Syria

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos DAMASCUS/BEIRUT (BosNewsLife)-- Syrian Christian leaders and aid workers warned the West on Wednesday, August 28, that a planned military action against their country's government "would be disastrous" with "unintended consequences" for the already endangered Christian community.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Assyrian Christians in Syria are celebrating the release of the remaining 43 Christians taken hostage by the Islamic State group from villages along the Khabour River in Hassaka Governorate in February 2015, but warn that several other believers remain detained. Monday's release came one day short of the anniversary of their abduction, said Middle East Concern (MEC), an advocacy group closely monitoring the situation.

By BosNewsLife News Center with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungary's foreign minister says his country has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the "brutal actions" committed against Christians by the Islamic State group.

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.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with additional reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- A Catholic priest has been publicly beheaded by suspected Islamic militants in northern Syria after accusations of collaborating with President Bashar Assad's government, BosNewsLife established Tuesday, July 2.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist TOKYO, JAPAN (BosNewsLife Columns)-- A forthcoming film from famed director Martin Scorsese is set  to confront the movie-going public with the persecution of Christians. It's “Silence,” based on the celebrated 1966 historical novel by Japanese Christian writer Shusaku Endo, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BosNewsLife)-- An influential Anglican leader in Iraq said Saturday, August 24, he was thinking of the Bible's warning not to be alarmed amid warfare as dozens of people were killed nearby in the capital Baghdad, while neighboring Syria was rocked by apparently new chemical weapons attack revelations.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Two Syrian Orthodox bishops remained missing Wednesday, April 24, after they were kidnapped by suspected Islamic gunmen who also killed their driver, church officials and local Christians said.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)— Fighters of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group have released another 37 Assyrian Christians who had been kidnapped nine months ago, but hundreds of other Christian hostages remain detained, Christians confirmed Friday, November 20.