Jewish safety in New York depends on clear lines and moral courage from Mamdani
Shortly after Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election, I received a text from a new number. It was the mayor-elect.
I felt compelled to speak with him out of my respect for him becoming the new mayor. Our intense and productive conversation came after a violent protest outside my father’s Park East Synagogue. What happened that night in the streets of New York was not a political debate, but a deliberate act of intimidation against Jews, including a targeted campaign at the doors of a synagogue.
That call marked the beginning of an ongoing dialogue between us, where New York City must draw lines, how it protects houses of worship and what leadership looks like when fear enters sacred spaces. Since then, the mayor and I have been in contact regularly.
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It was clear where the mayor and I disagreed, namely that he must recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. His demonization of the Jewish state of Israel and his prior use of antisemitic tropes, such as “apartheid,” “occupation” and “genocide” has put the safety of New York Jews at risk. I told him, just as I tell every Muslim leader I know, that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.
I urged Mayor Mamdani to pursue legislation banning protests directly in front of all houses of worship. This was not about silencing free speech. It was to draw a clear and reasonable line between the right to protest and the right to pray without fear. To his credit, he listened. Our conversations also led to concrete policy steps. In Mamdani’s second executive order, he directed the police commissioner and the law department to review NYPD patrol guidance to ensure clearer protections for houses of worship. The order called for evaluating buffer zones near synagogues, churches and mosques, ranging from 15 to 60 feet from entrances, additional restrictions during publicly scheduled religious services and appropriate limitations even during non-religious activities.
This was a serious and substantial advancement. The mayor acknowledged what Jewish communities across New York have been saying for months: that protests targeting houses of worship cross a line.
When a pro-Hamas protest was planned in Queens, the new mayor did not wait for chaos to erupt. Hours before the protest began, he ordered dozens of NYPD officers to the area to ensure the safety of nearby synagogues, Jewish schools and families. That proactive measure demonstrated that disagreements do not preclude responsibility. In a statement, Mayor Mamdani wrote that “chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city.”
In my mind, his words acknowledge that past rhetoric, hesitation and intimidation during protests, including ones in which Mamdani attended, were wrong. I believe saying such chants have “no place in the city” is an admission that hate speech during protests against Jewish New Yorkers can turn violent.
The mayor’s rebuke of the protesters and the terrorist organization may have come at a political cost from his base, as some progressive activists and members of the Democratic Socialists of America criticized Mayor Mamdani and other leaders for condemning the chants. That reality should trouble every New Yorker. Rejecting terrorism and antisemitism should never be controversial in America.
But gratitude does not eliminate disagreement. Mamdani took a step in the right direction. Now, he is pushing for this bill with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who proposed a statewide bill to prevent protesters from being within “25 feet of the property line at houses of worship.”
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Leadership is not measured by whether the right words are spoken, but by whether they are spoken immediately, consistently, and backed by action.
To be overly optimistic, perhaps we are seeing a change in the mayor’s understanding of Israel and of how anti-Israel rhetoric impacts New York City’s Jewish community, the largest outside of Israel. As I wrote during the High Holy Days, “But Jewish tradition is clear: a genuine transformation does not happen overnight or for convenience. It requires contrition, confession, and change.”
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The next step will be for Mayor Mamdani to join me in meeting with global Muslim leaders and their representatives in New York who I have worked with for decades. These are leaders of Arab and Muslim majority countries who may not agree with every Israeli government policy, but they all unequivocally recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish nation. These voices represent coexistence, not incitement.
Now, as mayor for all New Yorkers, he must demonstrate an understanding that Israel is at the very core of the Jewish faith. One cannot bifurcate Israel from the Jewish community.
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Iran accused of killing 16,500 in sweeping ‘genocide’ crackdown: report
Iranian protesters are facing their deadliest days yet as security forces unleash mass killings and executions in a sweeping crackdown some have labeled “genocide,” new reports say.
According to The Sunday Times, a report compiled by doctors entrenched in the region and reviewed by the outlet estimates that security forces have killed at least 16,500 protesters and injured more than 330,000 others.
The report also described the violence as an “utter slaughter,” warning that the true toll may be even higher due to restricted access to hospitals and the near-total shutdown of communications.
