Islamic State Involved In Kabul Airport Suicide Attacks; 15 Killed
The Islamic State group was involved in twin suicide bombings targeting crowds outside Kabul’s airport, killing more than a dozen people, U.S. and Russian officials said Thursday.
ISIS
Iraq Persecution: Christians wary of outsiders arriving their community
Traumatized by the invasion of ISIS in 2014, Christians in Iraq remain nervous of outsiders, International Christian Concern reports. Constituting one of the oldest believing communities in the world, the Christians of Bartella near Mosul are reportedly wary of the influx of new arrivals to their district.
Biden Sticks To Afghanistan Withdrawal Deadline Citing Militant Threats
Frail appearing U.S. President Joe Biden made clear Tuesday he would obey Afghanistan’s new Islamist Taliban rulers and withdraw American forces from the nation by the end of the month.
President Biden Mulls Keeping Troops In Afghanistan And Warns Of Terrorism Threat
Embattled U.S. President Joe Biden says discussions are underway about keeping American forces in Afghanistan after his August 31 deadline for completing the U.S. withdrawal as thousands, including Christians, struggle to leave the Islamic nation.
Daring Israel and US to act, Hezbollah says Iran fuel tanker to sail to Lebanon
Hezbollah terror group chief Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday a tanker would set off from Iran “within hours” to bring desperately needed fuel supplies to Lebanon, in defiance of US sanctions.
Evangelist Graham Urges Prayers For Thousands Escaping Afghanistan
American evangelist Franklin Graham has urged believers to pray for the “thousands of people desperately trying to escape from Afghanistan,” including Afghan Christians and up to 15,000 Americans as well as their allies. Graham, son of the late legendary preacher Billy Graham, appealed “after the country’s fall to the Taliban” group, which he called Islamic extremists.
Urgent request for prayer for Haiti; specific requests include prayer for strength of the Haitian church
Haitian Christians have issued an urgent call for prayer after another deadly earthquake violently shook their already-embattled island nation at the weekend, killing nearly 2,000 people and injuring and displacing thousands more, Christianity Today reports. Saturday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck as Haitians were still processing the assassination of their president Jovenel Moïse last month, an act of violence that illustrates the long-term death-grip that violence, poverty, and corruption have had on Haiti.
Church Destroyed, Many Killed In Haiti Quake
As the death toll of Haiti’s devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake rose to more than 1,400, Christians were among those mourning victims.
Pro-life Crisis pregnancy centers are effective in reducing abortion, new study shows
Confirming the effectiveness of pro-life Crisis Pregnancy Centers, a new study has found that abortion-minded women who visit such a center are 30% more likely to decide on keeping their babies, Life News reports. The study was carried out by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and published in the journal “Plos One” in July.
CDC Issues New Eviction Ban for Most of US Through Early October
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a new moratorium on evictions that would last until October 3, as the Biden administration sought to quell intensifying criticism that it was allowing vulnerable renters to lose their homes during a pandemic.
Poland Grants Asylum To Belarus Olympic Sprinter
Poland says it has granted a humanitarian visa to a sprinter from Belarus who refused her team’s order to fly home early from the Olympics. The offer to Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was due to lead to asylum in the European Union nation amid growing political and social turmoil in Belarus.
900+ Shootings in One Week: Lawlessness Escalates Across US as Police Departments Depleted
Police departments have been sorely depleted in the wake of the “defund the police” debacle which was fueled by the demands of BLM and antifa protesters in 2020.
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.
Afghan government may fall to Taliban once US troops withdraw
The Afghan government may well fall to the Taliban after the US completes its military withdrawal in August, a US government watchdog reported on Wednesday. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) Afghan security forces are ill-prepared to resist the Taliban militarily, the Voice of America reports.
Two Christian leaders released after being jailed for protesting human rights violations, “God help me”
Although numerous people remain in custody, two of the Christians who were jailed during the government crackdown on the recent nationwide protests in Cuba were released into house arrest on Saturday, Christian Today reports.
Crisis in Lebanon: 71% of people at immediate risk of losing access to clean water
UNICEF reported last week that over 71% of people in Lebanon are at immediate risk of losing access to safe water as a grinding economic crisis causes water pumping to cease across the country. More than 4 million citizens are within ‘highly critical’ and ‘critical’ levels of risk.
Cuba protests: Christian leaders beaten, imprisoned in government crackdown; Call for Christians worldwide to pray; “Help us!”
Christian pastors are among at least 100 people who have been beaten and imprisoned by the Cuban government amid nationwide protests against systemic rights violations, the severe economic crisis, and the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Christian Post reports. Pleading for help from the international community, the wife of an imprisoned pastor has called on Christians worldwide to pray for Cubans suffering government violence.
Lebanon In Turmoil As Premier Steps Down
Violence erupted as Lebanon plunged into political and economic turmoil Friday following the sudden resignation of the prime minister-designate.
‘Islamic State’ poses growing threat across Africa
Last week, Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum said his country needed technological assistance from its European partners to fight jihadis. He complained of swaths of territory in Mali and Niger being taken over by the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) — known also as ISIS — and its affiliates.
Nigeria: Kaduna state closes 13 mostly Christian schools as abductions spiral
Amid a catastrophic situation of relentless kidnappings in Nigeria’s Kaduna state, the local Schools Quality Assurance Authority (SQAA) has ordered the closure of 13, mostly Christian, schools which it identified as being “vulnerable” to attacks by Islamic militants who abduct students, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports. Following the kidnapping of 140 pupils from Bethel Baptist High School on July 5th, CSW said Kaduna has become an “epicenter for kidnapping.”