General

Korea: Still divided 70 years on

August 14, 2015 South Korea Missionaries, North Korea, Pentecostals, Protestants, Pyongyang, Religious freedom, South Korea

On 15 August 1945 the Korean peninsula was divided along the 38th parallel: Russia and Japan to temporarily administer the North, the USA to administer the South. This arbitrary division of Korea exactly 70 years ago has resulted in the very different halves of the peninsula we see today – . . . Read More

Indonesia: Religious riot in Papua prompts church attacks elsewhere

August 10, 2015 Indonesia Evangelical Church of Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Java, Papua, Ramadan, Tolikara, Yogyakarta

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world, but the island of Papua is mainly Christian.Courtesy Open Doors International Tensions have flared between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia – the most populous Islamic nation in the world – after a riot broke out last month on the . . . Read More

Nepali constitution could render Christianity illegal

August 7, 2015 Nepal Constitution, Hindu nationalism, India, Proselytism, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, Religious freedom

In Nepal, 80 per cent of the population is Hindu; Christians comprise between 1.5 and 3 per cent.Courtesy Open Doors International Nepali Christians fear that proposed amendments to Nepal’s new constitution, likely to come into effect on Monday (10 August) after seven years of parliamentary discussions, could eventually render all . . . Read More

Egypt court reconsiders Christian’s blasphemy conviction

August 6, 2015 Egypt Copts, Muslim Brotherhood, Sohag

Bishoy Kameel Kamel GarasWorld Watch Monitor After a three-year rash of blasphemy cases filed against Egyptian Christians, the nation’s highest court backtracked last month on its harsh verdict against one young Copt. Bishoy Kameel Kamel Garas was sent to prison for six years in September 2012 for allegedly insulting . . . Read More

S. Sudan pastors accused of spying freed

August 5, 2015 Peter Yen, South Sudan, Yat Michael

Two South Sudanese pastors on trial in Sudan for, amongst other things, “spying” have been freed by the Judge of Khartoum North Central Court, Ahmed Ghaboush. Had they been found guilty of this, they could have faced the death penalty. Yat Michael had taken his child to Khartoum for medical . . . Read More

Boko Haram attacks intensify in Nigeria & Cameroon

August 2, 2015 Adamawa, Benin, Boko Haram, Borno, Cameroon, Chad, IDPs, Kidnapping, Maroua, Muhammadu Buhari, N'Djamena, Niger, Niger Delta, Nigeria, Refugees, West Africa

On 25 July, 20 people were killed when a 12-year-old girl blew herself up in a crowded bar in Maroua, northern Cameroon.World Watch Monitor The radical Islamist group Boko Haram has intensified its suicide bombing attacks in northern Nigeria and Cameroon in recent weeks. On Friday (31 July) a . . . Read More

A convert’s story

July 31, 2015 Ethiopia Addis Ababa, African Union, Apostasy, Converts, East Africa

U.S. President Barack Obama visited Kenya and Ethiopia 24-28 July, partly to discuss regional security. In Kenya especially, Christians have been targeted by the violent al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab. In the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on 28 July, making an American president’s first speech to the African Union, Obama said . . . Read More

Central African Republic – A forgotten crisis

July 29, 2015 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bambari, Bangassou, Bria, Kaga Bandoro, Seleka, UN

On 25 July 2014, a ceasefire was signed between the two main warring groups in the Central African Republic: a predominantly Muslim rebel coalition known as Séléka, and violent vigilante groups who opposed their advance through the country, which became known as the “anti-Balaka” (“Balaka” means “machete”). A year later, . . . Read More

Obama visit puts Ethiopia’s record in spotlight

July 28, 2015 Ethiopia Addis Ababa, African Union, Amhara, Bahir Dar, Barack Obama, Churches, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Human rights, Mahibere Kidusan, Pentecostals, Protestants

n Ethiopians walk past a poster of US President Barack Obama in Addis Ababa on 27 July. gettyimages.com U.S. President Barak Obama is visiting Ethiopia on 27 and 28 July, providing an opportunity for America to prod its ally on its human-rights record, which gets low marks from world capitals. . . . Read More

‘Saints of Bangui’ try to calm chaotic CAR

July 27, 2015 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bria, Catherine Samba-Panza, Seleka

A year ago, on 25 July 2014, a ceasefire was signed between the two main warring groups in the Central African Republic: a predominantly Muslim rebel coalition known as Séléka, and violent vigilante groups who opposed their advance through the country, which became known as the “anti-Balaka” (“Balaka” means “machete”). Three . . . Read More

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