Europe

By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BELFAST/LONDON (BosNewsLife)-- An outspoken evangelical pastor who called Islam "satanic" and a "doctrine spawned in hell" has been found not guilty of broadcasting hate speech by a Belfast court. The acquittal of Senior Pastor James McConnell was welcomed by the Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland, part of a group representing two million British evangelical Christians. "Today's verdict is a victory for common sense and freedom of speech," the group told BosNewsLife in a statement. However it also cautioned that "until the law is changed or clear guidance is issued, there will still be concern about further prosecution" of Christians.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungarian police confirmed Tuesday, May 29, they detained the leader of a neo-Nazi group on suspicion of vandalizing Holocaust memorials across the capital Budapest.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent VIENNA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Some 100 mostly Christian Iranians stranded in Austria face imminent deportation back to Iran where they could face detention, torture, and even death after the United States rejected their asylum applications, rights activists told BosNewsLife Thursday, March 1.

By BosNewsLife News Center MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Evangelical Churches and Christian groups in Russia that are involved educational, social and charitable work are facing harassment from authorities resembling the Soviet-era, rights activists say. One church was reportedly liquidated over alleged illegal "non-religious educational activity", in the heavily Orthodox, post-Communist nation.

By BosNewsLife News Center ISTANBUL, TURKEY (BosNewsLife)-- A Turkish court on Monday, March 21, ordered five military officers and two civilians jailed as part of an investigation into the 2007 killings of three Christians at a Bible-publishing house.  

--Late Author Accused Of Stealing Identity By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from BudapestBUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- A Hungarian-born Jewish survivor of Nazi death camps isn't surprised that only a few people attended the funeral for self-proclaimed Holocaust witness and famed author Elie Wiesel. "They buried Wiesel quickly after his death so journalists could not see that he didn't have a tattoo of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp," said Nikolaus (Miklós) Grüner.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife SKOPJE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Macedonia held presidential and local elections Sunday, March 22, seen as vital to the country's plans to join the European Union and NATO.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KIEV/AMSTERDAM (BosNewsLife)-- The Netherlands has commemorated the nearly 300 people who died on board a Malaysia Airlines plane which was shot down over eastern Ukraine earlier this year. Flags flew at half-mast at government buildings as the nation united to remember one of the worst disasters in modern Dutch history.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Devoted Christians in Hungary and the Middle East stood up against Nazism or Islamic extremism this week, while others worshiped Christ behind bars, between bomb explosions and in bitter cold conditions.

By George Whitten, Jerusalem Bureau Chief JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Benedict XVI has urged the creation of a "true world political authority" to "guarantee the protection of the environment" and to manage the global economy, BosNewsLife learned Tuesday, June 22.