Christian Today staff writer

• Pope Francis leads condemnation of latest violent crackdown on Church-backed protests in Congo

  Pope Francis today renewed an appeal for an end to violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where security forces have gunned down protesters during pro-democracy demonstrations called by the local Catholic Church.

• Setback in Vatican's attempts to improve relations with China as underground bishop refuses to retire

  The disagreement marks another setback for the Vatican's attempts to resolve the split between underground Chinese bishops and the government-recognised Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

• Militants storm Save the Children office in Afghanistan amid deadly clashes

  Four gunmen today stormed an office of the Save the Children charity in the Afghan city of Jalalabad and battled with security forces who surrounded the building, killing at least one person and wounding 11, officials said.

• It's up to God when my child dies, says mother of brain-damaged baby

  A Christian whose 11-month-old son is on life support has told a High Court judge that doctors should not be the ones to decide when he dies.

• Liberia's football star president: 'I have taken an oath before almighty God'

  George Weah, former international football star and winner of FIFA's world player of the year, is hailed as a hero in Liberia where he has become the country's 24th president.

• Spanish evangelicals report unprecedented growth, now more than 4,000 churches

  Evangelical churches in Spain are steadily on the rise, with the traditionally Catholic country seeing 87 new places of worship in the past six months, bringing the unprecedented total number of evangelical premises to 4,045.

• Archbishop of York brands tax avoiders 'sinful'

  Tax avoiders are 'sinful' and rising inequality is a national scandal that should be addressed by a voluntary top-up tax system, the Archbishop of York has said. In an interview with the Guardian, John Sentamu said today that people who are willing to pay more tax towards health, education and social care should be able to do so through voluntary, hypothecated payments.

• Cathedral in Kenya attacked after deadly clashes over arrest of Muslim preacher

  A Catholic cathedral in northern Kenya, on the border with Ethiopia, has been sacked by Muslims during violent demonstrations in the area, in which three people were killed, over the arrest of a Muslim preacher.

• Lawsuit against Paul Pressler widened to include Southern Baptist Convention

  A lawsuit brought against a senior Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) figure has been widened to include the denomination itself.

• UK's Christian gatherings still heavily male dominated, new study finds

  The UK's Christian gatherings and festivals are still heavily biased in favour of male speakers, research released today has shown, with only a modest improvement on last year's figures.

• Researchers decipher Dead Sea scroll assembled from tiny fragments

  One of the last two undeciphered Dead Sea Scrolls has been read by researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel.

• Bolivia's president Evo Morales revokes controversial law restricting religion after protests from evangelicals

  Bolivia's president Evo Morales has announced that his government is revoking a penal code, introduced on December 15, that severely restricted religious activity and equated it with terrorism and criminality.