^ CandL Summary: Authorities in Maharashtra state have mandated a comprehensive, statewide audit of all land parcels owned by Christian churches and missionary organizations. Coming shortly after the passage of a strict state anti-conversion law, local Christian leaders express deep concern that the sweeping three-month investigation will be used by nationalist groups to intimidate ministries and confiscate long-held church, school, and hospital properties.

^ CandL Summary: Latin America, historically known as a major recipient of cross-cultural missionaries, has officially transformed into one of the largest global missionary-sending regions in the world. Church networks across Central and South America are actively mobilizing thousands of young believers and workers to serve unreached communities across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, fundamentally reshaping the global church’s missionary landscape.

^ CandL Summary: Prominent Guatemalan evangelical organizations, including COEGUA and FE502, published an open letter opposing a constitutional challenge seeking to invalidate Article 78 of the Civil Code, which defines marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. While rejecting hatred and discrimination, faith leaders affirmed that marriage is a God-ordained institution foundational to family and society, warning that altering marriage through judicial rulings rather than legislative processes undermines the rule of law.

^ CandL Summary: Suspected Fulani extremists launched targeted night raids on Christian farming communities in Plateau and Benue states, killing at least 25 believers, including an infant. Local community leaders reported that security alerts were raised prior to the attacks, but military checkpoints failed to respond as gunmen set property ablaze and targeted village leaders to forcibly seize agricultural land.

^ CandL Summary: The U.S. House of Representatives passed appropriations legislation mandating a 50 percent reduction in federal assistance to Nigeria until the U.S. Secretary of State certifies that Nigerian authorities have taken concrete, measurable steps to protect Christian farming communities from targeted violence by extremist groups and facilitate the safe return of displaced families to their ancestral lands.

^ CandL Summary: Pope Leo XIV addressed over 700 young Iraqi Christians who survived Islamic State occupation, urging them to be “a light in the world” and act as peacemakers during the Ankawa Youth Meeting in Erbil. Supported by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, the festival provided spiritual encouragement, sacraments, and vocational workshops to displaced youth from across Iraq, emphasizing hope and perseverance amid ongoing regional conflict.

^ CandL Summary: Vietnamese police in Gia Lai Province have investigated and charged 119 indigenous Montagnard Christians, initiating formal criminal proceedings against four key leaders. Government officials continue to label unregistered Protestant gatherings as political threats to national security, utilizing state laws to delegitimize lawful religious exercise among ethnic minority communities in the Central Highlands.

^ CandL Summary: A Christian man who spent more than two years in prison facing false blasphemy allegations was acquitted by an appellate court in Punjab. While his acquittal brings profound relief, severe ongoing security threats from local extremist groups mean he and his family must remain in protective hiding while seeking permanent relocation.

^ CandL Summary: Chadian authorities formally granted legal recognition to a national interfaith platform uniting Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant bodies to strengthen social cohesion and national unity. Uniting the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Alliance of Evangelical Churches, and the National Council for Islamic Affairs, the newly recognized entity provides a structured legal framework to coordinate conflict prevention, foster

^ CandL Summary: Pastor Ezra Jin, leader of Beijing’s unregistered Zion Church, was released from prison after eight months of detention following diplomatic engagement. However, eight other church leaders remain imprisoned under severe conditions, suffering from malnutrition and facing charges of fraud simply for collecting tithes and offerings for an unregistered congregation.