A 16-year-old Christian girl who was kidnapped, forced to marry her captor, raped and then sexually trafficked has been rescued and returned temporarily to her family.
State officials and local clerics closed a prayer house and halted Christian activities for the time being and also expelled an evangelist and his young son from the district.
In a rare decision, a Pakistani court ordered issuance of a new government identification card to a woman to acknowledge her conversion to Christianity.
Even though a pastor — who is a permanent United States resident — was released from a Chinese prison more than a year ago, the Chinese government refuses to let him return to the U.S.
The leader of the rights group ChinaAid says persecution of Christians in China has intensified but that believers are persevering and that Christianity is increasing.