oct. 22) arrested five SCOC church leaders after they refused to comply with an order to refrain from worship, sources told Morning Star News.
Muslims Target Pastor with Criminal Accusation in Zanzibar, Tanzania
A judge failed to show up at a hearing for a pastor facing accusations of child abuse in a case in Zanzibar that Muslims have kept alive after charges were twice dismissed, sources said.
Israeli Ministers Set to Vote on Annexing West Bank Settlements to Jerusalem
Ministers will vote Sunday on annexing Israeli local authorities beyond the Green Line to Jerusalem following several long delays. The bill is expected to win the support of the panel and be sent to the Knesset floor for approval.
Five weeks after Maria most of Puerto Rico remains an island in the dark
More than a month after Hurricane Maria ravaged this island with 155-mph winds, three-quarters of the residents are still without power, lining up at banks for cash and gathering at shopping malls, hotels or government buildings just to charge their cellphones.
Israeli police arrest Palestinian for ‘good morning’ Facebook post
Relying on an automatic translation, Israeli police mistakenly arrested a Palestinian man last week because they thought he had published a Facebook post saying ‘Hurt them’ when what he had really written was ‘Good morning.’
Militant Clashes Leave at Least 16 Egyptian Policemen Dead
At least 16 Egyptian policemen were killed in clashes with militants on Friday as the government struggles to maintain security while it undertakes economic measures aimed at creating jobs and boosting growth.
Azerbaijan: ‘no fair trial’ for house-church leader appealing against fine
An Azerbaijani man fined for leading a ‘house church’ without state permission has not been treated fairly during his appeal against the fine, a local source has told World Watch Monitor.
6 Police Officers Arrested for Beating Christian Teen to Death in Pakistan, Activists Say
Six police officers in Pakistan have been arrested and charged with murder after they allegedly beat to death a Pakistani Christian teenager earlier this month, according to human rights advocates.
Christian Teenager in India Arrested for Comments on Fake Facebook, Sources Say
A Christian teenager in northern India was jailed for 12 days after anti-Hindu comments appeared on a fake Facebook account in his name, sources said.
Death toll from Mogadishu truck bomb rises to 276 in deadliest single attack ever in Somalia’s capital
The death toll from a truck bomb that exploded near to a hotel and market in Mogadishu rose to 276 on Sunday, making it the worst terrorist atrocity in the country’s history.
Whole towns evacuated as Northern California firestorm grows; at least 23 people are dead, 285 missing
The death toll rose to 23 on Wednesday night from the rapidly spreading firestorm in California wine country as firefighters were battling the return of dangerous winds that sparked new evacuations.
Violence Against Christians Increases as Elections Draw Close in India’s Karnataka State
On September 17, 2017, suspected Hindu radicals attacked an Assembly of God church in India’s Karnataka state. After the attack, church attendance has plummeted as Christians in the area fear another attack. It is not surprising that attacks are increasing in Karnataka as state elections are scheduled to occur early next year. Hindu hardline groups want to silence Christians and ensure that they are unable to practice their faith.
Huge demonstration against Catalan independence in Barcelona
Hundreds of thousands of people are marching in Barcelona to demand Catalonia rejects independence and stays with Spain.
The FBI’s New U.S. Terrorist Threat: ‘Black Identity Extremists’
As white supremacists prepared to descend on Charlottesville, Virginia, in August, the FBI warned about a new movement that was violent, growing, and racially motivated. Only it wasn’t white supremacists; it was ‘black identity extremists.’
Coptic girl, 16, rescued 92 days after Islamists kidnapped her
A 16-year-old Coptic Christian girl kidnapped on 28 June to be ‘converted to Islam, then married off or sold’, was released and returned to her family on 30 September after police found her and arrested her kidnappers in a city just outside Cairo.
Christian women, three-year-old taken into custody for mission work
Provoked by the mission work of a local house church, officials detained a pastor and her daughter on Sept. 22, taking the daughter’s three-year-old son into custody as well.
Las Vegas gunman may have planned escape, sheriff says
As investigators delve deeper into how Sunday night’s massacre in Las Vegas unfolded, more chilling details have emerged about the suspected gunman and how he allegedly carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
UK: Amber Rudd: viewers of online terrorist material face 15 years in jail
People who repeatedly view terrorist content online could face up to 15 years behind bars in a move designed to tighten the laws tackling radicalisation the home secretary, Amber Rudd, is to announce on Tuesday.
FBI says no terror ties in Las Vegas shooting despite ISIS claim; at least 59 dead, 527 wounded
A gunman using rapid-fire weapons from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel rained down bullets on an outdoor country music festival, killing at least 59 people and injuring more than 500 before taking his own life in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, officials said Monday.