India State Halts Church Construction After Hindu Pressure

IndiaAuthorities backed by Hindu militants have halted the reconstruction of a Baptist church that was destroyed in deadly anti-Christian violence in India’s volatile state of Orissa, local Christians said.

Somali Islamists Prevent Starving Christians From Receiving Food

sudan mapThe latest famine in Somalia has resulted in thousands of deaths, but though aid is reaching some affected areas, Islamists of Al-Shabaab are controlling its distribution, preventing Christians from receiving food and causing many of them to starve.

Iran Pastor On Death Row Urges Faith In Christ

blankAn evangelical pastor who faces execution in Iran for refusing to abandon his Christian faith has urged fellow believers to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and the “Word of God” despite persecution, according to a letter obtained by Worthy News.

Church Attack in Northern Iraq Wounds 23

Although security forces found and disabled two cars packed with explosives in northern Iraq Tuesday, a third exploded outside a Christian church, wounding 23 people.

The “Christian” Terrorist Who Wasn’t Very Christian

norway terrroristAnders Behring Breivik’s 1,500-page manifesto shows that the Norwegian terrorist’s depiction as a “right-wing, Christian fundamentalist” by many in the mass media may be as inaccurate as that of their so-called “Christian” bomber, Oklahoma City terrorist Tim McVeigh.

Armenia Evangelicals Under Pressure Amid New Legislation

Rights activists and religious groups in Armenia say new legislation will increase intolerance towards the country’s evangelical Christians and other minorities, some of whom already face prosecution for their church activities.

Kazakhstan: Pastors Charged with Praying

Pastor Yerzhan Ushanov of New Life Protestant Church in Taraz is looking at two years’ imprisonment if criminal charges for injuring an individual’s health ever come to court, Christian rights investigators said.

Franklin Graham’s ‘Festival de Esperanza’ Draws Thousands in Los Angeles

Franklin Graham this past weekend held Spanish speaking meetings (Festival De Esperanza) – Festival of Hope – at The Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, where the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Trevor Freeze says hundreds of Hispanic hearts were warmed and changed forever by the saving power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Uzbek Christians Suffer as Regime Tightens Noose

At least four incidents of Christian persecution were reported from the former Soviet country of Uzbekistan this week. According to an analysis and report researched and written by Fernando Perez for the World Evangelical Alliance – Religious Liberty Commission, a Christian woman was beaten into concussion, another woman was fined $1,465 by a court for giving the New Testament to a child, a Christian man was threatened with axe attack by a police official and another man was assaulted by police.

High Price To Pay For Being A Christian in Uzbekistan

Being a Christian in Uzbekistan can be costly. Just ask Galina Shemetova who was ordered to pay a fine of 2,486,750 som, 50 times the minimum monthly pay for giving a colleague a children’s Bible. This amounts to $60,320US, four times the yearly pre-tax salary of a 40 hour-a-week minimum wage earner. Miss Shemetova not only had to pay the fine, but she was also beaten physically by police, a fact known by the Tashkent Court of Appeals.

Poland Rescues Christian Refugees

Poland has granted asylum to 16 Christian refugees who accompanied Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski on a flight back from Tunisia.The Foreign Ministry said Friday, June 17, that the six adults and 10 children were “political refugees” from Eritrea and Nigeria, whose lives have been upturned by recent turmoil in North Africa.

Pakistan Court Acquits Suspects Of Christian Massacre

Christians in Pakistan remained fearful Thursday, June 16, after a court in Pakistan acquitted 70 Muslims who were suspected of killing Christians in one of the country’s worst sectarian clashes in recent memory.

India’s Hopegivers Founder Dies At 74

The often prosecuted founder of one of India’s largest evangelical mission groups that rescues orphans and abandoned children has died after a long battle with health problems, his family and organization confirmed Saturday, December 4.

Israel Probes Church Fire In Jerusalem

Israeli authorities continue to investigate an arson attack on a Jerusalem church building that church officials say has long been a focal point for anti-Christian sentiment in a Jewish ultra-Orthodox-leaning neighborhood.

Worthy Christian News