Attackers torch Tanzanian university

A security guard was killed and two other people seriously injured at a private university in north-east Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border, on 2 September when a mob attacked and set fire to the campus. Students at the Lutheran Church-owned Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University in Lushoto escaped through small . . . Read More

EU alliance with ‘unsavoury’ African leaders

European politicians, under pressure to reduce the exodus of African refugees, have now begun providing equipment and training to the security forces of Sudan, whose President is wanted for war crimes, says . The magazine says it has seen leaked documents from talks that took place on 23 March between . . . Read More

US religious-freedom report urges government to add 7 countries to worst-offenders list

US religious-freedom report urges government to add 7 countries to worst-offenders list
What is happening? The primary US government agency on global religious freedom issued its annual report 2 May. It says “religious freedom abroad has been under serious and sustained assault” during the past year, and says America should add seven countries to its list of worst offenders: Central African Republic . . . Read More

Clerics tell Muslims to protect minorities

More than 250 Muslim scholars, from over 120 countries, have called for religious freedom for non-Muslims in majority-Muslim countries. In a declaration signed on 27 January in Marrakesh, Morocco, the clerics said that it is wrong to discriminate against religious minorities in Muslim countries. They paid particular attention to Muhammad’s . . . Read More

2016 World Watch List drawn from world headlines

2016 World Watch List drawn from world headlines
Some of the most urgent headlines of the past 12 months, from the global spread of jihadist violence to North Korea’s test of a putative atomic weapon, intersect with an updated list of the most difficult places to live as a Christian. For the 14th straight year, North Korea is . . . Read More

Report: Christianity contracting in MidEast, Africa

Report: Christianity contracting in MidEast, Africa
Christianity is fast disappearing from entire regions, most notably a huge chunk of the Middle East, and could vanish from Iraq within five years, according to a new report by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Released in the UK’s House of Lords on Tuesday, the report, “Persecuted and . . . Read More