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Most of the victims, the report says, are believed to be under the age of 30, underscoring the heavy toll on Iran’s younger generation as the regime intensifies its efforts to crush dissent.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, acknowledged Sunday that “several thousands” have been killed since protests erupted Dec. 28.
In a televised address, he blamed demonstrators, calling them “foot-soldiers of the U.S.” and falsely claiming protesters were armed with imported live ammunition.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that as of day 22 of the protests, verified figures show 3,919 people killed, with 8,949 additional deaths under investigation, 2,109 severely injured, and 24,669 detainees.
HRANA noted that the true toll is likely far higher due to the internet shutdown.
Professor Amir Parasta, an Iranian-German eye surgeon and medical director of Munich MED, said in The Sunday Times report that doctors across Iran are “shocked and crying,” despite having experience treating war injuries.
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“This is a whole new level of brutality,” Parasta said. He added that Starlink terminals smuggled into Iran have been the only means of communication since authorities cut internet access on Jan. 8.
Eyewitnesses who fled Iran also described snipers targeting protesters’ heads, mass shootings and systematic blinding using pellet guns.
One former Iranian resident said in the report that doctors reported more than 800 eye removals in a single night in the capital alone, with possibly more than 8,000 people blinded nationwide.
“This is genocide under the cover of digital darkness,” Parasta said.
Alongside the street killings, executions have surged dramatically, according to Ali Safavi, a senior official with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Safavi told Fox News Digital that 2,200 people were executed in 2025, while 153 have already been hanged in the first 18 days of January 2026, averaging more than eight executions per day.
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“Ali Khamenei is continuing mass executions in parallel with the killing of young protesters,” Safavi said. “Three executions in the form of hanging are now happening every hour according to our data.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi previously disputed high death tolls reported in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, claiming fatalities were only in the hundreds and dismissing higher figures as “misinformation.”
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President Donald Trump sharply condemned Khamenei over the weekend, calling him a “sick man” and urging new leadership in Iran.
In an interview with Politico, Trump accused Khamenei of overseeing “the complete destruction of the country” and using “violence at levels never seen before,” adding that Iran’s leadership should “stop killing people.”
Viral protest video against Iran’s supreme leader sparks copycat demonstrations worldwide
A viral video showing an Iranian refugee lighting a cigarette using a burning image of Iran’s supreme leader has become a global flashpoint as protests rock the Islamic Republic and President Donald Trump weighs military action against the regime.
The Associated Press reported the 34-second video shows a woman believed to be living in Canada igniting a photo of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – a capital crime in Iran – before calmly lighting a cigarette and letting the image fall to the ground.
The images accompanying this story show protesters recreating the act at demonstrations outside Iran, not the woman featured in the original viral video.
The footage has spread rapidly across social media as Iran’s government carries out a violent crackdown on dissent that activists say has killed thousands.
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The video has been shared millions of times across platforms such as X, Instagram and Reddit, with many viewers seeing it as a stark act of defiance against Iran’s clerical rulers.
Others have questioned whether the moment was spontaneous or staged, highlighting the growing skepticism that surrounds viral images in an age of artificial intelligence and information warfare.
What is undisputed is the symbolism of the act. In Iran, burning an image of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei can be punishable by death.
Smoking in public is considered immodest, and women are legally required to wear hijabs. In the brief clip, the woman defies all three norms at once, appearing without a headscarf as her hair hangs close to the flame.
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The gesture has leapt from the digital world into the real one. Photos and videos have surfaced from protests in Europe, Israel and the U.S. showing demonstrators lighting cigarettes using images of Khamenei, mimicking what has become known online as the “cigarette girl” moment.
Iranian state media has announced wave after wave of arrests, targeting those it labels “terrorists” and seizing Starlink satellite internet equipment – often the only way videos can escape the country during government-imposed internet blackouts.
Activists say the regime has intensified repression in recent weeks as unrest spreads amid economic collapse and political instability.
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The AP reported the woman has described herself in interviews with other outlets as an Iranian refugee living in Toronto, and said she fled Iran after repeated arrests and abuse by security forces.
She filmed the video on Jan. 7, according to The AP – one day before Iran imposed a near-total internet blackout. She did so to show solidarity with “friends” inside the country, she said. She has asked that her real name not be published, citing fears for her safety and for family members who remain in Iran.
