Police in southern Laos have allegedly arrested, beaten and detained a man in Savannakhet province for practising his Christian faith last Thursday, according to Radio Free Asia’s (RFA) Lao service. The man named Agoon was arrested for another crime, based on a police accusation –
Easter is a time of great joy for those of us who celebrate – large family meals, extra church services, visits to the Show and Easter egg hunts. Our long weekend here in Australia is often so filled to the brim with festivities, we may
Authorities in Pakistan fear that a terrorist linked to Islamic State is planning an attack that could target Christians in Punjab province at Easter. The bomber is likely to try to carry out a suicide attack in Lahore, according to a contact of VOM’s partner
A married couple has been convicted and sentenced for their part in the bombing of three churches in Surabaya in May 2018. Agus Satrio Widodo received a sentence of eight years, and his wife Damayanti received 40 months after a court found them guilty of
Pastor Raymond Koh disappeared on 13 February 2017 when his car was forced to stop and he was abducted in broad daylight by masked men. On 3 April this year, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia released findings that placed blame for the attack on
Hope awakens in northern Iraq as another church is built with the support of the government. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) supervised the construction of the first Armenian Orthodox Church in Erbil through their department of religious affairs. According to a local news source, a
India’s 2019 general election will take place in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May. The new parliament will be announced on 23 May. The Hindu nationalist BJP has ruled with a simple majority for the past five years. Its electoral success is the
Officials have rejected the registration application for the Pentecostal Your Will Be Done Church in Minsk for the sixth time, after a government official pressured a potential landlord to not rent their facility to the church. Due to fear of punishment, the congregation has chosen
A VOM partner ministry worked with 144 evangelists in Niger last year, providing discipleship training and opportunities to help them support themselves. The evangelists then visited communities throughout the country, sharing the Gospel and teaching people about Jesus. As those hearing the Gospel began to
Fulani herdsmen continued their string of attacks early on Saturday 23 March, starting with three young Christian siblings returning home from a community feast. Fulani herdsmen beat, raped and killed a 19-year-old Christian woman while her younger sister and brother were able to escape. Though
After fleeing domestic abuse, Aansa Bibi took a job as a house cleaner for a Muslim family. Her employer’s daughters enjoyed listening to Aansa sing Christian worship songs, but the girls’ aunt cautioned her brother about allowing an infidel Christian to work in their home.
A young female pastor was found dead this week in the Oki District of South Sumatra, Indonesia. The body of Pastor Melinda Zidemi was found on Tuesday. Melinda Zidemi was a pastor and church activist in the Sungai Baung area. The “polite” and “kind” pastor
Many churches in eastern Ukraine have stopped meeting after Russian-backed rebels ordered a ban on services. Rebel leaders in the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic, seized from Ukraine in 2014, have declared all unregistered religious groups illegal. Protestant, Seventh Day Adventist and Pentecostal churches have all
When five people died within a week in a small Nepalese village in January, the only Christian family in the Hindu village was blamed for the deaths. Gianprakash and his family were asked to leave the village because they were following a foreign God. One
In October 2018, a young Christian, Eldos Sattar uuly, sustained a broken jaw and other injuries after a violent attack in the Issyk-Kul Region of Kyrgyzstan. Those responsible were charged. They were sentenced to house arrest; however this is not being enforced. Problems have continued
There’s been a sharp rise in attacks on Christians in India so far this year – and many fear that things could get worse with a general election on the horizon. There were 77 recorded incidents of hatred and violence against Christians in the first two
A married couple who started a new church in their city had to change venues recently because of persecution. Hani, a former Hindu, and Chakama, a former Muslim, have actively shared their faith ever since coming to Christ and getting married. The community where they
On the morning of 4 March, Fulani militants attacked Tse-Tema Dula, Tse-Ugor, and Tse-Jabu villages of Mbacohon area in Gwer West Local Council area of Benue State. According local sources, 23 people were killed. Three days after the village attacks, the militants again launched another
The Somali pastor of an underground church in Kenya near the Somali border suffered a broken thigh bone and other injuries after Muslim extremists beat him with wooden clubs on the evening of Friday 8 March. Pastor Abdul, a 30-year-old father of three, had finished
A Cuban pastor has been repeatedly threatened and harassed for his efforts to repair church buildings that were damaged during the 2018 hurricane. In an effort to continue without further interference from authorities, he and other believers have been working on the repairs through the
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