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Christian Assaulted in Orissa State, India
Extremists in Kandhamal vowed to kill a Christian around date of Hindu leader's death.NEW DELHI, September 9 (CDN) — Suspected Hindu nationalists in an area of Orissa state still tense from 2008 anti-Christian violence beat a Catholic father of seven until he fell unconscious on Aug. 20, the 47-year-old victim said.   Subhash Nayak told Compass that four unidentified men assaulted him as he made his way home to Laburi village from the hamlet of Kapingia in Kandhamal district. Hindu extremists in Kandhamal district killed more than 100 people in several weeks of attacks following the murder of Hindu extremist leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati.   An 80-year-old monk who for decades spearheaded the anti-conversion movement in Orissa's tribal-dominated areas, Saraswati was shot dead on Aug. 23, 2008. Area church leaders such... Read more »
Church Building in Bogor, Indonesia Re-opens - for a Day
City officials order security police to close church under cover of darkness.JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 8 (CDN) — The Bogor city government in West Java re-sealed the Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI) Yasmin Church on Aug. 28, one day after security police had removed the seal and lock.   Under cover of darkness, Bogor security police were ordered to secretly re-seal the church building at 11 p.m. the night before it was to be used for worship services.   Jayadi Damanik, a member of the GKI Yasmin legal team, said security police had removed the lock and seal after church talks with the district officer, the Bogor police chief, the head of the security police and citizens who live near the church. In those talks all parties agreed that there was no reason to question the construction and presence of the GKI Yasmin Church, he said.... Read more »
Somali Christian Killed, Four Children Kidnapped
Al Shabaab insurgents allegedly seek to train young ones as Islamist soldiers.NAIROBI, Kenya, September 7 (CDN) — Another member of an underground Christian movement in Somalia has been murdered by Muslim insurgents in a continuing campaign to eliminate converts from Islam.   Area sources said al Shabaab militants entered the house of Osman Abdullah Fataho in Afgoi, 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Mogadishu in Shibis district, at 10:30 the night of July 21 and shot him dead in front of his wife and children.   Fataho was a long-time Christian deeply involved in the activities of the small, secret Christian community, sources said. Area Christians said they suspected someone had informed the insurgents of Fataho's faith.   The assailants abducted his wife and children, later releasing her on the condition that she... Read more »
Buddhists in India Assault Christian Aid Worker, Friend
Assailants, still at large, abduct and threaten blind volunteer, associate and pregnant wife.NEW DELHI, September 6 (CDN) — A visually impaired Christian and his friend accused drunken Buddhists of abducting and assaulting them last week after the blind volunteer distributed relief material in a Buddhist-majority town in a region of India devastated by recent floods. The attackers are still at large after the assault on Wednesday (Sept .1) in the town of Leh in Jammu and Kashmir state's Ladakh region, where flooding and landslides destroyed hundreds of houses and killed around 200 people on Aug. 6. The attackers, identified as members of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), one of the region's largest and most influential Non-Governmental Organizations, abducted Ram Kumar Thapa, Stanzin Chosphel and his pregnant wife Putali Sherpa... Read more »
Alleged Bomber of Christian Boy in Israel to Stand Trial
Hearing could determine whether Jack Teitel is transferred from mental hospital.ISTANBUL, September 3 (CDN) — An Israeli man accused of planting a homemade bomb that almost killed the son of a Messianic Jewish pastor in Ariel, Israel has been declared competent to stand trial. Jack Teitel, 37, who in November was indicted on two charges of pre-meditated murder, three charges of attempted murder and numerous weapons charges, is expected to enter a plea on Sunday (Sept. 5). David and Leah Ortiz, parents of the teenage victim, said that the 10 months since the indictment have been difficult but their stance toward Teitel remains the same; they have forgiven him for the attack but want him to face justice before a judge and seek salvation from God. If nothing else, they said, they want him incarcerated to keep other Messianic... Read more »
Muslims Resume Building on Christian Graveyard in Pakistan
Hard-line cleric defies local officials' order to stop construction.SARGODHA, Pakistan, September 1 (CDN) — Muslims led by a hard-line cleric on Friday (Aug. 27) resumed building on a Christian cemetery in Mandi Bhawaldin, desecrating more graves in spite of a local government order to halt construction, according to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA). Radical Muslim cleric Mirza Abdul Ghani had built a mosque on the Christian graveyard off New Rasool Road in Mandi Bhawaldin after allegedly occupying the land 16 years ago, when area Christians were too intimidated to object, said Salamat Zia of APMA. "No one could object to the construction of the mosque, as it is in the constitution of Pakistan that no religious worship place could be demolished," said Zia. "Therefore all the Christians remained silent then." ... Read more »


North Korea Celebrates Leaders Birthday

CRISES AS LEADER TURNS 68 

Halton Hills, ON (Feb. 16, 2010) – Most people in North Korea will celebrate the 68th birthday of North Korean “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-Il today with parades, cultural performances and other special events. February 16 is a national holiday. It is considered the most important date in North Korea along with April 15, which is the day on which Kim Jong Il’s father Kim Il-Sung was born. While Kim Jong-Il is being showered with expensive gifts, the North Korean people are being tortured by their government as two forced combat campaigns of 150 days and 100 days are continuing. In these periods almost every citizen has to work actively for the state or face imprisonment. Christians are even under more scrutiny during these combat campaigns.
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North Korea Top Persecutor of Christians for Eighth Straight Year

IRAN JUMPS TO SECOND PLACE ON WORLD WATCH LIST 

 

Halton Hills, ON (January, 2010) – Two of the most notorious and restrictive regimes in the world top the Open Doors 2010 World Watch List (WWL) of 50 countries which are the worst persecutors of Christians. In the No. 1 spot for the eighth straight time is North Korea, the country where every religious activity is recognized as an insurrection to the North Korean socialist principles. In 2009, the North Korean regime of Kim Jong-Il targeted Christians all over the country. That resulted in arrests, torture and killings. North Korean leaders are desperately trying to control society in order to eradicate all Christian activities. There are an estimated 200,000 North Koreans in political prisons, including 40,000 to 60,000 Christians.  A veteran North Korean watcher, who can’t be identified due to security reasons, states: “Christians are the target of fierce government action, and once caught, are not regarded as human. Last year we had evidence that some were used as guinea pigs to test chemical and biological weapons.”  
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Moroccan Authorities Raid Bible Study, Arrest Christians
By Pablo Fredrick   MARSEILLES, France, February 9 (Compass Direct News) – A large, military-led team of Moroccan authorities raided a Bible study in a small city southeast of Marrakech last week, arresting 18 Moroccans and deporting a U.S. citizen, area Christian leaders said. Approximately 60 officers from the Moroccan security services on Thursday afternoon (Feb. 4) raided the home of a Christian in Amizmiz, a picturesque city of 10,000 mainly Berber people 56 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of Marrakech. A church Bible study was in progress at the home with visitors from western and southern Morocco, the leaders said.  Five of the 18 people held for 14 hours were small children, two of them infants no more than 6 months old. The other small children ranged from 20 months to 4 years old, and also detained was the visiting 16-year-old nephew of one of the participants. The Christian leaders said authorities interrogated participants in the Bible study for 14 hours. The authorities filmed the interrogations with digital video cameras and cell phones.
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