Archive

BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife)-- Christian bookstore owner Shi Weihan, detained in a Chinese prison without his medication for diabetes, was due in court Thursday, June 19, to face as yet unspecified charges, Christians said.

MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Wednesday, June 18, welcomed news that three men have been charged in the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya but said those who ordered the killing must also face charges.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY (BosNewsLife)-- An evangelical pastor in Turkey faced a possible jail term Wednesday, June 18, just days after a prosecutor began investigating him on charges that included to blasphemy against Islam, Christian rights investigators said.

ALGIERS, ALGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- The trial of two Algerian Christian converts accused of proselytising has been postponed for a week, the head of the country's Protestant church said Wednesday, June 18.

BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife)-- The president of the Chinese House Church Alliance, a major umbrella group of underground churches, has been detained along with his interpreter while on his way to meet a senior European Union official, fellow Christian workers said.

CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- There was international concern Tuesday, June 17, over the situation of over 100 Eritrean refugees, including dozens of women, who were removed from Egyptian prisons "in an extremely forceful manner" since this weekend as part of ongoing deportations, rights workers said.

DHAKA, BANGLADESH (BosNewsLife)-- More than a month after his 13-year old daughter was allegedly gang raped by five Muslims, a pastor in Bangladesh still awaiting justice Tuesday, June 17, amid reports that medical authorities were bribed to alter a medical report about the crime.

GAZA CITY/JERUSALEM (BosNewsLife)-- The Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers said Tuesday, June 17, that a truce deal with Israel could be reached this week, but minority Christians feared more Islamic extremist violence against them after armed assailants attacked a Christian school in the area.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY (BosNewsLife)-- A Protestant church in the Turkish capital Ankara faced an uncertain future Monday, June 16, after authorities ordered it to close down, rights investigators familiar with the situation said.

ASTANA/TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan faced more tensions Sunday, June 15, after state-run television for the second time aired a film seen as inciting religious hatred, while in neighboring Kazakhstan parliament began studying a controversial religious law, rights investigators said.