Africa

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (BosNewsLife Columns)-- The ominous words “Christian militia” have been appearing with increasing frequency in the media. In some cases the words indicate groups that are fighting against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. These are mainly Assyrian Christians who have taken up arms to defend their homelands.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (BosNewsLife Columns)-- Pope Francis plans to visit the Central African Republic this month and you do not have to be Catholic to want to pray for him. For this country – a land-locked former French colony situated between Cameroon and South Sudan – has to be one of the saddest places on earth.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- Christian broadcaster SAT-7, which airs in the Middle East and North Africa, has urged for prayers after Egyptian authorities confiscated crucial equipment during a raid on its studios in Cairo and a local director was detained.

By Stefan J, Bos, Chief Internationalk Correspondent BosNewsLife LONDON/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife) -- An influential Catholic charity and advocacy group warns in a new report that Christianity may be "eradicated" in several nations as persecution of Christians has worsened over the last two years in countries such as China, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan and Syria.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest and border areas BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Francis call for solidarity with migrants fleeing war and poverty amid Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War Two comes while Hungary's government says it has completed a razor-wire barrier near the border with Serbia. It is among several measures Hungary is taking to halt back refugees after some 150,000 migrants reportedly entered the country illegally this year alone. In Budapest refugees have demanded safe passage to the West during spontaneous demonstrations over the weekend.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest and border areas BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Four people remain detained after the decomposing bodies of 71 migrants fleeing war and poverty, including eight women and four children, were found in a truck on Austria's main highway after apparently arriving from neighboring Hungary. Hungarian police said they detained the suspects as part of a wider investigation into human smuggling.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Hungarian-Serbian border area ÁSOTTHALOM, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Macedonia has seen fighting among migrants at a train station as they rush to reach Serbia and from there Hungary, a European Union member state. Refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other nations are racing to reach Hungary before it finishes building a fence to keep them out.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos KHARTOUM, SUDAN (BosNewsLife)-- Two South Sudanese pastors who faced the death penalty on controversial charges of espionage and other crimes have been freed, but authorities do not allow them to leave Sudan, Christians told BosNewsLife.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Islamic militant group Boko Haram is stepping up attacks in heavily Christian towns and village in Nigeria's troubled northeast, killing more than 750 people since May 29, Christian rights activists say. News of the violence came after Boko Haram militants were pushed back by Nigeria's military when they tried to to gain access to Maiduguri, Borno State's largest city.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife Columns)-- Recently it might appear that conditions have not been too bad for the Coptic Christians of Egypt. But look more closely and a different picture emerges.