The extremist Sunni militants that now control Iraq's second city of Mosul gave its Christian residents an ultimatum this weekend: pay a protection tax, convert to Islam, or be killed. The few hundred families still remaining in the area fled.
Tomb of Jonah Destroyed
After thousands of Iraqi Christians have been forced to flee the embattled city of Mosul in the last week, video emerged on Thursday of Islamic State militants destroying the Tomb of Jonah in a matter of seconds. According to officials and residents in Mosul, where the holy site also known as the Mosque of the Prophet Yunus (Jonah) is located, the demolition took place on Thursday
Christian pastor gets 12 years in China prison
"The pastor of a Christian church in central China was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Friday in what supporters say is a crackdown aimed at curbing fast-growing religious activity, his lawyer said."
"The ruling party is wary of religion as a possible rallying point to challenge its rule and uneasy about the fast spread of Christianity three decades after Beijing loosened social controls in pursuit of economic development."