An Iraqi official says the number of Christian families fleeing violence in the northern city of Mosul since last week has reached 1,390 -- or more than 8,300 people.

A German evangelical development worker who was kidnapped at gunpoint from a restaurant in the Afghan capital Kabul has been freed, her organization and Afghan officials confirmed Monday, August 20.

In a unprecedented move, a Chinese court has agreed to hear a case filed by a pastor against government officials who prohibited worship services in his house church, observers familiar with the trial said Wednesday, December 31.

Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan and his wife celebrated their first peaceful Sunday in more than three months after officials restored their water and electricity and permitted their house church to gather, their supporters said Wednesday, October 1.

Chinese officials have yet to declare a new court date for Alimjan Yimit, a Christian house church leader and ethnic Uyghur in China's northwest province of Xinjiang detained since his arrest on Jan. 12.

In recent months Chinese officials have attempted to build bridges with the Protestant house church movement even as police raided more unregistered congregations, arrested Christian leaders and forced at least 400 college students to swear they would stop attending such worship services.

Over a dozen Christians will spend Christmas behind bars in China after police raided a Christian leaders gathering in Henan province, while in the capital Beijing two officials of the banned Chinese House Church Alliance were detained, an advocacy group and Chinese Christians confirmed Thursday, December 18.

Buddhist clerics and local council officials are holding 13 newly converted Christians captive in a pagoda in a southeastern mountainous district of Bangladesh in an attempt to forcibly return them to Buddhism.

Local government officials in Dak Lak Province this morning made good on their threat to destroy a new wooden church building erected in September by Hmong Christians in Cu Hat village.

Minority Christians and other non-Muslims faced potential persecution Tuesday, December 30, as militants linked to Taliban and Al-Qaeda groups imposed Shariah, or Islamic law, in the Orakzai Agency tribal region of the restive Pakistani North West Frontier Province (NWFP), officials told BosNewsLife.

Chiapas state officials arrested 14 "traditionalist Catholics" following the destruction on Sunday (July 22) of an evangelical church in a community of San Juan Chamula, near San Cristobal de las Casas, in Mexico’s Chiapas state.

The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has learned that Eritrean officials imprisoned about 20 Christians belonging to the underground Faith Missions Church on October 12, 2008 in Deki-Zeru, a town 30km away from Asmara, the capital.

Nepal Airlines officials thought outside the tool box and decided to sacrifice two goats in front of the plane to appease the Hindu sky deity.

Minority Christians and other non-Muslims faced potential persecution Tuesday, December 30, as militants linked to Taliban and Al-Qaeda groups imposed Shariah, or Islamic law, in the Orakzai Agency tribal region of the restive Pakistani North West Frontier Province (NWFP), officials told BosNewsLife.

In a unprecedented move, a Chinese court has agreed to hear a case filed by a pastor against government officials who prohibited worship services in his house church, observers familiar with the trial said Wednesday, December 31.

Today’s Reading: Acts 8:26-40 Have you ever felt left out? Ever been the last kid picked? Ever spent a lonely night at home while you’re friends had a get-together that you weren’t invited to? Ever wondered what’s wrong with you? Today’s passage is about isolation. We meet a man, an Ethiopian official, who feels left out. Walk with me up to [...]