The video’s explosive reach underscores how social media has become a central battleground in modern conflicts, with images shaping global perception faster than governments can control them.
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As Trump weighs next steps toward Tehran, the clip has become more than a viral moment – it has become a symbol of resistance, scrutiny and the high stakes of dissent under authoritarian rule.
Is heaven real? Science may reveal where God’s eternal kingdom exists
When our son was 4 years old, he asked my wife and me: “Can you drive to heaven?” Out of the mouth of babes, right?
It’s a question only a child would ask, but it raises a very adult question: Where exactly is the heaven described in the Bible?
As a scientist, I understand the importance of definitions. According to the Bible, the lowest level of heaven is Earth’s atmosphere. The mid-level heaven is outer space. The highest-level heaven is what we’re talking about: It’s where God dwells.
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As for heaven’s location, the Bible contains many verses that describe us as looking “up” at God in heaven, and God as looking “down” at us on Earth.
Imagine boarding a nuclear-powered rocket and traveling straight “up” into deep space. Will you ever reach a point far enough “up” into space that you finally reach heaven?
Before you laugh off the idea, consider this.
In 1929, American attorney-turned-amateur astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that galaxies are rushing away from one another like so much shrapnel from a bomb. Hubble also discovered there’s a definite pattern to how galaxies are rushing away from each other, namely: The farther “up” in space a galaxy is located — the farther away it is from Earth — the faster it’s moving away from Earth and everything else. It’s called Hubble’s Law.
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But, here’s where it gets really interesting.
Theoretically, a galaxy that’s 273 billion trillion (273,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) miles away from Earth would move at 186,000 miles per second, which is the speed of light. That distance, way “up” there in space, is called the Cosmic Horizon.
That means you and I can never reach the Cosmic Horizon — not even aboard the most souped-up, nuclear-powered rocket imaginable — because, as Einstein explained in his theory of special relativity, only light and certain other non-material phenomena can travel at the speed of light.
So, then, where is heaven located, exactly? It’s entirely possible heaven is located on the other side of the Cosmic Horizon. Here’s why.
One: According to modern cosmology, an entire universe exists beyond the Cosmic Horizon. But it’s permanently hidden from us because we can never reach, let alone cross over, the Cosmic Horizon.
Two: Our best astronomical observations — and Einstein’s theories of special and general relativity — indicate that time stops at the Cosmic Horizon. At that special distance, way “up” there in deep, deep, deep space, there is no past, present or future. There’s only timelessness.
Three: Unlike time, however, space does exist at and beyond the Cosmic Horizon. Which means the hidden universe beyond the Cosmic Horizon is habitable, albeit only by light and light-like entities.
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Four: According to modern cosmology, the Cosmic Horizon is lined with the very oldest celestial objects in the observable universe. That means whatever exists beyond the Cosmic Horizon predates these oldest objects… predates the so-called big bang… predates the beginning of the observable universe.
All these modern scientific realities, and others, are why it’s entirely reasonable to speculate that:
1. Heaven is, indeed, located “up” there — way above our heads and way beyond the visible, starlit universe — just as the Bible indicates.
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2. Heaven is inaccessible to us mortals while we’re alive, just as the Bible indicates.
3. Heaven is inhabited by nonmaterial, timeless beings, just as the Bible indicates.
4. Heaven is the dwelling place of the One who predates the universe — the One who created the universe — just as the Bible indicates.
Iran allegedly airs 97 ‘coercive confessions’ amid record-breaking North Korea-style internet blackout
The Iranian regime has allegedly broadcast at least 97 “coercive confessions” from detained protesters on state television in just over two weeks, human rights groups say, as residents endure the longest internet blackout on record.
The videos reportedly feature handcuffed detainees with blurred faces showing remorse for their actions since the protests began Dec. 28, according to a rights group tracking the videos.
It said ominous music can be heard, and edited footage shows attacks on security forces, according to reporting by The Associated Press and data from the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Other rights groups also claim the confession videos are coerced and obtained under duress, with protesters “dragged before cameras under the threat of torture and execution.”
