By BosNewsLife Americas Service

HAVANA, CUBA (BosNewsLife)-- As the countdown began Thursday, March 1, for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba this month, there were reports that authorities have barred several known dissidents and their family members from attending church services, while several pastors were mistreated.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Amid mounting international pressure Hungary's parliament expanded the number of recognized churches from an initial 14 to 32 Monday, February 27, but hundreds of religious groups remained unrecognized.

 

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON/TEHRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Jailed Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was believed to be still alive Saturday, February 25, after the European Union and the United States urged Iran not to carry out an execution order and demanded his immediate release.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent reporting from Budapest, Hungary

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- A United States Congressional delegation and other officials have gathered in Hungary's capital Budapest to remember Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who is credited with saving the lives of as many as 100,000 Hungarian Jews during World War II. Friday's commemoration was part of a series of events marking the Raoul Wallenberg Year to commemorate his centennial birth.

 

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- A defiant Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is defending his financially troubled nation's new constitution and related laws, saying those criticizing it are motivated by greed and want to keep Hungary indebted. Orban's comments come as he faces mounting criticism over perceived autocratic legislation and after his Romanian counterpart resigned amid widespread protests there.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- A Budapest court has rejected a libel lawsuit of a Nazi-concentration camp survivor who claims Nobel Peace Prize winning author and human rights activist Elie Wiesel "lies" about his Holocaust past.

 

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with reports from Moscow

MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- As protesters demanding more freedom and fair elections prepared to demonstrate in freezing temperatures in Moscow Saturday, February 4, a major Russian mission group warned of more difficulties for evangelical Christians and other, religious, minorities in Russia and other former Soviet Union nations.

 

By Santosh Digal, BosNewsLife Asia Correspondent reporting from India

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Evangelical Christians in southeastern India were due to worship Sunday, January 29, amid heightened tensions after Hindu hardliners attacked a pastor and church members, representatives said.

 

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- A Budapest court is to rule next month in a case of a Nazi-concentration camp survivor who claims Nobel Peace Prize winning author and human rights activist Elie Wiesel "lies" about his Holocaust past, BosNewsLife learned Friday, January 27.

 

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Romania and Hungary are among several former Communist nations of the European Union facing social and political turmoil, as the EU and other Western institutions demand far reaching political and austerity measures in exchange for multi-billion dollar financial assistance. The resulting tensions have revived a debate over how much sovereignty eastern EU members should give up, more than two decades after freeing themselves from the Soviet Union's sphere of influence.