Sudanese Christian mother Meriam Ibrahim said that her newborn daughter Maya, whom she gave birth to while in prison, will undergo an ultrasound to see if she can walk. Her family is currently staying at the U.S. Embassy in Sudan and hoping to be able to move to America soon.

While previous reports suggested that Maya is physically disabled, The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that hopes are now that the two-month-old girl will be fine, but the ultrasound will be needed to confirm that she will be able to walk. A doctor who came to the U.S. embassy in Khartoum performed the physical examination.

The publication says that it spoke with Italian journalist and activist Antonella Napoli, who visited Ibrahim's family at th U.S embassy, and revealed that Meriam, her two children, and her husband Daniel Wani, an American citizen, are sleeping in the embassy and are being cared for by staff. more >>

Seventeen were killed and 10 wounded on Monday after Muslim rebels in the Central African Republic attacked a church which had provided refuge for thousands of the country's beleaguered citizens. The Rev. Thibault Ndemaguia confirmed the number to the Associated Press several hours after the attacks.

Residents believe that the fighters attacked the Catholic Church compound in Bambari seeking revenge for the death of a young Muslim man, reported Reuters. Between 4,000 and 6,000 Christians are believed to have taken shelter at St. Joseph Cathedral of Bambari.

The Rev. Firmin Gbagoua, a priest at St. Joseph's, told Reuters that he believed the attackers assumed the cathedral was hiding members of the Christian militia, or anti-balaka. more >>

Zhang Shaojie, a prominent church leader from central China, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for gathering crowds to "disturb public order." A U.S. campaign group has said that the decision constitutes religious persecution and the Chinese government's attempt to hold back the growth of Christianity.

"This case shows the Chinese government continues to cover up religious persecution with fabricated criminal charges against an innocent church leader," said Bob Fu, the head of China Aid, according to The Telegraph.

Liu Weiguo, a rights lawyer who has worked with the pastor in the past, said that he was shocked at the severity of the sentence. more >>

Sudanese Christian mother Meriam Ibrahim is facing a new lawsuit after her Islamic relatives submitted a case on Thursday trying to prove that she is a Muslim, which would make her marriage to a Christian man illegal under Islamic Shariah Law. The lawsuit could further delay Ibrahim's hopes to travel with her husband and children to the U.S. and seek refuge.

Abdel Rahman Malek, the lawyer hired by Ibrahim's Muslim family, said that the Khartoum Religious Court will be reviewing their case "asking to prove that Meriam Ibrahim belongs to her (Muslim) father and family," according to Reuters.

The 27-year-old woman was spared the death penalty after an appeals court overturned the sentence in June, which was originally imposed on her for marrying a Christian South Sudanese-American. Ibrahim was briefly detained last week following her release from prison, with Sudan's government accusing her of attempting to travel with falsified South Sudanese documents. more >>

Witnesses claim that Sudanese government officials recently destroyed a Christian church in the area of North Khartoum as congregants looked on.

Members of the Church of Christ in the Thiba Al Hamyida area of the country's capital told CNN journalists stationed in the area that they were given notification by government officials during their mass on Sunday that their church would be destroyed. One day later, a reported 70 security personnel, some dressed in plain clothes and armed with guns and tear gas, arrived at the church at around 10 a.m. and prevented congregants from entering. Church members then watched from outside as a bulldozer demolished their house of worship.

Security officials reportedly threatened to beat any church members who tried to stop the demolition. "They wanted to beat us or throw tear gas on us," one witness told Morning Star News, adding that no one was injured during the demolition that left the church in rubble by Monday afternoon. more >>

As the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act that was signed into law by President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964, a lesser known Civil Rights Act was signed into a law almost 100 years before, in 1866.

The 1964 document barred discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex and national origin, and was followed by other federal legislative civil rights measures like the Voting Rights Act (1965) and Fair Housing Act (1968).

For months, various events and gatherings have occurred in remembrance of the major milestone in the struggle for racial equality in the United States. more >>