http://www.ccfhr.noaa.gov/news/ophelia In October of 2016, Hurricane Matthew hit the shore of North Carolina. According to CNN, “The storm’s US death toll climbed to 21 on Monday, with North Carolina reporting 11 deaths, Florida reporting four, and three each in South Carolina and Georgia.” Those in the Southeast were ordered to evacuate. Fox News explains, “An…

In Latin America, there has been an increase in the number of women asking for abortions due to the spread of the Zika Virus. In most Latin American countries, abortion is illegal. CNN reports, “In Latin American countries, where abortion is highly restricted if not downright illegal, pregnant women are seeking abortions at significantly higher…

Fanny Schertzer On January 22, 2017, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Papua New Guinea. It is initially believed to be no deaths. According to CNN, “The predominant structure of homes in the area meant they were vulnerable to earthquakes, it said, and fatalities were possible.” There was a Tsunami warning put into effect for several…

By Berthold Werner In early January, 4 Israeli soldiers were killed by a Palestinian, who took over a truck and attacked all those who were nearby. It is believed he supported the terrorist attacks of ISIS. CNN reports, “The driver who plowed a truck into a group of soldiers in Jerusalem, killing four people and…

By English: Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Rohingya are treated badly by the government of Myanmar, mainly the military. Many Rohingya have escaped into Muslim countries. According to CNN, “The Myanmar government has forcibly segregated Rohingya from the rest of the population in Rakhine state since 1982 when the government stripped them of their citizenship.”…

By Adelano Lázaro In late October, Marcello Crivella was elected to be mayor in Rio de Janeiro. Crivella is a devoted Evangelical. According to CNN, “Rio de Janeiro, the city of sunshine and samba, elected a former evangelical bishop mayor in a municipal election that signals Brazil’s politics are shifting right after 13 years of…

By Qypchak In late August of 2016, Russia attacked Ukraine while it was celebrating its Independence from the former USSR. CNN reports, “On the day of his country’s 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants ‘the whole Ukraine’ to be part of…

  By Athanasius 77 In December, just a few weeks before Christmas, a Coptic Church in Cairo was bombed. At first, the authorities had no idea who was responsible for the attacks. According to Fox News, “The Islamic State [ISIS] claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that killed 25 people. They also alleged that the…

By Kotoviski – Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1620427 In November, Fidel Castro, the leader and dictator of Cuba died of an ailment. According to The Slatest, “One of the world’s most divisive and authoritarian leaders who allegedly survived more than 600 assassination attempts and played a key role in the history of the 20th…

  The Zika-related malady of microcephaly that has plagued Brazil and much of the Americas is now in Thailand where two babies recently born there have the birth defect, marking Asia’s first reports of the condition. While not all pregnant women infected with Zika deliver microcephalic babies, researchers say Zika is one of the leading…

By terremocentroitalia terremocentroitalia from Italia In late October of 2016, an earthquake hit Norcia, Italy (a town in the central part of Italy). A 6.6 earthquake was recorded. CNN reports, “A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked central Italy on Sunday morning, injuring at least 20 people, in the strongest tremor to hit the country in more…

Opponents of President Nicola Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela held mass demonstrations recently, demanding a recall election of the beleaguered president as the nation wallows in an economic crisis. Widespread shortages of common goods and medicines has led to increased crime, rolling blackouts and massive inflation. Economists predict 700 percent inflation this year and…

On January 11, there was an abortion ban headed by the Russian Orthodox Church. According to LifeSite, “The Russian Orthodox Church diocese in the city of Yaroslavl declared 11 January a ‘day of silence without abortions’, and said it had the support of the region’s health department. Abortion is legal in Russia and the cost…

In 1979, China put into law the One-Child Policy. Under this law, parents were only allowed to have one child and other babies were to be aborted. There were missing girls. The boys outnumbered the girls. CNN explains, “But in a new study, researchers suggest that around 25 million of these girls aren’t actually missing,…

In Venezuela, there has been a shortage of food and medicine. CNN reports, “In May, the opposition-controlled National Assembly declared that Venezuela was suffering a national humanitarian health crisis. The next month, a group of doctors speaking in the National Assembly decried shortages of medicines and supplies.” The picture of the babies in cardboard boxes…

