More than 13 people from Alabama to Texas have died in August flooding. Louisiana caught the brunt of the damage as more than 30 inches fell in some parts of the state. “It is way worse … more widespread” than even Hurricane Katrina, said Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Chad McCann, a member of…
CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1620441 Scores of Cubans recently fled the island nation on chartered flights to Central and South America, then trekked across Mexico to reach El Paso, Texas. The refugees were fleeing the repressive Cuban government en route to the U.S. where federal law treats them as legal immigrants. The Texas Tribune reports…
After a wave of gruesome violence that included hacking victims to death, the Bangladesh government has arrested more than 11,000 people. Among those arrested were 150 members of Jama’atul Mujahedin Bangladesh, an Islamist group that the country had previously banned. The targeted victims include Hindus, Christians, Sufi Muslims, activists and foreigners. The group’s actions have…
By Laban66 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10403927 The Vladimir Putin-led Russian government recently passed sweeping anti-terror legislation that reduces all citizen’s rights to privacy while potentially infringing on the right of Christians to engage in missions. “It could stop missionary activity to anybody but representatives, registered organizations and groups,” said Joel Griffith of…
Floodwaters ravaged low-lying Ellicott City, Md., in late July, claiming two lives while destroying homes and businesses. Located 14 miles west of Baltimore, the town received 6.5 inches of rain, mostly within two hours, according to the National Weather Service. More than 100 people required rescue services, which included spontaneous citizen responses. The local Patapsco…
A relentless monsoon season has claimed an estimated 100 lives in Nepal and India while displacing more than 1.2 million people, according to government estimates. Water-induced landslides crushed buildings and caused many of the deaths. In one area of Nepal, rescuers were pulling bodies out of the debris and immediately handing those bodies to their…
As coalition forces back Iraqi military efforts to regain ISIS-controlled cities, the resulting victories in Fallujah and elsewhere leave cause for concern, according to FBI Director James Comey. Comey believes the defeated ISIS militants in Iraq will take their fight to Western Europe and the United States. Minorities, particularly Christians, in Muslim-majority Iraq believe that…
As the world focused on Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics, prostitutes as young as nine years old poured into the city in hopes of cashing in on the influx of tourists and money. Prostitution is legal in Brazil, and so rampant that child prostitutes regularly work the 262 truck stops on the 2,800-mile…
The 167 million “untouchable’ Dalits of India continue to face widespread abuse and discrimination with little hope for their human rights, according to the Dalit Network. This abuse and neglect has happened for 3,000 years as the rest of India view them “only to be slaves, to be broken and crushed.” In Chandigarh, a 21-year-old…
In early June when Omar Mateen murdered 49 people and wounded 53 others in a mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, he showed no signs of remorse or panic, according to local law officials. President Obama called Mateen’s attack homegrown terrorism inspired by radical material accessible online. Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS…
Torrential rains fell in West Virginia beginning June 23, claiming 23 lives, damaging more than 1,200 homes and causing power outages for 30,000 homes and businesses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) called the flooding a “historic” tragedy. The flash flooding washed out roadways and building structures. Many homes were swept off their foundations. Severed…
Myanmar called an annual report issued by the U.S. State Department “sad and regrettable” after being named among the worst human trafficking offenders. Along with Iran, North Korea and Syria, the report cited Myanmar’s negligence to meet “the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking.” Reuters reported that Myanmar’s ranking, which got downgraded from the previous year,…
A shortage of the yellow fever vaccine has led the United Nations health agency to endorse lower doses that reduce immunity from a lifetime to approximately 12 months. The World Health Organization recommends using a fifth of the standard dose to stretch the current vaccines. Mass immunization in Angola following 300 deaths since December depleted…
More than 84,000 Iraqis left their possessions, businesses and schools to live without shelter in 115-degree desert heat and sandstorms as ISIS assaulted Fallujah. ISIS forces controlling Fallujah defended their siege with bullets, bombs and children as coalition backed Iraqi forces fought to regain the city. The Islamic extremists used the estimated 20,000 Iraqi children…
Rwanda’s rainy season has caused higher than normal landslides that the nation’s disaster relief officials say have mostly claimed the lives of children among the 53 dead. Between January and April, landslides killed 67 others Rwandans. Rwanda incurred one of history’s greatest genocides in 1994 when 800,000 people died in about 90 days as rivals…
In early May, a massive wildfire called “The Beast” enveloped Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada’s oil sands capital. It forced the largest wildfire evacuation in in the province’s history. The wildfire eventually consumed an estimated 1.5 million acres and 2,400 homes, forcing 80,000 residents to seek refuge in cities such as Edmonton. In early June, officials…
Cyclone Roanu recently swept across the Indian ocean and made landfall near Chittagong, Bangladesh, claiming 26 lives as it displaced 500,000 people. The government ordered 2 million people to evacuate the coastal areas, which officials believe kept the death toll low. But many ignored the warning because the cyclone’s winds were only about 50 miles…
Sri Lanka’s heaviest rains in 25 years have caused massive mudslides resulting in about 63 confirmed dead and up to 200 missing families buried in 50 feet of mud. Officials estimate that 200,000 people have left Colombo, the nation’s low-lying capital, while 400,000 have fled to state-run relief camps. Deforestation meant to create more farmland…
Long-time missionaries Harold Nichols and Randy Hentzel died in April, apparent victims of a robbery attempt and murder in Jamaica. In June, Jamaican police arrested one man and were seeking a second suspect for questioning. Nichols and Hentzel were part of the US-based TEAMS for Medical Missions and had been in Jamaica since 2002. The…
After an estimated 2,500 refugee drownings in the Mediterranean Sea and scores of immigrants settling in makeshift camps throughout Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced a new plan for her city. “Paris will not stand by and do nothing as the Mediterranean becomes a graveyard of refugees,” Hidalgo said as she announced the establishment…
Earthquake prone Japan had yet another earthquake May 16 when a 5.6 magnitude event shook the eastern region of Honshu, the nation’s main island. The epicenter was 60 miles northeast of Tokyo, and about 24 miles underground. Officials quickly stated that the earthquake would not cause a tsunami, which occurred in northeast Honshu in 2011….
