Lyndsey Koh, Mission Network News

Syria’s new interim prime minister, Mohammed al-Bashir, has called all Syrian refugees to return. He promises freedom and protection for all people and sects.

However, some Syrians aren’t willing to bank their lives on mere words yet.

As massive flash floods ravage Spain’s Valencia region, the crisis shows no signs of slowing. Days after torrential rains devastated communities and claimed over 215 lives, heavy storm clouds linger over Barcelona.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released a report with troubling news: Only one church remains in Algeria. It’s a stark reminder of the increasing persecution of Algerian Christians.

Yernathen with A3 says an Algerian pastor has been falsely accused of threatening national security. “He’s never done anything wrong in terms against the law. But it’s just the fact that he’s a Christian. He proclaims his faith but also speaks about the right to exist as Christians in Algeria, and the government doesn’t like that.”

Over a week after Hurricane Helene devastated the southeast United States, bodies are still being recovered. At least 227 people are confirmed dead, but many more are still missing.

MNN ministry partner Slavic Gospel Association is a member of IFCA International. Many IFCA-partnered churches were severely impacted.

American pastor David Lin is finally home. Now 68, Lin was detained by the Chinese government nearly two decades ago, accused of contract fraud.

Lin had applied for and gained permission from the Chinese government to open a Christian church in Beijing. But in 2006, it all fell apart.

He was detained and handed a life prison sentence in 2009. The United States State Department considered Lin one of three Americans "wrongfully detained" by China.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan have agreed to US-mediated peace talks. The RSF and the Sudanese army will meet in Switzerland on August 14 to discuss a possible end to the conflict, which has raged for over a year and displaced nearly 10 million people.

Last week was North Korean Freedom Week, recognizing the courage of escapees as well as millions of people who still suffer in the hermit nation.

As hard as it is to get people out of North Korea, it’s also incredibly difficult to get Bibles into North Korea.

India is one of the least-reached places in the world with the Gospel. But an entire Indian family’s legacy can change when just one child learns about Jesus.

Maali is a little girl who recently began attending Mission India’s Children’s Bible Club. Regan Miller with Mission India says, there, "She learned how to pray to Jesus. That changed everything."

Would your church still gather if your area lost all power and communications? If they did, would you go?

For Ukrainian churches, the answer is yes.

The latest Russian attacks targeted Ukraine’s power grids. Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) says, “They are dealing with rolling blackouts. People are suffering in the heat many nights with no power in the middle of the fear and anxiety that comes along with it.”

Sudan is facing its worst humanitarian disaster in decades. Over half of Sudan’s 48 million people are in a food crisis while a civil war rages on.

Furthermore, aid experts say 755,000 Sudanese are on the brink of starvation. At least 14 areas of the country are near famine, including parts of the capital Khartoum.