Hopes dashed for release of pastor Andrew Brunson as Turkish trial to continue in October

Andrew Brunson (World
Hopes were dashed for the imminent release of an American pastor jailed in Turkey on terrorism charges as a Turkish court today ordered him to remain behind bars. The court scheduled Andrew Brunson’s next hearing for 12 October. Some observers had believed that Turkey might release Brunson, who has been . . . Read More

North Korea tells US to drop ‘anachronistic human rights racket’

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North Korea has called on the United States to stop its “anachronistic human rights racket” as talks continue between the two countries, AP reports. The US House of Representatives recently promised that “complete, verifiable, and irreversible human rights improvements” in North Korea were a necessary part of any deal, while . . . Read More

Iraqi archbishop tells USAID delegation to hurry up aid delivery

Iraqi archbishop tells USAID delegation to hurry up aid delivery
An Iraqi Catholic archbishop has said he and other bishops are “delighted” that the US aid arm is to make good on a pledge to send aid directly to non-Muslim communities recovering from ISIS’s occupation of their towns and villages, but warned “time is running [out]”. Archbishop Bashar Warda of . . . Read More

America ups the ante over Pastor Brunson’s detention

America ups the ante over Pastor Brunson’s detention
The American Charge d’Affaires in Ankara has said that Turkey’s continued detention of pastor Andrew Brunson on spying and terrorism-related charges is impeding US-Turkish relations. Philip Kosnett said there is a “strong sense of unity in Congress between Republicans and Democrats” on the need for Brunson to be released and . . . Read More

North Koreans ‘betrayed’ by human rights omission in Trump-Kim agreement

After meeting Kim Jong-un in Singapore, US President Donald Trump said the many North Koreans currently being held in forced-labour camps were “one of the great winners today”. (Photo: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images)
North Koreans were “betrayed” by the failure of US President Donald Trump to include human rights provisions in his agreement with the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, following their historic meeting in Singapore, according to Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director, Phil Robertson. “The North Korean people have suffered for so long,” . . . Read More

North Korean ex-detainee was told his ‘hostile act against regime’ was prayer

North Korean ex-detainee Kim Hak Song upon return to the United States, at the Joint Base Andrews. (Photo: Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
One of the American citizens who was released by North Korea and returned to the United States last month, was told by his captors he was detained because of the “hostile act” of prayer. Kim Hak Song was arrested on a train from North Korea’s capital Pyongyang to China in . . . Read More

Nigeria: 10 killed in Kogi state as herdsmen attacks move south

Nigeria: 10 killed in Kogi state as herdsmen attacks move south
At least ten people were killed as suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked Christian communities in Kogi state on Monday, 14 May. Nigeria has been plagued by violence attributed to the herdsmen, particularly in the Middle Belt and northeast. But now the violence is also affecting the predominantly Christian south states, with . . . Read More

Religious freedom reduces terrorism, says US ambassador Brownback

Sam Brownback was confirmed as Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom in January.
If countries want less terrorism within their borders, they should give religious freedom to their people, says US religious freedom ambassador Sam Brownback. During a policy hearing in Washington DC on Wednesday (9 May), he said one country that had been a “bad actor” for a long time was now . . . Read More

Nigeria: Fulani herdsmen conflict has growing religious dimension – BBC

Nigeria: Fulani herdsmen conflict has growing religious dimension – BBC
Following the shooting dead of two Catholic priests and over a dozen parishioners at a church in Nigeria’s Middle Belt last month, the BBC has visited the village and spoken to survivors. Fr. Joseph Gor and Fr. Felix Tyolaha were killed during the morning Mass at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, in . . . Read More