Middleeast

The United Nations Human Rights Council held an urgent debate on the crisis in Syria Tuesday in Geneva calling for an immediate halt to the violence in the country that has claimed more than 7,500 lives.

"My office has received disturbing reports of a rapidly deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation," Navil Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at the meeting attended by 70 member states, observer states, and non-governmental organizations.

Pillay called upon the Syrian government to allow access to humanitarian groups and to release political prisoners and individuals who are facing arbitrary detention. more >>

The "Jesus Discovery," presented by archaeologist and professor James Tabor with documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, claimed to have found the tomb of Jesus and his family in Jerusalem in 2010. However, many remained skeptical. Now, their persistence has unveiled another nearby tomb that is causing renewed debate and controversy.

The new tomb – about 200 feet from the "Jesus Family Tomb" – is marked with the first Christian symbol, the cross. It also has markings allegedly saying "Divine Jehovah, raise up, raise up" and a drawing of a fish with a stick.

"In my assessment, there's zero percent chance that their theory is correct," Andrew Vaughn, executive director of the American Schools of Oriental Research, told MSNBC of the findings. For him, the second tomb does not strengthen the case that the first one is authentic. more >>

Syria's new constitution may have passed a referendum on Sunday, but Christians are protesting the inclusion of an article that would prevent a non-Muslim from being the country's president.

The constitution passed with 89.4 percent approval, according to Syrian state television. Syria also claims that 57.4 percent of voters turned out for the election, although international diplomats estimate the actual turnout was closer to five percent.

Many opposition members boycotted the timing of the measure, saying that they could not effectively vote while fights between the government and the rebels continued to flare up across the country. more >>

The American Center for Law and Justice's sources in Iran confirmed Sunday that Youcef Nadarkhani is still alive, although it is still believed that Iranian courts have issued an execution warrant for the Christian pastor.

Middle East experts and international affairs organizations agree that Nadarkhani's case has caused the global community to transcend politics in unified support for the Iranian evangelical, and proves that there is concern for religious freedom around the world.

"We still believe that his execution has been ordered, but it is clear that renewed international pressure on Iran for Pastor Youcef's release is having an impact," Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the ACLJ, wrote on the organization's website. more >>

The organization Stand Up America Now, led and founded by Dr. Terry Jones, revealed on Feb. 22 that it will burn Qurans and images of the prophet Muhammad in protest of the Islamic religion, should Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani be executed for his Christian faith.

The American Center for Law and Justice announced on Tuesday, Feb 21 that the Iranian courts may have issued an execution order for Nadarkhani. Nadarkhani, who has been a pastor at a number of house churches in Iran for the past 10 years, has been imprisoned since October 2009, originally for protesting, but those changes were later controversially changed to apostasy and attempting to evangelize Muslims.

According to the Stand Up America Now website, the organization focuses on many social issues, with a special emphasis on standing up for Christian minorities persecuted in Islamic dominated countries. more >>

The Red Cross has started evacuating women and children trapped in the crossfire between President Bashar al-Assad's supporters and rebel fighters in the city of Homs. Many Christians are also believed to still be trapped in the tumultuous city.

Homs, along with many other villages in the area, has become the battleground for Assad's supporters and rebels hoping to end five decades of Arab Socialist Ba'athist rule in the country, and has been under shell and rocket fire for over two weeks. Since August, the government crackdown on dissidents has progressively gotten worse, and with a recent Arab League pullout, some analysts have suggested that the country is on the brink of civil war.

Cities such as Homs are running out of basic necessities for residents, and people are losing their lives in the crossfire. According to the BBC, 7,000 people in the country have died since the uprising started in March last year, and more than 90 people lost their lives Thursday. Now, finally, Syrian Arab Red Crescent ambulances are evacuating women and children from besieged parts of the area in what is truly a crisis situation. more >>