Samuel Smith and World Watch Monitor
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Imprisoned Iranian pastor's kids denied school certificates for refusing to study Islam
Imprisoned Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has gone on a hunger strike to protest the regime's attempt to bar his children from completing their education because they refuse to study Islam and read the Quran.

Evangelicals more concerned about healthcare, economy than religious liberty, abortion: poll
Americans with evangelical beliefs are more likely to care politically about healthcare and economic issues than they are about issues typically associated with evangelical political engagement such as religious liberty and abortion, a new survey has found.

8 Christians arrested in Hindu mob's brutal crackdown on house churches: report
A massive crackdown on house churches by radical Hindu groups has led to the jailing of at least eight Christians on charges of forced conversion in the Lakhimpur Khere district of Uttar Pradeshafter, according to the persecution advocacy group International Christian Concern.

Judge spares Catholic adoption agency from violating beliefs on gay marriage amid ongoing litigation
A federal judge in Michigan has ruled that faith-based adoption organizations that contract with the state can refuse to place children with same-sex couples until their lawsuit against the state is fully litigated.

Over 1,000 incidents of Christian persecution in India reported since 2014; 219 in 2019
Over 1,400 incidents of persecution against Christians in India have been reported since the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party rose to power, according to an initiative of ADF India.

Pakistan high court frees man imprisoned 17 years on death row for blasphemy
Pakistan’s highest court has acquitted a Muslim man who’s been imprisoned for 17 years and was sentenced to death after being accused of authoring blasphemous letters.

Olympics scientists can't agree on new regulations for trans athletes competing in women's sports
The adoption of stricter International Olympic Committee guidelines for trans-identified athletes has been delayed and will likely not be enacted before the start of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo since scientists have not been able to come to an agreement on the polarizing issue.

Trump admin says UN 'undermining role of the family' by promoting abortion
United States Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar led a group of 19 nations in asking the United Nations this week to remove pro-abortion language from U.N. documents while President Donald Trump separately blasted the U.N.’s promotion of abortion.

'Abrahamic Family House': Church, mosque and synagogue to share new complex in UAE
Plans were revealed for the construction of an interfaith complex that will house a church, synagogue, and mosque in the United Arab Emirates as part of an effort to promote religious harmony and bridge adherents of the three Abrahamic religions.

Trump admin could pull funding for Duke-UNC program over alleged pro-Islam bias
The Trump administration has threatened to withdraw federal funding to a joint Duke University-University of North Carolina Middle East studies program over concerns it has misused federal funding and displayed a pro-Islam bias.



















