Europe

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- An international team of investigators has for the first time reached the area where a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane crashed, after it was shot down.

By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos VATICAN CITY (BosNewsLife)-- The head of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has praised Pope Francis’ for apologizing for "the persecution of Pentecostals by Catholics in the past" during a historic meeting southern Italy.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- An ethnic Polish priest who was abducted by armed pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has been freed, but his release did little to ease tensions as Ukrainian government forces advanced to the rebel-held stronghold of Donetsk.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- Afghanistan's tiny Christian community was left in shock Friday,  July 25, after two Finnish Christian aid workers were shot dead, officials confirmed. The two women were killed by gunmen in the western city of Herat, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Westerners, including Christian believers.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service KHARTOUM/ROME (BosNewsLife)-- A Sudanese mother who was spared a death sentence for refusing to renounce Christianity has been flown to Italy, after more than a month in the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Italian officials confirmed Thursday, July 24.

By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Churches across Ukraine are praying for an end to the bloodshed in their country, after a Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down by a missile, killing all 298 passengers on board, Christian missionaries told BosNewsLife.

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 BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine's government has accused pro-Russian separatists of shooting down a Malaysian passenger airplane in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, many of them children and Dutch tourists.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife STOCKHOLM/WARSAW (BosNewsLife)-- A Christian nurse is taking legal action against the Swedish government after she was fired for refusing to perform abortions. A doctor in Poland, who was dismissed on similar grounds, is considering an appeal.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUCHAREST, ROMANIA (BosNewsLife)-- For the first time since communism collapsed in Romania 25 years ago, a former prison commander went on trial Monday, July 14, for crimes against humanity because of his alleged involvement in persecuting opponents of the previously regime. The proceedings follow the death of a close ally of late Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who persecuted thousands including devoted Christians.