World Watch Monitor

• North Korea: US Citizens Set for Release ahead of Trump-Kim Talks
  Three American citizens detained in North Korea seem set to be released ahead of a meeting between the two countries’ leaders next month.
  Thursday, May 3, 2018
• Trump Tells Buhari: ‘We Cannot Allow Christians to Be Murdered’
  US President Donald Trump decried the killings of Christians in Nigeria as he met with the country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, in Washington yesterday (30 April).
  Tuesday, May 1, 2018
• Pakistan: Christian Mother Asia Bibi's Appeal Case Will Finally Be Heard
  Pakistan’s chief justice says he will decide, “soon,” the fate of Aasiya Noreen, a Christian woman whose 2009 conviction on blasphemy charges has fixated world attention on the country’s treatment...
  Thursday, April 26, 2018
• Turkey: Imprisoned American Pastor Andrew Brunson Could Face 35-Year Sentence
  Andrew Brunson got his first day in a Turkish court today (16 April) to answer espionage charges. It will be three weeks until he gets his second.
  Tuesday, April 17, 2018
• 97 Missing Chibok Girls Feared Dead
  After relatives and activists commemorated on Saturday the 4th anniversary of the Chibok girls’ kidnapping, there are now fears that many of over 100 girls still missing will never return home.
  Monday, April 16, 2018
• China Pledges to Protect Religious Freedom, Days after Bible Ban
  China presented an official ‘white paper’ on religion on Wednesday, 4 April, guaranteeing “protection” for religious freedom, just four days after banning the online sale of Bibles.
  Friday, April 6, 2018
• 5 Countries Where Christians Celebrated Easter Despite Persecution
  Easter this year was a time of mixed emotions for the Christians who live under pressure for their faith. While political and religious leaders called for peace, reconciliation and brotherhood,...
  Tuesday, April 3, 2018
• Coptic Girl, 16, Rescued 92 Days after Islamists Kidnapped Her
  A 16-year-old Coptic Christian girl kidnapped on 28 June to be “converted to Islam, then married off or sold”, was released and returned to her family on 30 September after police found her and...
  Tuesday, October 17, 2017
• Christian Girl Abducted by ISIS Reunited with Parents after 3 Years
  After almost three years in captivity, an Iraqi Christian girl abducted by the Islamic State in August 2014 has finally been reunited with her parents.
  Monday, June 12, 2017
• Pakistani Christian Accused of Blasphemy out on Bail after Three Years in Prison
  After spending more than three years in jail, a Christian accused of blasphemy, and facing the death penalty, was granted bail by the Supreme Court in Lahore on 1 Feb.
  Monday, February 6, 2017
• Four Arrests for Copt Cathedral Bombing Which Killed 28; Also Sisi Promises New ‘Megachurch’ for 2018
  Egyptian police have arrested four people in the wake of the bombing that killed dozens of Christians at Cairo's Coptic Christian cathedral last month, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
  Tuesday, January 10, 2017
• Nigerian Human Rights Commission Calls on President to Stop 'Callous' Kaduna Killings
  The Nigerian National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to put an end to the ongoing deadly attacks committed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Southern Kaduna.
  Thursday, January 5, 2017
• Sudanese Pastor Released, but Others Still Face Serious Charges
  One of four men detained in Sudan since December 2015 has been released, but three others continue to face seven criminal charges, some of which carry the death penalty or life imprisonment if...
  Tuesday, January 3, 2017
• 'No Christmas or Carol Singing' Order in Santa Claus Homeland Turkey
  “No more Christmas celebration and/or lessons on Christmas including carol singing is permitted, effective immediately."
  Tuesday, December 20, 2016
• ‘We Have a Right to Build Churches’ Says Copt after Latest Attack
  Two weeks after a Coptic community was attacked over rumours it planned to open a church in the village, one of the Copts says it is his community’s “right” to do so.
  Tuesday, December 13, 2016
• Iran: Church Retreat Center Confiscated for ‘Being Funded by CIA’
  The Iranian government has assumed control of a church-owned retreat center, accusing the church of being funded by the US government and the CIA
  Monday, December 12, 2016
• Philippines Churches Could Cancel Services over Terrorism Threat
  A Filipino cardinal has condemned as “terrorism” a bomb explosion outside a Catholic church in the southern Philippines as clergy in the capital warned they could cancel Masses because of the...
  Friday, December 2, 2016
• ‘Castro’s Death Won’t End Repression of Cuban Church’
  The death of Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro will not reduce the harassment and surveillance to which the Church is already subjected, an analyst at the charity Open Doors has warned.
  Thursday, December 1, 2016