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“The regime’s broadcast of so-called confessions by detained protesters is a threadbare and worn tactic,” Ali Safavi, a senior official with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital.
“Time and time again, the henchmen drag arrested demonstrators before cameras under the threat of torture and execution, coercing them to recant their beliefs or invent absurd stories.”
The broadcasts come amid nationwide protests sparked by public anger over political repression, economic collapse and alleged abuses by security forces.
Demonstrations have spread across major cities despite mass arrests, lethal force and sweeping restrictions on communication.
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Safavi said the confessions serve a dual purpose.
“First, they are meant to justify the mass slaughter of protesters, no fewer than 3,000, which NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi has stated constitute manifest crimes against humanity,” he said.
“These forced confessions are designed to demoralize the Iranian people and sow fear and doubt.”
But he said any mass executions or staged confessions “won’t achieve that because no amount of televised coercion or repression will break the protesters’ resolve.”
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U.S.-based HRANA has warned that forced confessions in Iran frequently follow psychological or physical torture and can carry severe consequences, including death sentences.
“These rights violations compound on top of each other and lead to horrific outcomes,” Skylar Thompson, HRANA group’s deputy director, told The Associated Press, adding that the scale of broadcasts is unprecedented.
The confession campaign coincides with a sweeping internet shutdown that has effectively cut the public off from independent information.
According to NetBlocks, Iran’s internet blackout has surpassed 144 consecutive hours, making it one of the longest disruptions ever recorded.
“The shutdown is still ongoing, making it one of the longest blackouts on record,” Isik Mater, NetBlocks’ director of research, told Fox News Digital.
“State TV continues to operate normally via satellite transmission, which does not depend on the public internet, which means households can still watch Iranian state channels even during a near-total shutdown.”
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Mater said the blackout magnifies the impact of state propaganda because “while the public is cut off, the state relies on broadcast media and its domestic National Information Network to control what people see,” she said, likening Iran’s information strategy to that of North Korea.
“A useful comparison is North Korea where the vast majority of citizens there have little to no access to the global internet, yet the state TV and radio broadcast regime propaganda 24/7,” she said.
“Information flows through closed systems, like North Korea’s domestic intranet Kwangmyong and not the open internet.”
Mater added that shutdowns are highly selective, with senior officials and state institutions retaining connectivity through “whitelisted networks.”
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“Senior officials and state institutions retain connectivity via whitelisted government networks and private links,” Mater said.
“This is why Ali Khamenei and other government officials continue posting on global social media platforms during the blackout, enabling the regime to shape the narrative internationally while citizens are unable to document events or even respond.”
Nigeria named epicenter of global killings of Christians over faith in 2025, report says
JOHANNESBURG: A staggering and growing wave of persecution against Christians across sub-Saharan Africa has been laid bare in the latest Open Doors’ World Watch List for 2025. The report says three out of four Christians murdered worldwide are killed in Nigeria.
Fourteen of the top 50 countries worldwide where verified deaths could be reasonably linked to victims’ Christian faith are in sub-Saharan Africa. Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.
The organization states that one in seven Christians in the world face high levels of persecution. But that figure rises to one in five in Africa.
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Nigeria
Africa’s most populous nation is also ranked as the seventh worst in the world for persecution in all its forms. According to Open Doors, out of the 4,849 Christians killed for their faith globally in the year up to the end of Sept. 2025, 3,490 of these were murdered in Nigeria — 72% of the total.
Muslims have also been killed in Nigeria. But the latest data from the report shows Christians have been “disproportionately targeted.” These are four of the affected states — there are others:
In Benue State in north-central Nigeria, 1,310 Christians were killed compared with 29 Muslims.
In Plateau State in north-central Nigeria, 546 Christians were killed compared with 48 Muslims.
In Taraba State in northeast Nigeria, 73 Christians were killed compared with 12 Muslims.
In north-western Kaduna State, 1,116 Christians were abducted in 2025, compared with 101 Muslims.
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“The latest figures should leave us in no doubt: there is a clear religious element to this horrific violence,” Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors U.K. told Fox News Digital.
Blyth added, “For many thousands of Christians, this will come as no surprise. Those who witnessed their families being killed, and their homes razed to the ground by Islamist Fulani militants report being told by their attackers that ‘we will destroy all Christians.’”
