![Arzoo Raja](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1027Pakistan_2-for-website-e1604568024148.jpg)
PAKISTAN: Arzoo – Despair turns to hope
The arrest of a man accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old Catholic girl in Pakistan is being hailed…
![Picture of Maira Shahbaz and her lawyer, Sumera Shafique (© Aid to the Church in Need)](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/0902Pakistan-for-website-e1599060503178.jpg)
UK: Petition to save Maira tops 3,600 signatures
So far, more than 3,600 people have signed a Catholic charity’s petition calling on Prime Minister Boris…
![Dr Thomas Heine-Geldern, international executive president of Aid to the Church in Need](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1030France-e1604061544198-scaled.jpg)
FRANCE: ACN denounces ‘radical and visceral attack’
The international head of a leading Catholic charity for persecuted Christians has expressed horror at the killing…
![The Tabash family's Nativity Store in Manger Square, Bethlehem](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1028HolyLand-e1603982513334-scaled.jpg)
HOLY LAND: ‘Coronavirus has destroyed our life’
The coronavirus pandemic has left Bethlehem’s tourism-reliant economy in tatters, according to a shop owner, who has…
![The mother and siblings of the kidnapped girl, Maira Shahbaz.](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/0519Pakistan_Mother-and-sibings-of-Maira-Shahbaz-1-e1589896885379.jpg)
PAKISTAN & UK: Charity launches asylum petition for Christian girl in severe danger
A Catholic charity is launching a campaign calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to grant UK asylum…
![With image of Syrian Christian (Credit: Ismael Martinez Sanchez/ACN)](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1022Syria-scaled.jpg)
SYRIA: ‘A sign of hope amid the darkness and despair’
Two Franciscan friars, the only remaining clergy in Idlib, Syria, have revealed the details of their lives…
![With image of Archbishop Obiora Akubeze of Benin (© Aid to the Church in Need).](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1021Nigeria-e1603289681972.jpeg)
NIGERIA: Nigerian bishops back protest against police
Nigeria’s Catholic bishops have thrown their weight behind a nationwide youth-led protest against police brutality and corruption.
![Repairs to a church in Beirut © Aid to the Church in Need](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1016Lebanon_1-e1602949868777-scaled.jpg)
LEBANON: Fresh help for Beirut
Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has announced another massive programme of aid to…
![With image of Annie Martin (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1510UK_Lebanon-e1602774572904.jpeg)
UK/LEBANON: 100km for 300,000 people made homeless
A benefactor of a leading Catholic charity has raised more than £2,700 for the people of Beirut…
![With image of Archbishop Najeeb Michaeel of Mosul (© Aid to the Church in Need)](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1014Iraq-for-website.jpg)
IRAQ: Rescuer of ancient books from Daesh destruction nominated for award
A bishop in Iraq has been nominated for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for saving…
![Image of families who fled Mocímboa da Praia, Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique after it was attacked by Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah on 26th June 2020 (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)](https://acnuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1013Mozambique-e1602603274736-scaled.jpg)
MOZAMBIQUE: Fresh aid for families fleeing from jihadists
Trauma counselling and pastoral care for families escaping jihadists in Mozambique are being provided by the UK…