News

Malatya murder suspects to be set free

  March 5, 2014 Turkey Kurds, Malatya, Trabzon

A 2008 snapshot of the five Malayta murder suspects.World Watch Monitor   Five Turkish murder suspects on trial for torturing and killing three Christians in Malatya nearly seven years ago are expected to be set free on bail within the next few days, before the conclusion of their trial in . . . Read More

Trouble in the south

  March 4, 2014 India Andhra Pradesh, BJP, Hindu nationalism, Hindu Yuva Vahini, Hyderabad, India

Church leaders in India are alarmed over a dramatic increase in attacks on Christians in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where in recent weeks one pastor has been murdered, others beaten, and churches demolished. The All India Christian Council documented 72 incidents of anti-Christian violence and hostility in Andhra Pradesh . . . Read More

CAR clerics plead for ceasefire

  February 28, 2014 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Catherine Samba-Panza, Central African Republic, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Michel Djotodia, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Oumar Kobine Layama, Refugees, Seleka, UN

Two of the most senior religious leaders in the Central African Republic have issued a joint plea for a truce between retreating militant rebels and vigilantes who have been taking their revenge. “May all the brothers carrying weapons hand over their arms,” said the Catholic Archbishop of Bangui, Msgr. Dieudonné . . . Read More

Dozens dead as violence continues in central Nigeria

  February 26, 2014 Nigeria Berom, Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, Niger Delta, Plateau

Tribal attacks have claimed many lives in central Nigeria in recent months. In November, around 40 members of the Berom community were killed and buried in mass graves.World Watch Monitor   At least 43 people have died in two separate attacks as sectarian violence continues in central Nigeria’s Plateau state. . . . Read More

Indonesia’s religious freedom ‘in peril’

  February 26, 2014 Indonesia Aceh, Java, Religious freedom, Sumatra, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

The Batak Protestant Church near Jakarta was torn down in March 2013, just after being built.World Watch Monitor A new report paints a bleak picture of religious freedom in Indonesia. Indonesia: Pluralism in Peril, which was launched at the UK Parliament yesterday (Feb. 25), says that in the world’s most . . . Read More

Boko Haram kills dozens of boys in school raid

  February 25, 2014 Nigeria Boko Haram, Goodluck Jonathan, Yobe

Islamic militants stormed a Nigerian secondary school campus early this morning (Feb. 25), locked a boys’ dormitory and set it on fire, killing those who tried to flee and burning the rest alive. News accounts report that suspected Boko Haram militants killed at least 43 young men during the pre-dawn . . . Read More

No protection for Christian village during deadly attack

  February 24, 2014 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Borno, Goodluck Jonathan, Gwoza

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Nigeria’s worst affected northern states in May 2013, deploying the army to the region, but without significant impact.Commonwealth Secretariat / Flickr / Creative Commons   In the days before a vicious wave of attacks on Feb. 15 that killed hundreds in . . . Read More

Knife attack kills Christian woman in southern Egypt

  February 21, 2014 Egypt Copts, Muslim Brotherhood

An Egyptian pharmacist has been arrested in connection with the stabbing death of a Christian woman earlier this month. In a country where anti-Christian violence is a daily occurrence, the death of Madeleine Wagih on Feb. 8 was not widely reported. It received brief mention in one of the more . . . Read More

Murdered MP’s brother threatened 3 years after death

  February 20, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Paul Bhatti, Shahbaz Bhatti

Almost three years have passed since the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti, a Pakistani MP who lobbied against the country’s controversial blasphemy laws. Now, his elder brother’s life is under threat. Paul Bhatti was living in Italy when his brother was murdered on March 2, 2011, but he soon returned to . . . Read More

Kenyan bishops protest against pay-to-preach law

  February 18, 2014 Kenya Nairobi

Three hundred bishops in Central Kenya confronted a county governor last week to protest against a new bill that could see clergy charged for preaching outside of their churches. The bishops, who say they represent as many as 1,200 churches within Nyeri County, marched to the governor’s office on Feb. . . . Read More