Persecution of Christians

Armenian institutions have engaged in a campaign to blame Turkey on the centenary of 1915 Armenian killings, and Turkey should have a strategy in the event that it fails to counter the claims, according to a senior Turkish diplomat.

A suicide bombing at a Shiite ceremony killed at least 15 people in northeastern Nigeria on Nov. 3 while 132 inmates were at large after a daring prison break.
      
The attack in Potiskum, the commercial capital of Yobe state, came as Shia Muslims marked Ashura, the anniversary of the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
      

Foreign jihadists from more than 80 countries have flocked to fight in Iraq and Syria on an "unprecedented scale", according to extracts of a UN report published by Britain's Guardian newspaper on Oct. 31.
      

Boko Haram has used kidnapped young women and girls on the front lines of its insurgency, according to a new report published on Oct. 27, after a fresh abduction in Nigeria's far northeast.
      
Human Rights Watch made the claim as it outlined testimony from dozens of former hostages who documented physical and psychological abuse at the hands of the militants.
      

Iraqi government forces retook four villages on Oct. 26 near a mountain ridge overlooking supply lines, security officials said, in a campaign which has struggled to make advances against the Sunni Islamist insurgents.

With seven reporters and four photographers, daily Hürriyet traces the path to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in five Turkish cities, as well as in France and Germany. A new breed of Islamic associations that has popped up across the country seems to be one of the sources of the problem GAZ?ANTEP

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SPC in "ecclesiastical charges" against Macedonia archbishop

BELGRADE -- The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) announced Tuesday its decision to bring ecclesiastical charges against Archbishop Stefan.

He is the head of the canonically unrecognized Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC).

BELGRADE - The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) announced Tuesday its decision to bring ecclesiastical charges against Archbishop Stefan, head of the canonically unrecognized Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC).

The United Nations Security Council has denounced militant persecution of Christians and other minorities in Iraq, warning such actions can be considered crimes against humanity.

The Islamic State, which last month declared a “caliphate” straddling large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria, has threatened a Christian presence in the region.

Archbishop of Ohrid Jovan remains in prison

SKOPJE -- The Macedonian Appellate Court confirmed the first instance ruling against Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje Jovan Vraniskovski.

He was sentenced to three years of imprisonment on charges for embezzlement of EUR 250,000.