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Indonesia bans forced religious attire in state schools

The Indonesian government has issued a decree banning state schools from interfering in the religious beliefs of students and teachers in a move that is being hailed as part of increased efforts to ensure the Muslim-majority country remains inclusive. The decree was announced on Feb. 3 following an outcry last month after a state vocational […]

Three Indonesian Christians caned for drinking alcohol

Three Christians were flogged in public in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Feb. 8 after being caught drinking alcohol at a small shop in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, according to a local government official. Heru Triwijanarko, acting head of the Banda Aceh public order agency and Sharia police, said the three unnamed men received 40 […]

Blasphemy law: Christian nurse tortured in Pakistan hospital

A Christian nurse was reportedly tied up and tortured by a mob at a Pakistani hospital after a Muslim colleague falsely accused her of blasphemy. Tabitha Nazir Gill, 30, was attacked and beaten by staff at the Sobhraj Maternity Hospital in Karachi where she has worked for nine years, Rabwah reports. The head nurse was […]

Pope Francis prays for stability in Myanmar

Pope Francis prayed Feb 7 for justice and national stability in Burma as tens of thousands protest the Feb. 1 military coup. “These days I am following with great concern the developments of the situation that has arisen in Myanmar,” the pope said Feb. 7, using the country’s official name. Burma is “a country that, […]

New archbishop named for Pakistan’s largest city

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Card. Joseph Coutts of Karachi and transferred Bishop Benny Travas of Multan to take his place as arch-bishop of Pakistan’s largest city. Cardinal Coutts has headed the southern archdiocese since Jan. 25, 2012. He was appointed chairperson of the Christian Study Centre, a key Christian research centre, in Rawalpindi last […]

Malaysian Christians pray for missing pastor, disappeared

Catholics and Protestants in Malaysia are praying for victims of enforced disappearances as they remember a Christian pastor who went missing four years ago. The prayers of solidarity on the weekends on Feb. 6-7 and Feb. 13-14 are in response to a call from the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), the interdenominational Christian forum in […]

Indian tribal families caned for embracing Christianity

A village court in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand has ordered families who converted to Christianity to be caned, fined and excommunicated from the community. Three Korwa tribal families from Khala village of Dhurki in Garhwa district embraced Christianity on Jan. 22, according to media reports. “There are reports of religious conversion in the […]

Bhima Koregaon case: Jailed activist’s computer compromised

A key accused in the Bhima Koregaon case has moved the Bombay High Court after a US firm revealed that a hacker had planted incriminating evidence on his computer. A report by Arsenal Consulting, a digital forensic analyst from Chelsea, US, has debunked the electronic evidence gathered by India’s National Investigation Agency to arrest Rona […]