Russia

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine has released what it says are intercepted phone calls in which pro-Russian separatists admit to shooting down a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane, killing all 298 people on board. The Boeing 777 went down in eastern Ukraine while on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Most of the victims, 293 according to Dutch officials, came from the Netherlands.

By Stefan J. Bos. Chief International Correspondent KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Non-Russian Orthodox Christians in eastern Ukraine fear for their after pro-Russian separatists in the east rejected a presidential peace offer.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife

KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukrainian officials say dozens of people have died after pro-Russian forces shot down a military aircraft in the east, amid heavy fighting and U.S. concerns over Russian tanks entering the country. 

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Moscow is considering its response to what some Russian politicians have called a "diplomatic war" with the United States. The developments came after the U.S. ordered Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco and two trade missions in retaliation to what Washington called "unwarranted" Russian action.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MAKHACHKALA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The pastor of the largest Pentecostal church in Russia's violent, mainly Muslim republic of Dagestan, has died after being shot in the head, in an apparent bid to intimidate converts from Islam, Christian rights activists and police said Friday, July 16.

By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Russian authorities briefly detained an evangelical pastor and "bulldozed" what was left of his Moscow church complex as part of a wider crackdown on non-Orthodox congregations, a mission group confirmed to BosNewsLife Friday, October 19.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BRUSSELS/KIEV/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The United States and the European Union have expressed caution about a new Ukraine peace agreement reached during talks in Minsk between the Russian, Ukrainian, French and German leaders. Thursday's accord includes a ceasefire starting Sunday, followed by the withdrawal of weapons, the establishment of a demilitarized zone and the exchange of prisoners.

By BosNewsLife News Center MEXICO CITY/MOSCOW (BosNewsLife)-- Christian Maya looked on in wonder Friday, December 21, at the invasion of foreign tourists to ancient cities in southern Mexico and Central America where they expected the world to end based on ancient Maya predictions.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A congregation of evangelical Christians in Russia's capital Moscow were without a church building Tuesday, September 11, after workers with bulldozers and other equipment destroyed their Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church complex, backed by local police, witnesses said.  

By BosNewsLife News Center