Sudan Delaying Case against Pastors to Avoid Releasing Them, Sources Say
NAIROBI, Kenya, December 20, 2016 (Morning Star News) – Officials in Sudan are delaying a verdict in the trial of two pastors and two others because evidence is insufficient for conviction and they do not want to release them, sources told Morning Star News. The Rev....
Burma Armed Forces Bomb Church Building Previously Seized as Base
YANGON, Burma, December 19, 2016 (Morning Star News) – Burmese armed forces this month bombed a Catholic church building in northern Shan state that soldiers had occupied earlier in their fight against ethnic separatists, sources said. In a practice that a U.S....
Emotions Swirl as Blasphemy Trial Begins in Indonesia
VICTORIA, Australia, December 13, 2016 (Morning Star News) – The blasphemy trial of Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama began this morning, with the ethnic Chinese Christian breaking into tears inside the courtroom while hundreds of people protested outside....
Coptic Christians in Egypt Mourn after Worst Church Bombing in Country’s History
ISTANBUL, Turkey, December 12, 2016(Morning Star News) – As government investigators sifted through the scene of Egypt’s worst bombing attack against Christians in the nation’s history, today the families of those who were slain mourned and buried their dead....
Former Muslim’s 60-Year-Old Mother Attacked in Uganda for Putting Faith in Christ
NAIROBI, Kenya, December 12, 2016(Morning Star News) – Relatives of a former Islamic teacher attacked his 60-year-old mother on Thursday (Dec. 8) for becoming a Christian, wounding her head and breaking her hand, sources said. Aimuna Namutongi sustained a deep cut on...
Crack-Down on Christians in Nepal Hits Snag as Eight Are Acquittted
December 7, 2016 (Morning Star News) – A court in Nepal yesterday acquitted eight Christians accused of attempting to convert children by means of a comic book, according to advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). The seven men and one woman were arrested...
Indonesia Faces Defining Moment in ‘Blasphemy’ Protests against Christian Governor Ahok
December 1, 2016 (Morning Star News) – Having concluded their investigations, Indonesian police have now named Jakarta’s ethnic Chinese Christian Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama a suspect in a blasphemy case. The case that has produced virulent protests will now to...
Former Muslim Sheikh in Eastern Uganda Attacked for Embracing Christianity
ISTANBUL, Turkey, November 30, 2016 (Morning Star News) – Dozens of Coptic Christians in Upper Egypt are rebuilding their lives after Muslim extremists on Friday (Nov. 25) attacked them on suspicions that they were converting a meeting hall and community center into a...
Life of Christian Imprisoned in Algeria for Blasphemy in Danger, Family Fears
ISTANBUL, Turkey, November 29, 2016 (Morning Star News) – The daughter of an Algerian Christian sentenced to three years in prison on a charge of blaspheming Islam fears for his life, religious freedom advocates said. Muslim prisoners reportedly planned to beat...
Ethnic-Religious Cleansing Cited as Herdsmen Kill More Christians in Nigeria
GIDAN WAYA, Nigeria, November 28, 2016(Morning Star News) – Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed at least 12 Christians in southern Kaduna state on Wednesday and Friday (Nov. 23-25) in what Christian leaders call a campaign of ethnic and religious cleansing. The killings...
Five Muslims Sentenced to Death in Pakistan for Brick Kiln Murders
LAHORE, Pakistan, November 26, 2016 (Morning Star News) – A court in Lahore has handed the death sentence to five Muslims for torturing and killing an impoverished Christian couple over allegations of burning the Koran, sources said. Eight others charged in the attack...
Pastor in China Upholds Faith after Nearly Year in Prison
November 21, 2016 (Morning Star News) – A pastor in southwestern China, jailed for nearly a year on fabricated charges and suffering a liver disease, focuses on trusting God in a letter of encouragement to his wife, according to China Aid. Authorities took pastor Li...
Christian School Closed in Sudan Ordered to Re-Open
JUBA, South Sudan, November 14, 2016(Morning Star News) – A judge in eastern Sudan today ordered a Christian school that government officials had taken over to resume classes under the prior Christian administration, according to the headmaster. The Appeal Court for...
Fulani Herdsmen Increasingly Militant in Killing 22 Christians in Kaduna, Nigeria
KAFANCHAN, Nigeria, November 10, 2016 (Morning Star News) – Attacks by Muslim Fulani herdsmen or allied gunmen in southern Kaduna State appear to be increasingly militant, marked by greater sophistication in training and arms, sources said. Advocacy group Jubiliee...
Kidnapped Woman’s Fate Still Unknown Two Years after Herdsmen Kill Husband
ANGWAN MALLAM CHUNG, Nigeria, November 9, 2016 (Morning Star News) – Sunday Maidawa, a Christian in this town in southern Kaduna state, feels the loss of his brother and sister-in-law daily in the four children left to him. Muslim Fulani herdsmen two years ago killed...
Muslims in Uganda Burn Home Where Boys Threatened with Violence Took Refuge
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 3, 2016 (Morning Star News) – Muslims in a village in eastern Uganda on Sunday (Oct. 30) gutted the home of a Christian family for housing two boys threatened with violence for leaving Islam, sources said. Stephen Muganzi, 41, told Morning Star...
Anti-Christian Motives for Pastor’s Death in Andhra Pradesh, India Surface
NEW DELHI, November 2, 2016(Morning Star News) – Contrary to the reasons communist guerrillas in India gave for murdering a pastor in July, area church leaders said he was killed for carrying out his Christian calling. Communist Party of India (Maoist) guerrillas...
Emergency Order Broadens Turkey’s Power to Deport Foreigners
October 31, 2016 (Morning Star News) – An emergency order issued over the weekend makes it significantly easier for Turkey to deport expatriates, further unsettling foreign Christians after the government this month ordered the deportation two U.S. Christians. The...
Christian School in Sudan Closed Down after Police, Civilians Seize Property
JUBA, South Sudan, October 30, 2016 (Morning Star News) – The future education of more than 1,000 pupils was unclear after authorities closed down a Christian school in eastern Sudan last week, sources said. Civilians who bused in from Khartoum and elsewhere aided...
Christians in Iran Appeal Sentence of 80 Lashes for Drinking Communion Wine
ISTANBUL, October 29, 2016 (Morning Star News) – Three Iranian Christians sentenced to receive 80 lashes for drinking wine during a Communion service filed an appeal Wednesday (Oct. 25) to have their case overturned, a noted advocacy group reported. In a trial that...