Oil-rich Venezuela crisis continues to grow, with food and medicine shortages. Amidst cries of “we are hungry,” Venezuelans are increasingly robbing stores of food and medicine as panic grows across their country, which has 481 percent inflation. Coupled with a drought that inhibits the nation’s hydroelectric production, the communist government has also declared a two-day…
Let the games begin, whether the host country is ready or not. As Rio de Janeiro awaits an estimated 7.5 million international guests for the 2016 Summer Olympics, questions remain about Brazil’s preparedness. Some venues are still not completed, the Zika virus that apparently originated there now threatens all of the Americas, their president is…
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2014 has claimed 10,000 lives and injured more than 21,000, according to the United Nations. During an emergency Security Council meeting in April, the warring nations blamed each other for the ongoing conflict. The United States, France and Britain hold Russia responsible for the conflict. In February 2015,…
Following months of speculation, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed that the Zika virus can cause microcephaly in newborns, a condition that leaves the brain underdeveloped. Scientists are finding multiple mutations of the virus, which leaves open the possibility of other health outcomes. “The Zika virus has undergone significant genetic changes in the past 70 years,”…
Colombian government officials are holding the Colombian Marxist rebel group (guerillas), the National Liberation Army, responsible for the kidnapping of three journalists near the border with Venezuela. Salud Hernandez, a Spanish journalist, disappeared first while working on a story in the northern Colombian region of Catatumbo, a cocaine-producing region that is known for guerilla and…
Demonstrating his conviction that refugees are people, not numbers, Pope Francis invited three Muslim families to board his chartered Alitalia flight in Lesbos and begin a new life in Italy. Sky News reports that, “The Pope’s decision to bring three families back to the Vatican with him after his visit to the Greek island of…
On August 24, Myanmar was hit by a deadly 6.8 earthquake in the ancient city of Bagan. So far, there has only been three reported deaths. Many Pagodas (Buddhist temples) have been destroyed in the earthquake. According to The Straits Times, “A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar Wednesday (Aug 24), killing at least…
Recent studies of U.S. deaths show that suicide has increased significantly since 1999, affecting mostly middle-aged white males. Thirteen out of every 100,000 people committed suicide in 2014, the last year data is currently available. Only black males saw a decrease. Middle-aged men saw a 43 percent increase in the last 15 years. While males…
Nearly 25 percent of India’s vast population is facing a severe water shortage and extreme heat that is claiming lives and threatening livelihoods as temperatures reach 42C/107.6F in the shade, virtually wiping out agriculture in three states. Agriculture represents an estimated 15 percent of India’s gross domestic product, according to The Guardian, which also reports that…
With the backing of a U.S.-led coalition, Iraq’s military has battled back the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Mosul, that nation’s second largest city, in an initiative called “Operation Conquest.” Mosul had been a major victory for ISIS in June 2014 as they captured the city of more than 2 million people…
A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan in early April near its border with Tajikistan in the sparsely populated Hindu Kush mountains. Aftershocks reached as far as Delhi, India. The quake caused one fatality in Pakistan. In October 2015, the same region had a 7.5-magnitude earthquake that claimed 300 lives. Since the recent incident, officials have…
In a report from Brent Swails and David McKenzie of CNN, titled “Kidnapped to kill: How Boko Haram is turning girls into weapons,” they outline the very reason why young girls are choosing to become used a ‘suicide bombers’. In the report, this startling statement is made, “Young girls fighting to strap on a bomb,…
The “Beast,” Canadian wildfires that are larger in land mass than New York City, has forced the evacuation of Fort McMurray in the oil-rich sand reserves of northeast Alberta and is now reaching toward the province of Saskatchewan as it burns vast acres of forest. The oil-sand reserves are one of Canada’s major energy sources…
The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a crackdown on foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) fearing undue influence on public policies by outside activists. The new criteria also calls for foreign-funded consultants working within the government to resign by December 2016 if they have worked for three or more years. Most affected thus…
