CIS (ex-USSR)

The day Soviet tanks crushed democracy, and the bitter battle over its legacy By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife in Budapest. A co-production with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife/ABC)-- Millions in Europe have been remembering Soviet forces storming the streets of Budapest, killing thousands and crushing Hungary's fight for freedom in 1956. But as the country lurches to the political right under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the revolution is being recast as a patriotic fight against foreign domination … with the EU villainised as the new oppressor.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Over 210,000 Christians in Uzbekistan face more danger and uncertainty after Uzbekistan's parliament appointed Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev as interim president following the death of strongman leader Islam Karimov, missionaries told BosNewsLife.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Relatives and friends say three Azeri Christians and an Iranian Christian remain behind bars in Tehran, nearly a month after they were detained as part of a larger government-backed crackdown on evangelicals. Seperately, Iranian authorities released Amin Khaki from Ahvaz Prison, after he served part of a one-year sentence for "spreading Christianity" in this strict Islamic nation, supporters told BosNewsLife.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent ISTANBUL/BERLIN (BosNewsLife)-- Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Germany to protest against the German Parliament's decision to declare the massacre of Armenians during World War I a "genocide". The vote heightens German-Turkish tensions amid an ongoing refugee crisis.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/STOCKHOLM (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine is celebrating after it won the Eurovision Song Contest with an emotionally charged song about Soviet Union leader Josef Stalin's deportation in 1944 of nearly a quarter of a million Crimean Tatars. Yet the song by Susana Jamaladinova, a 32-year-old trained opera singer who uses the stage name Jamala, has angered critics in Russia, which came in third after Australia.

By BosNewsLife News Center BAKU/TBILISI (BosNewsLife)-- Christian activists have urged prayers for a frail Christian evangelist from Azerbaijan who has been spending a year behind bars in neighboring Georgia on what his supporters say are "trumped up charges" of drugs possession. If convicted the man could face 14 years imprisonment, Christians said.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- The 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union sparked hopes among Christians for a new era of religious freedom. Sadly, these dreams have been only partially realized. This has been confirmed in the 2016 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where Christians are most severely persecuted for their faith.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ASTANA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A court in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan has begun hearing the case against a Kazakh Christian convert who could face a long prison term on charges of "inciting religious hatred". Yqylas Qabduaqasov, 54, an active member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, was brought to the courtroom in the capital Astana Friday, October 9, in handcuffs, reporters said.

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.