“It’s surely time to dismiss the idea that this violence is somehow ‘random,’” Blyth stated. “If we don’t recognize the clear religious element to the violence, it won’t be possible to properly address this tragic situation.”
Mohammed Idris, Nigeria’s minister of Information and national orientation, responded to Fox News Digital to the Open Doors report Wednesday, saying, “I want to speak directly to the international community because there is a narrative being built about Nigeria that simply does not match the reality we are living on the ground.”
The Minister continued, “When a church is attacked, it is a Nigerian tragedy. When a mosque is raided, it is a Nigerian tragedy. We do not categorize our grief by religion.”
“The Open Doors report is heart-breaking – no one is more aware than we are of the suffering caused by the security challenges impacting our people. But labeling this a ‘religious war’ is fundamentally wrong. It is exactly the narrative the terrorists want you to believe. What we are actually fighting,” the minister said, “is a brutal mix of bandits and ISIS-linked militants. These people don’t have a faith; they have a price tag,” he said.
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“We are working hand-in-hand with our international partners – including the recent joint efforts with U.S. intelligence to strike ISIS enclaves – to ensure these ‘hounds of death’ are removed from our soil.”
The minister concluded, “Nigeria is a nation of believers. We are proud to be home to one of Africa’s largest Christian populations. But we are also a nation under attack by thugs. We ask our partners to see the real fight: it’s not neighbor against neighbor; it’s all of us against the terrorists.”
Sudan
Some 150,000 are estimated to have died in the civil war that has engulfed this nation since 2023. Open Doors reports, “the situation for the nation’s 2 million Christians is especially grim.”
“We are considered as the enemy by both (opposing) factions, who accuse us of being allied with the other side,” Rafat Samir, general secretary for the Sudan Evangelical Alliance, told Fox News Digital. We are told ‘you don’t belong here’ and driven from our homes. To make matters worse, Christians are often excluded when aid is distributed.” A particular pattern can be seen across sub-Saharan Africa, Open Doors states. The report claims, “Islamist militants enter the vacuums in law and order left by a weak junta and civil conflicts. It means they can operate with impunity across parts of Burkina Faso, Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Somalia, Niger and Mozambique. Their stated aim is to create ‘Sharia states’ operating under their deadly interpretation of Islamic law.”
Elsewhere in the world, North Korea remains top of the list for having the world’s worst persecution of Christians, with Open Doors stating, “If Christians are discovered, they and their families are deported to labor camps or executed.”
A huge spike in reported violence against Christians in Syria has followed the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s presidency in Dec. 2024, and has led the country to jump to number six on the list. China is number 17, with churches driven underground by surveillance and heavy regulation.
The reporting period for the World Watch List ended some two months before President Trump ordered U.S. forces to bomb Muslim militants in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas Day to try to stop the killing of Christians.
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Jo Newhouse from Open Doors sub-Saharan Africa, told Fox News Digital, “The U.S. airstrikes (against Jihadi groups in Nigeria) have thrown many of the militant groups in the area into a state of panic. They have been scattering and attacking civilians as they come across soft targets, hoping that they can rebuild their resources through looting and kidnapping.”
“Many Christians across the northern states are in a state of flux, unable to find any safety or stability. They bear the scars of living under the perpetual risk of death, destruction and displacement,” Newhouse said.
Watchdog highlights nations where Christians face persecution around the globe
While Christians in America enjoy religious freedom, many Christians around the world suffer persecution, and some are even martyred for their faith.
Open Doors’ World Watch List 2026 discusses the anti-Christian persecution in dozens of nations around the globe.
The list includes 50 countries — here’s a closer look at several of them:
North Korea
North Korea, a notoriously autocratic country ruled by Kim Jong Un, is one of the nation’s included in the list.
“If you are found to be a Christian in North Korea, you and your family could be immediately executed or sent to a terrible labor camp – forever,” Open Doors notes.
“North Koreans may only pay homage to the Kim regime, not God. Christian gatherings must be completely secret; a neighbor could inform on you with devastating results.”
Somalia
Somalia, a nation located in the Horn of Africa, is also included on the list.