An estimated 500 African refugees drowned off the coast of Italy when smugglers recently forced too many people into one boat, according to the United Nations. This incident occurred about one year after the worst refugee drowning incident in April 2015, when 800 people died on their journey from Libya to Europe. Reports of the…
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the most mineral rich nations on earth, capable of great economic gain for its people. But decades of corrupt political leadership and war with neighboring countries currently has displaced an estimated 775,000 Congolese in the North Kivu province, according to the United Nations, leaving the country…
Sunni ISIS terrorists recently unleashed terror attacks on Shia neighborhoods and markets in Baghdad, bombing and killing nearly 100 people and injuring more than 160. The attacks began when a car bomber pulled up in a crowded Shiite market, apparently to deliver produce. The driver ran from the vehicle before it exploded. Two other explosions…
Violent spring weather has continued to wreak havoc on the nation’s midsection with a series of recent tornadoes stretching from Oklahoma to Kentucky. Seven tornadoes struck mostly rural Oklahoma communities, killing two people and leaving about five towns with 25-30 damaged homes each. One tornado registered as a powerful EF4, which can have winds up…
A “stove pipe” pipe tornado ripped through Dolores, a city of 20,000, in southwest Uruguay on April 15, leaving four people dead and hundreds injured. Flying cars struck two of the deceased victims. Witnesses report more than 400 buildings were destroyed amid the disruption of normal services, contributing to the state of chaos. “There are…
What started in Brazil and quickly spread to most of the Americas has now appeared in Vietnam where two women have reportedly been infected with the Zika virus. One is a 64-year-old woman and the second is 33 years old and eight weeks pregnant. Government health officials have quarantined the families of each. Zika is…
With 91 of India’s major water reservoirs registering lower-than-normal at about 29 percent capacity, the world’s second most-populated nation is facing its worst water scarcity in a decade. Making the challenge even more critical is that 66,093 rural Indian villages only have access to contaminated water. In West Bengal state, the declining water levels of…
More than 1,500 Muslims in the Central African Republic (CAR) owe their life to a Catholic priest, Father Bernard Kinvi, who helped them and others escape brutal deaths in a nation struggling with violence between Muslims and Christians. Father Bernard is a candidate to win a $1 million humanitarian award, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity….
The Pacific island nation of Fiji is recovering from two cyclones and major floods,all happening since late February 2016. Tropical Cyclone Winston, the strongest recorded cyclone ever in Fiji and the Southern Hemisphere, was a Category 5 tropical cyclone with estimated winds of 185 miles per hour. As the eye of Cyclone Winston crossed Fiji,…
An estimated 750,000 people felt “violent to severe” shaking as a series of three earthquakes struck near Kumamoto on the earthquake prone southernJapanese island of Kyushu, about 800 miles southwest of Tokyo. The earthquakes claimed at least 34 lives and injured more than 800 people. An estimated 180,000 people have sought shelter. The first earthquake…
A Hindu celebration meant to welcome in a new year in the southern Indian state of Kerala turned deadly in early April when a single firecracker fell into a pyrotechnic storage area and ignited the large inventory there. The resulting explosion and fire killed an estimated 107 persons, burned hundreds more and collapsed part of…
Threats by Islamic terrorists in Yemen to crucify Father Tom Uzhunnalil on Good Friday were apparently averted as Catholic bishops in Southern Arabia and India now report that he is alive. Father Tom, a native of Bangalore, India, survived an attack March 4 at a nursing home founded and run in Aden, Yemen, by Mother…
Bangladesh’s High Court on March 27, 2016, rejected a 28-year-old petition to remove Islam from the constitution as the nation’s official religion. The constitutional challenge followed repeated attacks on non-Muslims by Islamic extremists in Bangladesh, the world’s third largest Muslim-majority nation. ISIS recently claimed responsibility for the murder of a Christian convert in northern Bangladesh,…
Global Aid Network (GAiN) is working with churches to stabilize agriculture in Liberia following the 2013-2015 Ebola crisis. According to GAiN’s Website, “They are strengthening the local churches to raise resources and mobilizing congregations to take the lead in agriculture. They see opportunity for churches in Liberia to help the nation overcome food security issues.”…
After years of civil strife between Muslims and Christians in the Central African Republic (CAR), TeachBeyond is bringing stability for children even as reports of sexual abuse by peacekeepers gain more attention. Families of more than 100 minors have registered complaints about the U.N. Peacekeepers. “We must face the fact that a number of troops…
