ASSIST News Service Three members of a jailed Christian pastor’s family have made an extraordinary escape from China to the United States with the help of an underground network of activists. According Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent for Sky News in Beijing, Zhang Shaojie’s daughter, son-in-law, and one-year-old granddaughter arrived in Dallas, Texas, on Monday after a journey which took them through five countries. Last week, Pastor Zhang was sentenced at a local court to 12 years in jail for ‘gathering crowds to disturb public order’ and ‘fraud’ after a secret detention spanning seven months. His family, who have spent much […]

ASSIST News Since mid-May over 50 villages in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region have followed the advice of the Hindu nationalist VHP and used the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Act to ban all non-Hindu religious practice. Christian leaders note these rulings are contrary to the Indian Constitution, but the VHP has said it will lobby the authorities to ensure the bans are imposed. Persecution has escalated, with numerous reports of violence and social boycotts whereby Christians are being denied access to water and food rations. The Chhattisgarh Christian Forum has requested that the Panchayat Raj Act (which facilitates rural self-government) be scrapped and […]

Compiled from World News and ASSIST News reports MOSUL — Islamic State militants have destroyed tombs long ascribed to the Old Testament prophets Jonah and Daniel in Mosul, according to eyewitness reports and video footage posted on YouTube. The demolition came as the Sunni-led, al-Qaeda-linked militants—who stormed Mosul June 10 and have occupied Iraq’s second largest city and the surrounding area in Nineveh province—also demolished tombs and related sites sacred to Shiite Muslims. The fighters have chased thousands of Christians out of Mosul, confiscating their homes and belongings. According to Archimandrite Emanuel Youkhana, an Assyrian Christian leader who heads the […]

WORLD News Service GAZA — The UN reports the death toll in Gaza has crossed 500, and the world body is calling for an immediate cease-fire. That’s what Israel, Egypt, the Arab League, and others wanted over a week ago when Hamas said no. Rarely does international politics present such moments of moral clarity, writes Charles Krauthammer on the Israeli-Gaza conflict. “Here’s the difference between us,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles.”

ASSIST News Service The radical group ISIS is seeking to impose female genital mutilation (FGM) in Mosul, a top UN official in Iraq told the BBC. The edict stated that all females aged 11 to 46 in Mosul must undergo the procedure, UN official Jacqueline Badcock reported noting the extraordinary pronouncement was of grave concern. Some African, Middle Eastern and Asian communities practice female circumcision in the belief it prepares women for adulthood and marriage. The procedure poses many health risks to women, including severe bleeding, problems urinating, infections, infertility and increased risk of newborn deaths in childbirth, according to […]