World Watch Monitor

• America Ups the Ante over Pastor Brunson’s Detention Tuesday, July 3, 2018
  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.
• China’s ‘Underground’ Churches Told to ‘Seek Guidance’ from State-Approved Bodies Friday, June 22, 2018
  A newly implemented directive from the Chinese government forces Protestant ‘house churches’ and Catholic ‘underground’ communities to seek ‘guidance’ from recognised religious organisations.
• UN Chief ‘Personally Concerned’ about Return of Christians to Iraq and Syria Friday, June 22, 2018
  The UN’s Secretary General has stressed the importance of Christians returning to the areas from which they fled in Iraq and Syria.
• A ‘Dire Time for Human Rights in Russia’ as World Cup Begins Thursday, June 14, 2018
  The 2018 FIFA World Cup started today with a match between Saudi Arabia and the host nation Russia at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow.
• Algerian Pastor ‘Amazed’ as Three Churches Reopened Wednesday, June 13, 2018
  Three churches recently closed down by authorities in Algeria’s northern province of Oran were permitted to re-open on Sunday, 10 June.
• Coptic Christians Harassed for Drinking Water during Ramadan Fasting Hours Wednesday, June 13, 2018
  In one of three incidents reported to World Watch Monitor, an Egyptian photographer was detained by police for carrying a bottle of water during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims are...
• North Koreans ‘Betrayed’ by Human Rights Omission in Trump-Kim Agreement Tuesday, June 12, 2018
  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...
• ‘Christianity in Syria is under Threat from Forces the West is Supporting’ Monday, June 11, 2018
  Two thousand years of Christianity in Syria could be wiped out by the very forces Western governments are supporting, an Anglican vicar has claimed.
• Burkina Faso: Kidnappers Release Pastor and His family after Four Days Friday, June 8, 2018
  The Christian pastor who was abducted on Sunday with his family in Burkina Faso’s north-eastern province of Soum has been released.
• Four Iranian Christians Set to Begin Ten-year Prison Sentences Wednesday, June 6, 2018
  The four Iranian Christians who saw their ten-year prison sentences upheld by an appeal court earlier this month are expecting to have to report to prison any day now.
• One Coptic Mother’s Agony at Trauma of Son Who Saw Islamists Kill His Father Friday, May 25, 2018
  One year ago Hanaa, a 42-year-old Egyptian mother of four, took a phonecall that changed her and her family’s life forever: her son called to say he and his brother had just seen their father shot...
• Indonesia: Death Toll ‘Unimaginable’ if Bomb Had Exploded Inside Church Friday, May 18, 2018
  The leader of one of the Indonesian church most badly damaged by the suicide bombing attacks last Sunday, 13 May, has said he “can’t imagine” how much greater the damage could have been had the...
• Can Young People Help Safeguard the Future of the Church in Syria? Thursday, May 17, 2018
  As the war in Syria enters its eighth year, clergy who have watched their congregations dwindle fear that those who have left the country may not return.
• Egypt: Families of Beheaded Copts Finally Reunited with Remains of Loved Ones Wednesday, May 16, 2018
  After a three-year wait and a number of broken promises, the Egyptian Coptic families of 20 men beheaded by IS in Libya in 2015 have finally received their loved ones’ remains.
• Myanmar: 7,000 Kachin Displaced as Violence Escalates Tuesday, May 15, 2018
  Displaced Kachin residents cross the Malikha river on 26 April to escape the fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar government troops.
• Indonesia Bombings ‘Did Not Come as a Surprise’ Monday, May 14, 2018
  As details emerge of the shocking tactics used in the two bomb attacks in Indonesia over the last 48 hours, a regional analyst has said he was not surprised by the apparent Islamist motive.
• Report: UN Weakness on Religious Freedom Undercuts its Authority on Human Rights Thursday, May 10, 2018
  The UN cannot strengthen, promote and protect human rights if it does not prioritise religious freedom, a report published by the Washington-based human rights alliance, ADF International has...
• A Christian Escapee from North Korea Has His Doubts about Kim’s Peace Overtures Thursday, May 10, 2018
  What North Korea’s leader seeks from the international community is appeasement and not peace, let alone the freedom of his own people, a North Korean escapee says.