Iranian security forces killed nine protesters Monday night, bringing the death toll from recent unrest to at least 21. The rallies began Dec. 28 over the country’s weak economy and rising food prices. But experts remain uncertain whether the demonstrations—Iran’s biggest since 2009—will bring lasting change.

Protesters in the capital city of Tehran and elsewhere have called for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down amid overall criticism of the country’s Islamic leadership. Authorities have arrested more than 400 protesters, and the head of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court warned they could face the death penalty.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier said, “People have the right to criticize,” but he vowed to crack down on those who instigated violence and destroyed public property. The Iranian government also blocked access to Instagram and the Telegram messaging app, which authorities said helped spread information on the protests.

The economy has improved under Rouhani, who reached a deal with world powers that lifted some sanctions against Iran in January 2016. But unemployment remains high, especially among youth; living costs have risen; and the country recently experienced a spike in food prices. The latest unrest follows months of smaller-scale protests over unpaid wages and the collapse of unauthorized lending companies.

“There is a crisis of…

The tax system overhaul passed just before Christmas hit an unexpected bump just hours after House lawmakers finished celebrating their historic vote. Several items ran afoul of Senate procedural rules and had to be pulled from the bill before final approval. One of those directly affected homeschooling families.

Under the bill, lawmakers expanded 529 educational savings accounts to include private K-12 schooling. They also attempted to include homeschool expenses, a tax benefit the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has lobbied for since 2000.

“We were an inch away from victory,” said William Estrada, HSLDA’s director of federal relations.

Although a procedural hiccup ultimately killed the provision, the vote put every single Democrat in the Senate on record of opposing a tax break for homeschoolers, Estrada said. That squelches hope for getting the measure passed anytime in the near future. Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., plans to submit a bill in the House, something he’s done every year, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has offered to sponsor a measure in the upper chamber. But getting something passed will be a “tough row to hoe,” Estrada said, mostly because of the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

While homeschoolers eagerly anticipated the tax advantages 529 plans offer, not all school choice advocates support expanding the accounts to cover K-12 education. The benefits only…

Government military operations in northern Burma (Myanmar) escalated in December, culminating in civilian casualties on Christmas Eve that left Christians feeling attacked in part for their faith.

 

Offensives against rebel groups in Kachin state, where predominantly Christian, ethnic Kachin live, displaced dozens of villagers and seriously injured two civilians on Christmas Eve, local sources said.

 

Burma army artillery fire on Dec. 24 struck a village near Laiza, headquarters of the rebel Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), seriously injuring a schoolteacher and a student, according to the local sources. 

 

Sin Gau, assistant pastor with the Kachin Baptist Convention in northern Kachin state, said fighting should have halted on Christmas Eve, when many celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. 

 

“They launched attacks when Christmas approached – it happens almost every year,” Sin Gau told Morning Star News. “So, we even felt as if they deliberately did it.”

 

Area Christians felt the fighting disrespected their religious rights, he said. 

 

“As we are Christian, Christmas Eve is the most important thing for us, but we couldn’t fully enjoy Christmas as fighting continued,” Sin Gua said.

 

The Burma army and KIO’s military wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), have been fighting since 2011 following the breakdown of a bilateral…