Google to Build Underwater Cable Connecting Israel, Europe and Asia
Google announced plans to build a Blue Submarine Cable System, an undersea cable connecting the Middle East, Southern Europe, and Asia.
India
Australia Using Army For COVID Lockdown After Philippines
Australia’s government sent the army Monday to help enforce strict lockdowns in Sydney, where it claims many COVID-19 cases were recorded.
India Christian Villagers Expelled For Faith
A pastor has paid tribute to eight Christian families driven out of their village in eastern India earlier this year due to their “strong faith” in Jesus Christ.
White House raises concerns with Israel about possible NSO spyware controversy
Israel may be at the center of a diplomatic crisis after the White House raised concerns about reports that Pegasus spyware from Israeli firm NSO was illegally used to target journalists, human rights activists, and politicians, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Axios News reported on Wednesday.
India persecution: Pastor arrested and tortured by police in Uttarakhand state
Police in India’s Uttarakhand state arrested and tortured Christian leader Pastor Sanjay Kumar Bharati last month, accusing him of having illegal conversations about religion, International Christian Concern reports. India ranks 10 on the US Open Doors 2021 Watch List of top 50 countries which persecute Christians.
CDC director says European-style health passes ‘may very well be a path forward’ in US
European-style health passes for admission to public venues “may very well be a path forward” in the United States, said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky.
India’s Uttar Pradesh state: Hindu nationalists arrest 30 Christians in wave of persecution
Hindu nationalists in India’s Uttar Pradesh arrested at least 30 Christians in the last month, accusing them of forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity, International Christian Concern reports. Rights groups report that persecution against Christians and other non-Hindu religious groups in India has intensified substantially since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.
‘North India Pastor Killed For Sharing Faith’
The wife of a pastor allegedly murdered in northern India for his Christian faith says she will continue his work.
India: 154 reported cases of Christian persecution in first half of 2021
Christian rights groups have recorded 154 incidents of persecution against believers in India for the first half of 2021 alone, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Persecution against Indian Christians has intensified since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014.
Lightning Strikes Kill Dozens In India
India’s prime minister expressed his sorrow Monday after dozens of people, including women and children, died in lightning strikes.
Evangelical denomination passes resolution to acknowledge Church’s “complicity” in “dispossession, subjugation” of Indigenous peoples in Americas
On June 25 the Evangelical Covenant Church in the US voted to approve its “Resolution to Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery,” acknowledging what it calls the Christian church’s “complicity” in the “dispossession, subjugation and relegation” of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Christianity Today reports.
Indian pastor beaten to death; wife says husband is ‘Martyr for his faith’
A pastor in India’s Haryana state was beaten to death on June 30 after sharing the “love and forgiveness of Christ” with a man who then murdered him, Morning Star News reports. India ranks 10 on the US Open Doors Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
Federal judge blocks Indiana ‘abortion reversal’ law
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked an Indiana law that would require doctors to tell women undergoing drug-induced abortions about a disputed treatment for potentially stopping the abortion process.
Israel may reinstitute ‘green pass’ as COVID cases rise
As COVID cases in Israel are rising again, and in light of the possible impact the new, highly contagious Delta variant may have in the country, Israeli health officials are considering reinstituting the “green pass” system that allows only those who have been vaccinated to attend indoor public spaces like restaurants, All Israel News reported on July 1. Israel has already reimposed the indoor mask mandate that was lifted just a few weeks ago.
China’s Communist Party after 100 years now at the ‘forefront’ of global politics
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its 1921 founding on Thursday with nationwide festivities and fanfare.
India persecution: Tribal animists force Christians to leave their homes
More than 50 Christians from 13 families have recently been forced to leave their villages and escape into the jungle of India’s Odisha state by tribal animists enraged at the believers’ faith in Christ, Morning Star News reported Friday. India ranks 10 on the US Open Doors Watch List of countries that persecute Christians.
PM Bennet says Indian variant is spreading, recommends Israelis should not travel abroad
Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday recommended Israelis should not travel abroad because, he said, the Indian variant of the COVID-19 virus “is spreading rapidly around the world,” Israel News reports. The PM made his remarks three days after a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 was reported in two schools in the northern Israeli town of Binyamina, with 45 people infected.
‘Thousands Of Christian Leaders Dead In India, Nepal’
Christian leaders in India and Nepal are dying of COVID-19 at such a rate that “scores of Christian ministries” are in danger of closing as there is no one to lead them, aid workers say. ‘Black fungus’ now poses an additional deadly threat in India, where thousands of pastors and other Christian leaders reportedly died.
Christian Widow Forced To ‘Reconvert’ In Eastern India
A Christian widow in India’s eastern Odisha state has been forced to ‘re-convert to her old religion by villagers who threatened to prevent her husband’s funeral, Christian aid workers discovered.
UK health chief: Indian strain ‘around 40%’ more infectious than British variant
Britain’s health secretary on Sunday said a coronavirus variant first detected in India was roughly 40 percent more transmissible than the so-called UK strain blamed for a severe COVID-19 outbreak over the winter.