Christians In Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan Face New Restrictions

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By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest BUDAPEST/MOSCOW (BosNewsLife)-- Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliev was to receive for signing the final version of controversial legislation "limiting freedom of religion" while Christians elsewhere in Central Asia faced similar restrictions Saturday, May 16, rights investigators and local believers said.

Mounting Concerns Over Detained Uzbekistan Pastor

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By Eric Leijenaar, BosNewsLife Senior Special Correspondent reporting from the Netherlands and BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos at BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest 272TASHKENT/BUDAPEST/AMSTERDAM (BosNewsLife)-- An international protest was underway Tuesday, May 12, to obtain the release of a detained, frail, evangelical pastor in Uzbekistan, who came to symbolize what rights investigators described as widespread persecution of Christians and other minorities in Central Asia.

Azerbaijan Pastor Receives “Corrective Labor” Sentence

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By BosNewsLife Correspondents Stefan J. Bos and David Haggith nevtelenBAKU/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife) -- A well-known Baptist pastor in Azerbaijan was weighing his legal options Monday, February 23, after receiving a two-year "corrective labor" sentence for allegedly possessing an "illegal" weapon, trial observers said.

Belarus Deports Danish Christians

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BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest belarus_map1BUDAPEST/MINSK (BosNewsLife)-- Two Danish men are being deported from Belarus on charges of expressing "ideas of a religious nature", after dozens of foreign Christians were already expelled from the former Soviet republic.

Kazakhstan Constitutional Council Objects “Restrictive” Religious Law

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Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, BosNewsLife reukazakhstanpresident_BUDAPEST/ASTANA (BosNewsLife)-- A global Christian rights group welcomed a "landmark decision" by Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council to reject as “unconstitutional” a draft law which would “further restrict freedom of religion and belief in the country," BosNewsLife learned Saturday, February 14.

Russian Orthodox Church Enthrones New Leader

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife, reporting from Budapest patriMOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The Russian Orthodox Church enthroned Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Sunday, February 1, the 16th patriarch of at least an estimated 75 million followers, amid pressures to overcome internal divisions and to reach out to non-Orthodox believers.

NEWS ALERT: Minsk Church Threatened With Closure; Evangelicals “Fasting”

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Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife prayingMINSK/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Members of one of Belarus' largest evangelical churches continued a five-day “fasting and prayer” action, Friday, January 30, amid attempts by authorities to seize their place of worship as part of an alleged crackdown on non-Orthodox groups.

NEWS WATCH: Hungary, Eastern Europe Face Cold Without Russian Gas

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest gas1BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- European Union monitors arrived in Kiev Friday, amid international pressure on Ukraine and Russia to settle their dispute over natural gas prices that has effected shipments to at least 20 countries.

Tajikistan Churches Facing Closure In New Year

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By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest _41182645_rahmonov_ap2DUSHANBE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A major Christian rights group warned Tuesday, December 23, that many churches in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan in 2009, if a new draft law requiring them to re-register under restrictive conditions is adopted by parliament.

NEWS ALERT: China “Abolishes” House Church Alliance; Major Crackdown Reported

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BosNewsLife Asia Service BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife)-- There were concerns Wednesday, December 10, that Chinese authorities would launch a nationwide crackdown on the growing 'house churches, after the Ministry of Civil Affairs ordered the "abolishment" of a major umbrella group.