(Beijing, China – July 13, 2026 – Analysis) China’s crackdown on Beijing’s unregistered Zion Church has entered a pivotal judicial phase. Informed sources report that the “Zion 10.9 Church Case” has been transferred to the procuratorate for review before possible indictment…
On July 8, the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra ordered a time-bound, statewide audit of land parcels owned by churches and Christian missionary organizations to identify illegal encroachments, disputed land titles, and unauthorized transfers dating back to the…
International Christian Concern (Persecution.org)··
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Officials in Pakistan last week reported to a parliamentary committee that a majority of 333 blasphemy cases registered in the past five years in four provinces were fabricated, according to media reports.
(Wuhan, Hubei Province, China — July 13, 2026) Authorities in central China have escalated their case against a house church pastor, transferring him to a detention center after he completed a 15-day administrative detention instead of releasing him as expected, according to…
Israeli prison guards shot jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti in the leg with a rubber bullet last week, his family said Monday, an incident denied by Israeli prison authorities. "One of the prison guards fired a rubber bullet at Marwan's leg, causing him to bleed and…
A machine gun with several magazines and a pistol had been found in a car 500 metres from a synagogue in Sarcelles, north of Paris, police said, after receiving a tip-off about a possible Islamist terrorist attack
TEHRAN- Iran has suspended maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and intensified its control over the world's most strategically important energy corridor, accusing the United States of violating the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by attempting to impose…
As the official death toll from the devastating earthquakes which struck northern Venezuela last month continues to rise, authorities are planning to set up temporary housing to shelter thousands of people left homeless.
Tehran targeted U.S. facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain and Gulf states scramble to intercept missiles and drones. The U.S. military says it struck Iranian military sites with fighter jets, naval forces and drones to protect shipping
A month after the High Court struck down a blanket ban on visits placed after Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, the Israel Prison Service introduced new rules hindering their implementation
The attack on journalists was among at least 20 incidents of settler violence reported across the West Bank over the weekend, including assaults, armed threats, property damage, trespassing and clashes that led to arrests by Israeli security forces, according to Palestinian…
By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO, July 12 (Reuters) - Israeli attacks killed at least six people in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including a 9-year-old girl, Palestinian health officials said, as mediators held more talks to safeguard the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
Iran's supreme leader said Iran "demands" retribution for his father's assassination in an airstrike. Meanwhile, Trump has threatened to "completely decimate" Iran should it attempt to assassinate him.
Tehran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and launched missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbours, in retaliation for new US strikes following an attack by Iranian forces on a merchant vessel that was abandoned in flames by its crew.
There are growing concerns that the oldest Protestant church in Iran, and its surrounding buildings, may be demolished, after residents were ordered to evacuate by tomorrow. Several of the 20 Assyrian and Armenian families who live in the St Peter’s church compound in Tehran…
According to a six-year study conducted by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), Islamic Fulani militias are by far the deadliest persecutors of Christians in Nigeria. The network of militias is responsible for four times more civilian deaths than the two…
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A violent protest erupted in Karachi, Pakistan on Thursday (July 9) after unidentified persons mailed a desecrated page of the Quran to a Muslim shopkeeper along with photographs of a Christian and his mother…
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - The United States is demanding that Iran publicly state it will stop attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and that all lanes in the strait will be open to shipping with no tolls, senior U.S. officials said on Friday.
July 10 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States had agreed to talks with Iran after Tehran asked to continue negotiations, while stressing that the June ceasefire between the two nations was over.
By Steve Holland and Enas Alashray WASHINGTON/CAIRO, July 11 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran had agreed to continue talks despite an escalation of hostilities this week but he declared that the ceasefire reached between the two sides last month was…
Hours before giving birth to her first child, a 22-year-old mother became a widow after an Islamic Fulani militia attacked her rural community in Nigeria. The attack, which occurred between June 21 and June 22, claimed 22 lives.
The storm has triggered deadly landslides in the Philippines, knocked out power in Japan and Taiwan, and forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate in China ahead of its expected landfall.
An elderly bishop, who has a pacemaker and is a cancer survivor, was subjected to short-term arbitrary detention on June 29 and 30 in Estelí, Nicaragua. Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara serves as bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Estelí.
International Christian Concern (Persecution.org)··
A statewide mobilization program to counter an alleged surge of fabricated social media content and false allegations of mass religious conversions has been announced by West Bengal’s top Christian body on July 3.
Bureaucratic inertia persisted after courts ruled in favor of Tai Ji Men, resulting in administrative persecution. The post Taxes as a Tool of Religious Discrimination: The Case of Tai Ji Men first appeared on Bitter Winter.
The state said it is conducting a review regarding the need to continue holding detainees' bodies: according to Gisha, continuing to hold the bodies 'lacks legal basis and constitutes arbitrary punishment of bereaved families'
Disease outbreaks, poor sanitation and limited access to clean water could pose major health risks to tens of thousands of survivors of Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes, the Americas branch of the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
Human rights investigators said the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, encircled the city of El-Fasher in an attempt to starve its population.
The night passed without military action by either the US or Iran, but tensions remained high across the Middle East following the escalation in recent days.
At A Glance: After 30+ years in the brick kilns, Mumtaz received the message he had been waiting for: You are free. Mumtaz’ family had suffered through four generations of the same slavery. Through all of it, Mumtaz held onto the hopeful images of Psalm 23.
While a U.S. official says the first pilot zone in Lebanon will launch within days, Defense Minister Israel Katz says the IDF will remain in 'security zones' across Lebanon, Syria and Gaza
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had hoped to showcase his country’s transformation toward democracy during French President Emmanuel Macron’s historic visit to Damascus this week. Instead, the visit was overshadowed by violence after explosions in the capital injured at least…
International Christian Concern (Persecution.org)··
Community leaders in Plateau state, Nigeria, are appealing for international attention after the killing of a Christian church worker and community leader, John Telle Danjuma, and the separate killing of three people at a mining site in a nearby community.
Trump said strikes on Iran were retribution for attacks on ships; U.S. forces struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets, while a U.S. official told CNN that the cease-fire between Washington and Tehran 'has at least temporarily ceased'