Delayed

Two federal judges have delayed the deportation of a hundred Indonesian Christians due to dangers of persecution. In New Jersey, Judge Esther Salas granted a temporary stay to about 50 immigrants who had fled Indonesia with hundreds of others 20 years ago in fear of persecution. In New Hampshire, Judge Patti Saris gave another group of about 50 immigrants a stay of 90 days to complete their paperwork. The immigrant families had entered the United States legally, most on tourist visas. Many had seen their applications for permanent status denied or stalled, but former administrations had protected them from deportation.

Freed

Hong Kong’s top court freed the leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy “Umbrella” protests. Joshua Wong, 21, Nathan Law, 24, and Alex Chow, 27, were convicted of unlawful assembly after an event that helped spark the massive sit-in that paralyzed the center of the city for three months. After the protests ended, Wong and Law were given community service terms, while Chow was handed a suspended prison term in 2016. The Hong Kong government appealed for harsher sentences and won, sending the trio to jail. But a top appeals judge determined jail was too much. U.S. lawmakers have nominated Wong, Law, and Chow for the Nobel Peace Prize, despite protests from China and Hong Kong.

Resigned

Larry Taunton, founder of the Christian “think tank” Fixed Point Foundation, has resigned from his position as chief executive after accusations of inappropriate sexual conduct. Taunton said in a statement that the accusations were true: He’d had immoral sexual relationships with two young women on his staff. Taunton has a wife and several children. He said he is in marriage and personal counseling, seeking healing and forgiveness from his victims. Taunton was the author of two faith-based books and was planning a third.

Repealed

Bermuda, an overseas dependent territory of the United Kingdom, has become the first country to pass and then repeal gay marriage. The new law replaces a law from May and allows gay or straight couples to form partnerships the Bermuda government considers equal to marriage. Walton Brown, Bermuda’s minister of home affairs, told the media that the majority of Bermudians do not approve of same-sex marriages. The new act, he said, affirms that marriage is between a man and a woman but protects the rights of homosexuals. The U.K. government could have stopped the legal change, but Prime Minister Theresa May said she must respect Bermuda’s right to self-government.

Arrested

The Brazilian police arrested 13 members of a religious sect after accusations of human trafficking and theft. Authorities say the sect, called the Evangelical Community of Jesus, the Truth that Marks, has 6,000 followers. Leaders of the sect reportedly convinced many followers to leave behind everyone they knew and move to a countryside community, telling them the place was run on socialist principles and that they had to give all they owned to the community. The sect ran farms and rural businesses, and the members worked for no money. Police say church leaders made enormous amounts of money from the donations and unpaid labor of these victims.