“Anybody becoming a Christian in Somalia faces danger on all sides: from the authorities, from your clan and from anti-Christian extremists,” the report notes. “It’s illegal for a Muslim to become a Christian. Christians have no legal protection and can be harassed and intimidated by the authorities. Leaving Islam is also seen as seriously dishonoring your family and clan: they may disown, attack or even kill you.”
Al-Shabaab — which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. — has grown “more dominant in certain areas,” Open Doors notes, explaining that the group seeks “to eradicate Christianity, openly executing suspected believers.”
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Yemen
Yemen, a nation in the Middle East, comes next on the list.
Most Christians there have “converted from Islam,” according to the list, which says they “must practice their faith in absolute secrecy or risk a death sentence.”
“Last year, Western airstrikes were framed by the Houthis as ‘Christian aggression,’ pushing believers further underground,” Open Doors says.
The report highlighted the personal story of Aweis, whose own father told him that if he became a Christian, he would kill him.
“Aweis knew the dangers of following Jesus in Somalia the moment he showed his father a New Testament, which he obtained after becoming curious about Christianity,” Open Doors explains.
“I cannot stop you from reading your Bible,” his father noted, according to the report. “But if you become a Christian, I’ll be the one to kill you.”
The report adds, “Aweis later gave his life to Jesus.”
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Sudan
A civil war in Sudan has caused the globe’s “largest humanitarian crisis,” the list says. “The Christian community is hungry, on the run and facing strong persecution at the same time.”
Sudan is located in Africa.
“Sudan’s brief period of religious freedom has been rowed back, and oppressive ‘morality policies’ are back in force. Christians can face physical punishment to convert to Islam, with church leaders arrested. Many church buildings have been closed, bombed or taken over by militia groups,” according to Open Doors. “New Christians face rejection from their families and violence from Islamic extremist groups. In a lawless vacuum, they have no protection.”
Iran regime opened fire with live ammunition on protesters, doctor says: ‘Shoot-to-kill’
Iranian security forces escalated from pellet guns to live ammunition during protests, sharply increasing casualties, a doctor who treated wounded demonstrators told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
Speaking after fleeing the country, the doctor told CHRI the use of live fire increased the death toll days after protests erupted Dec. 28.
“Law enforcement forces were firing pellet shotguns that scatter pellets. During those days, I received five or six calls per day about people who had been hit by two pellets in the back or pellets to the head or scalp,” the doctor claimed.
The doctor said he noticed the situation shifted on Jan. 8, when authorities imposed internet blackouts and cut off communication nationwide.
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“From about 8:10 to 8:20 pm, the sound of bullets, gunfire, screams, and sporadic explosions could be heard. I was called to the hospital. When I arrived, I saw that the nature of the injuries and the number of gunshot wounds had changed completely,” the doctor said of the days around the blackout.
“The situation was totally different. Shots from close range, injuries leading to death.”
Human rights groups say thousands have been killed as security forces moved to suppress the demonstrations, with some estimates placing the death toll above 3,000, Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported Tuesday.
The protests were fueled by anger over economic hardship, rising prices and inflation before expanding into broader anti-government demonstrations.
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“The calls I received on my home phone for medical advice were no longer about pellet wounds,” the doctor said. “People were saying they had been shot, with bullets entering one side of the body and exiting the other. Live ammunition.”
Describing scenes in Isfahan, which is a major protest hub, the doctor said streets were stained with blood as security forces deployed heavier weapons.
“A large amount of blood, about a liter, had pooled in the gutter and blood trails extended for several meters,” the doctor claimed.
“The level and intensity of violence increased step by step,” he said before describing a change in aggression on Jan. 9.
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“On Friday night, I heard automatic gunfire. I am familiar with weapons and can distinguish their sounds. I heard DShK heavy machine guns. I heard PK machine guns.
“These weapons are in the possession of IRGC units — DShKs, PK machine guns, and Kalashnikovs,” the doctor said. “The trauma cases I saw were brutal, shoot-to-kill.”
Victims ranged from teenagers to elderly men, the doctor said. Some injuries were so severe that bodies were unrecognizable.
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“One colleague said that during a night shift, eight bodies were brought in with gunshot wounds to the face; their faces were unrecognizable. Many bodies are not identifiable at all,” he added.
The account comes as President Donald Trump publicly voiced support for Iranian protesters.
