Nicaraguan authorities have detained two senior Catholic priests, escalating tensions between the state and the Catholic Church. The priests, identified as Carlos Aviles and Hector Treminio, are closely associated with the country’s top Catholic leader. Their arrest brings the total number of clergymen detained last week to at least six, Reuters reported Saturday.
Police in Uttar Pradesh detained a Christian, along with a guest, for praying in his own house on New Year’s Eve in Maharajganj district yesterday. Pastor Raj Kishore along with some of his friends had gathered in his own house for New Years’ Eve in Sonbarasa village on December 31, when the Kothibari police reached his house around 11 pm and detained him and a friend at the complaint of a neighbour.
Unidentified terrorists on Thursday (Dec. 28) killed eight Christians in Taraba state, Nigeria, after 13 others were slain the previous week, sources said.
The World Council of Churches' recent visit to Cuba, led by General Secretary Rev. Prof. Jerry Pillay, has drawn the ire of religious freedom advocates. Critics say the visit, which included a meeting with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, overlooked the Cuban government's violations of religious freedom.
Officials in Mauritania have released all Christians arrested after a video of a baptism ceremony in November prompted Muslims to call for their punishment, Christian leaders in the region said.
In a divisive and polarising turn of events, the Janjati Suraksha Manch (JSM), closely aligned with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), launched a targeted campaign against Christian tribal communities, strategically timed during the Christmas season.
Before Sawuba Naigaga succumbed to injuries her 25-year-old son inflicted on her in Uganda this month, she described the assault to a friend from her hospital bed.
Persecution against Christians is expected to rise in several countries in the coming year, according to Release International. The organisation's new Persecution Trends report, released this week, warns of an intensfication of persecution in a number of countries, including Nigeria, India, Pakistan and China in 2024.
Islamic terrorists on Dec. 19 killed 10 Christians in western Uganda, sources said.
An update from the ministry of evangelist Hatun Tash has said she "is fine" after fears that she was missing. Tash leads Defend Christ Critique Islam Ministries (DCCI) and often engages with Muslims at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park.
Terrorists massacred 160 people, many of them preparing for church Christmas programs, Saturday night (Dec. 23) through Monday (Dec. 25) in coordinated attacks on predominantly Christian areas in Plateau state, Nigeria, sources said.
A Muslim teacher at an Islamic school in eastern Uganda who became a Christian on Oct. 4 was killed on Oct. 21, area sources said.
