Around 200 evangelicals participated in a peaceful demonstration to denounce the closure of the Punto Luce church in Milan and demand “freedom of worship for all”.

The Luhansk People's Republic (Ukraine) has banned all Protestant worship, and believers try to meet in small gatherings. Uzbekistan raids worship services that have not been approved by the authorities.

The closure of at least 12 Protestant church buildings gets international attention. Algerian Christians share their situation in videos posted online. 63,000 have already signed a petition defending religious freedom.

“Venezuela, your time of freedom has arrived”, the pastor said at the begining of the march. The military prosecutor ordered his arrest for “crimes of misuse of decoration and disobedience”.

Peaceful demonstrations call authorities to “stop closure of worship places”. Churches re-organise themselves in houses as the government threatens to close more buildings.

Algerian Christians think the governmental campaign against Protestant churches will continue. But “the churches of Algeria have a very firm and mature leadership with a clear vision of God”.

The regional High Court rules that it is not lawful for the Madrid City Council to ask an evangelical church to meet the requirements of recreational activities. The ruling could create a legal precedent.

“The government has passed laws that blatantly violate religious freedom”, Swiss Christian NGO HMK says. Christian natives and foreigners have been arrested because of their faith.

“Protestant communities find it practically impossible to get permission to build churches”, a lawyer says. Up to 90% of places of worship are officially recorded as residential property.

August 22 is the International Day commemorating the victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief. More than 4000 Christians were killed in 2018 because of their faith.

Local authorities in the state of Hidalgo “prohibit the entry of Protestants”. Those who refuse to fund Catholic festivities are threatened with big fines and water cuts.

“Many more churches are threatened with closure, amid denial of formal registration and recognition by authorities”, the World Evangelical Alliance says in a statement.

Citing a law that requires authorization for non-Muslim places of worship, authorities in North-central Algeria ordered the closure of the church and its Bible school.

“There is neither a primary nor a secondary church like before”, President Evo Morales said. Some evangelical denominations reject the law, arguing that it entails an interference by the state.

The Algerian Protestant Church “fully shares the aspirations and the legitimate demands of the Algerian people in their peaceful fight for a modern and democratic Republic”.

Churches pray that the tensions caused by the postponement of the presidential election will result in a peaceful political transition.

The government of Emmanuel Macron is working on a modification of the religion law of 1905.

Most administrative prosecutions end in punishment. Many are prosecuted for sharing their faith on the street. “Believers go out to share their faith less often, and give out publications or invitations less openly”.

Hard-line Hindus tore down a church building in southern India because it was built on the west side of a village, which they said violated Hindu principles of placement and positioning, sources said.

According to World Watch List, released today by Open Doors International, 4,305 people died in 2018 because of their Christian faith. Christian persecution has drastically increased.

Hundreds of Hong Kong worshippers attended church services on December 23 and 30 dressed in black, “to pray for both the persecuted and persecutors”.

According to the government, 508 Coptic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic churches have received its approval since February. At the same time, eleven churches were shut down.

Pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengd, Wang Yi, was  detained for allegedly “inciting subversion of state power”.

“Dozens of letters arrive in support to this cause, millions support us”, says the Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance. Prayer vigils planned for the next days.

Up to 50 Christian schools and hospitals have been affected, and the military has kidnapped four churches. “We need peace and the UN intervention”, a Cameroonian Christian says.