In June of 2016, the dry season in Indonesia, it would not stop raining. CNN explains, “June is usually relatively dry in the region, but the National Climatology, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has issued a warning for potential rain for late June and early July in five provinces.” Not only did Indonesia have heavy flooding,…

In December of 2016, the Brazilian government made a law called the austerity law. The point of the law is to help get Brazil out of the recession they’ve been in. CNN explains, “Brazilian President Michael Temer — who assumed office in late August — praised the move, referring to the bill as the ‘first…

In December of 2016, a shallow 7.7 earthquake hit Southern Chile. According to CNN, “A magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred off the coast of southern Chile Sunday, 40 km (about 25 miles) southwest of Puerto Quellon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.” This triggered a tsunami warning in Southern Chile. The Los Angeles Times reports, “Chile’s…

In mid-October of 2016, 21 Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped were returned to their hometown by Boko Haram. CNN reports, “The 21 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped and released by terrorist group Boko Haram were reunited with their families amid tearful scenes on Sunday.” It was a joyous celebration for many of the parents, yet it was…

The newest nation in the world, South Sudan has been in a civil war in 2013. Not only have thousands of people been killed, but crops have been destroyed. South Sudan has had to call in aid agencies to take care of its people. According to The Guardian, “About half of the nation’s 11 million…

A refugee boat was on its way to Italy, when it flipped. It was holding 450 refugees, way beyond its capacity of 150 people. According to CNN, “State media said the boat had a maximum capacity of 150 people, but 450 had been crammed aboard. Smugglers were charging 35,000 Egyptian pounds ($3,951) for an Egyptian…

LEEDS, Ala. – More than 900 wildfires torched about 200 acres in central Alabama, affecting homes and businesses and creating poor visibility on Interstate 20. The blazes produced plumes of smoke so thick they were visible on weather radar. Fed by a drought throughout the Southeast, the fires destroyed more than 100,000 acres in Alabama…

HAMILTON, Bermuda – In a rare event for Bermuda, a Category 3 hurricane battered the island nation, causing flooding and blackouts, damaging buildings and infrastructure. Hurricane Nicole formed south of Bermuda in early October and thrashed the island Oct. 13 with wind gusts of more than 100 miles per hour in some areas. No other…

TOKYO – A 6.2-magnitude earthquake shook western Japan, damaging homes and injuring seven people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Oct. 21 temblor struck west of Osaka near the city of Kurayosh, about 430 miles west of Tokyo. According to Japan’s meteorological agency, the area also experienced a 5.0-magnitude aftershock. No tsunami risk resulted….

Residents of Southern California are still coping with the aftermath of this summer’s wildfire. The blaze led to the evacuation of 82,000 residents from 10,000 homes. More than 300 homes and businesses were destroyed in Los Angeles County, and an estimated 57 square miles of brush were consumed. As fires raged in the south, another…

In the midst of chaos and destruction caused by ISIS in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, reports of Christian conversion among ISIS fighters are emerging thanks to the distribution of Bibles by Open Doors. One pastor reports about an angry man coming to his door and threatening to behead him. The pastor remembered the words of…

In the midst of a devastating civil war, Christian ministries continue to report thousands of Syrians are turning to faith in Christ. Numerous Christian groups and relief organizations are on the scene serving the Syrian war victims, and their work is having a dramatic impact. Indigenous missionaries are working up to 15 hours a day,…

The people of central Italy awakened to discover that a 6.2-magnitude earthquake had killed 247 people overnight, according to Italy’s Civil Protection Department. The temblor occurred 6.2 miles southeast of Norcia at 3:36 a.m. local time, as reported by CNN. Tremors awakened residents as far away as Rome, 100 miles southwest of the epicenter. An…

When Khaled Omar, a Syrian Civil Defense White Helmet volunteer in Syria, rescued a 14-day-old baby boy from debris following a Russian air strike, the world cheered and celebrated his heroism. The “miracle baby”, after being buried for 16 hours, was safe at last in Aleppo. “I thought I was being delusional because I was…

  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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…