Rev. Dr. Safwat el-Bayadi, head of the Evangelical community in Egypt, described the arrest of Copts in wake of recent attacks in Cairo as a "deviation from the course of justice."

Rev. Bayadi said the judiciary must be fair and that the trial of victims is not acceptable. He pointed out the institution of the presidency cares only for improving the image of the regime, explaining that this is why the presidency releases English statements to address the West while it does not care about the homeland.

According to Rev. Bayadi, Christians still live in the era of martyrdom. Although he stresses the tolerance and forgiveness of Copts towards their aggressors, it does not give aggressors permission to repeat their assaults. more >>

Seven people have been left dead in Venezuela following violent clashes on Monday in the wake of the disputed presidential elections that took place on Sunday.

The South American nation went to the polls over the weekend to elect a new leader to replace controversial Hugo Chavez. According to the results, President-elect Nicolas Maduro won 50.8 percent of the votes, while opposition leader Henrique Capriles received 49.0 percent.

The intensely close results prompted Capriles to demand a full recount, leading to supporters from both sides to flood the capital Caracas and engage in violence, with the police arresting 135 people and reporting 61 had been injured. more >>

Christian leaders in the U.S. responded quickly to the bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon on Monday that left at least 3 dead and more than 130 injured, by sharing their own grief over what is being called a terrorist attack, and calling for prayer.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4)," wrote Pastor David Fairchild, who leads Mars Hill West Seattle Church, in a blog post on the church's website shortly after the bombings.

"I am deeply grieved by the early reports of two blasts occurring at the finish line of the Boston Marathon," Fairchild stated. "Sadly, in a split second, people and families have been shattered and forever changed by this terrible tragedy. more >>

H.G. Bishop Youssef of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese with the Southern United States said that the world has been watching the promised and historic transition to democracy in Egypt, but the recent and serial attacks on the Coptic Patriarchate and Copts throughout the country has "fundamentally undermined the movement with disgrace."

"The onslaught of innocent Christians in a pervasive and remorseless series of attacks severely threatens the healing of a wounded nation … [A nation] which has been marred by pandemonium and incessant, systematic subjugation of the marginalized Coptic people," Youssef said.

The bishop described the attack on St. Mark's Cathedral during the Khosos victims' funeral, as "deplorable," stating that "Christians have the right to live in Egypt with every human dignity as any Muslim." more >>

The Consultation Chamber in the North Cairo Court postponed the lawsuit filed against Ahmed Mahmoud Abdallah, a controversial entertainer more commonly known as Abu Islam, for contempt of Christianity to May 20, so that related documents can be submitted and processed.

Sheikh Abu Islam previously burned a Bible and called for people to urinate on it during a demonstration of Salafis and Islamic groups in front of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to protest the anti-Islam film, The Innocence of Muslims, which was released in the summer of 2012.

Abu Islam mocked the Christian faith and Jesus Christ on Al-Ummah [The Nation] TV channel, which he owns. He also infamously claimed that girls who demonstrate in Tahrir Square are Christians who want to be harassed by protesters. more >>

Boko Haram, the Islamic terrorist organization that has targeted Christians and killed close to 3,000 people in the past few years in Nigeria, has not only rejected the government's offer of amnesty, but said the government should be the one begging for a pardon.

"Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you [a] pardon," Abubakar Shekau, the group's leader, said in Hausa language audio recordings, according to AFP News agency.

Boko Haram explained that the numerous bombings and mass shootings it carried out against churches and government buildings in the last few years are part of its mission to drive out Christians from Nigeria. The African country is divided by both geographical and religion lines, with most Christians concentrated in the South and Muslims in the North. more >>