Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills Eight in Attack on IDP Camp
Authorities in northeast Nigeria have confirmed that at least eight people have died after militants from Boko Haram attacked Dalori, a camp of displaced people. Several women are still unaccounted for and feared to be abducted.
India: Seven Christians Beaten with Hockey Sticks
Seven Christians in Agra, a city located in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, were attacked and beaten with hockey sticks by dozens of Bajrang Dal and VHP hardline activists. To justify their assault, the hardliners claim the Christians were attempting to forcefully convert Hindus and were using derogatory language against Hinduism.
Read more: International Christian Concern
Egypt: Islamist Ambush, Kill Seven Christians Near Monastery
Hundreds of people attended the funeral service in Minya for six Coptic Christians from the same family killed when Islamist gunmen ambushed their microbus near a desert monastery.
Pakistan: Country Paralyzed Following Asia Bibi’s Victory in Supreme Court
The victory of Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi in the Supreme Court has sparked nationwide protests, led by supporters of the Islamist political party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP). Pakistan is still paralyzed – schools are shut, universities have postponed exams, flights have been delayed and trains have changed their routes due to the protests.
Pakistan: ‘No Grounds for Review of Supreme Court Ruling’ – Asia Bibi’s Lawyer, Who Fled the Country
The lawyer who defended the Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi* against blasphemy charges and secured her acquittal at the Supreme Court says he does not expect a review of her case to take place. As part of its agreement with an Islamist political party to stop its violent protests, the government is reported to have promised that it would not seek to stop the judicial process.
Kenya: Two Christian Men Executed for Declining to Recite Islamic Creed
A month ago, the Somalia-based terror group al-Shabaab flagged down a passenger bus traveling from Garissa to Masalani, Kenya, separating Muslims from Christians. Consequently, Fredrick Ngui Ngonde and Joshua Ooko Obila were killed for declining to recite the Islamic creed, the Shahada, one of the five pillars of Islam.
China: Government Cracks Down on House Churches in Beijing
House churches or “family churches” have become increasingly popular in China, after China launched a nationwide campaign a little under three years ago that has been closing down churches off and on. House churches provide safer places for Protestant and Catholic church alike to come and worship, with less fear of government authorities finding out.
Pakistan: ‘Untouchable’ Caste Identity Haunts Christians Like Asia Bibi
Many Pakistani Christians – about 2% of the population – are children of converts to Christianity from the downtrodden “untouchable” Hindu tribal caste – they are sometimes called “chuhra.” This “untouchable” caste status is at the root of several blasphemy charges against Christians.
Uganda: Christian Boy Defends his Faith Despite Attack and Death Threats
A young man in Uganda was strangled, threatened with death and left unconscious because he would not convert to Islam. Emmanuel Nyaiti was walking to his grandmother’s house when he was accosted by a group of local Muslims. This group took him to a nearby farm where he was assaulted and told to convert to Islam or die. The boy, only 12 years old, said that he would not convert.
Pakistan: Prime Minister Appeals for Calm After Christian Asia Bibi Acquitted of Blasphemy
Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, this evening urged the nation not to let a fraction of people incite them to take the law into their own hands over the decision of the Supreme Court to release a Christian woman Asia Bibi, who had been facing the death penalty for blasphemy.
Nigeria: Student Recalls the Night 10 Family Members Were Killed in Front of Her
Twenty-three-year-old Blessing Kogi describes the night her residential neighborhood of Rukuba Road, in the southwestern outskirts of Jos, was attacked by men dressed in black and military uniforms. Ten of her 12 family members were killed while eating dinner. She and her cousin were shot, but survived.
Pakistan: Supreme Court Acquits Asia Bibi, Christian woman on death row
A Pakistani court has overturned the death sentence of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy in 2010, a case that has polarised the nation.
China: Over 20 Detained for Sharing the Gospel
More than 20 Christians were arrested as they were evangelizing on the streets and holding a worship service in a public park. As the event took place police arrived and took more the church members into custody.
Sri Lanka: Christians Claim Violence and Discrimination on the Rise
Christians claim that violence and discrimination against Christians in Sri Lanka is on the rise, stating that 67 incidents of persecution, ranging from violence and assaults to church closures and false criminal inaction against Christians in Sri Lanka were recorded from January through September.
Nigeria: Christian Monarch Murdered Despite Ransom
The Monarch of the predominantly Christian Adara region of Kaduna State, Central Nigeria, Agom Adara, Maiwada Galadima, who was kidnapped by suspected Islamic militia, on 19 October, has been killed and his body dumped at Katari village, along Kaduna-Abuja road, despite the payment of a N10 million (about £22,000). His wife and driver were released unharmed.