On Tuesday, Trump urged Iranians to “take over” their institutions, saying he had canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the crackdown ends.
Iranian student shot in head at close range amid protests, body buried along roadside
A 23-year-old student was shot in the head at close range during protests in Iran, according to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, as the regime continues its violent crackdown on nationwide demonstrations.
Rubina Aminian, a student of textile and fashion design at Shariati Technical and Vocational College for Girls in Tehran, was killed Jan. 8 after leaving college and joining the protests in the capital, according to Iran Human Rights.
She is among the few victims of the recent unrest whose identity has been publicly confirmed.
“Sources close to Rubina’s family, citing eyewitnesses, told Iran Human Rights that the young Kurdish woman from Marivan was shot from close range from behind, with the bullet striking her head,” the group said in a statement.
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Following her death, Aminian’s family traveled from their home in Kermanshah, western Iran, to Tehran to identify her body.
According to sources cited by Iran Human Rights, the family was taken to a location near the college where they saw the bodies of hundreds of young people allegedly killed during the protests.
“Most of the victims were young people between 18 and 22 years old, who had been shot at close range in the head and neck by government forces,” a source close to the family said.
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The family was reportedly initially barred from identifying Aminian’s body and later prevented from taking her remains, the group said.
After extensive efforts, relatives were eventually allowed to retrieve her body and return to Kermanshah.
When they got there, intelligence forces reportedly surrounded the family home and would not allow a burial to take place.
According to Iran Human Rights, the family was forced to bury Aminian’s body along the roadside between Kermanshah and the nearby city of Kamyaran.
IRANIANS ABLE TO MAKE SOME INTERNATIONAL CALLS AS INTERNET REMAINS BLOCKED AMID PROTESTS
The family has also not been permitted to hold mourning ceremonies, and several mosques in Marivan were reportedly disallowed from hosting memorial services.
Iran’s spiraling anti-government protests have been driven by widespread anger over political repression and economic hardship, including rising inflation.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated Tuesday that over 16,700 people have been detained.
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Other rights groups have reported extremely high death tolls, with some estimates exceeding 3,000, according to Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.
Iran Human Rights described Aminian in a statement as “a young woman full of joy for life and passionate about fashion and clothing design, whose dreams were buried by the violent repression of the Islamic Republic.”
Pope denounces abortion, warns against surrogacy as exploitation of mothers and children
Pope Leo XIV denounced abortion and called surrogacy a violation of the dignity of both mother and child during remarks to members of the diplomatic corps on Friday.
“In light of this profound vision of life as a gift to be cherished, and of the family as its responsible guardian, we categorically reject any practice that denies or exploits the origin of life and its development,” Pope Leo said.
“Among these is abortion, which cuts short a growing life and refuses to welcome the gift of life,” the pope said. “In this regard, the Holy See expresses deep concern about projects aimed at financing cross-border mobility for the purpose of accessing the so-called ‘right to safe abortion.’”
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Pope Leo also criticized the use of public funds to “suppress life.”
“It also considers it deplorable that public resources are allocated to suppress life, rather than being invested to support mothers and families,” Pope Leo said. “The primary objective must remain the protection of every unborn child and the effective and concrete support of every woman so that she is able to welcome life.”
Pope Leo also condemned surrogacy, saying the practice of a woman carrying a baby for another person or couple violates the dignity of both the mother and the child.
“Likewise, there is the practice of surrogacy,” he said. “By transforming gestation into a negotiable service, this violates the dignity both of the child, who is reduced to a ‘product,’ and of the mother, exploiting her body and the generative process, and distorting the original relational calling of the family.”
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According to The Business Research Company, the global surrogacy market reached $16.01 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $37.31 billion by 2029.
Before addressing surrogacy, Pope Leo also reiterated Church teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman and that children should be brought into such a union.
“The vocation to love and to life, which manifests itself in an important way in the exclusive and indissoluble union between a woman and a man, implies a fundamental ethical imperative for enabling families to welcome and fully care for unborn life,” Pope Leo said. “This is increasingly a priority, especially in those countries that are experiencing a dramatic decline in birth rates. Life, in fact, is a priceless gift that develops within a committed relationship based on mutual self-giving and service.”
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