Millions Evacuate As Super Cyclone Hits India, Bangladesh
Authorities in India and neighboring Bangladesh ordered millions of people to leave their homes in coastal areas ahead of a super cyclone, the most significant storm in a decade.
India
Evangelist and Apologist Ravi Zacharias Dies At 74
India-born evangelist Ravi Zacharias, who built a global mission group for the intellectual defense of his faith in Jesus Christ, has died of cancer in the United States, his family confirmed. The founder of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) was 74 when he passed away Tuesday at his Atlanta home.
Massive locust swarms threaten catastrophe for African nations
The United Nations (UN) has warned that vast swarms of locusts are set on a “path of destruction” across Africa, affecting nations that had not seen the pest in decades. Locust controllers are concerned the pests will wipe out crops in a potentially “Biblical catastrophe,” leaving millions of people without food in some of the most vulnerable countries in the world.
‘Mind boggling’ 122 million jobs lost in India, says think tank
The world’s biggest lockdown forced 122 million people out of jobs in India last month, according to estimates from a leading private sector think tank.
AG Barr directs U.S. Attorneys to protect constitutional rights, follows Texas guidance issued one week earlier
U.S. Attorney General William Barr has directed every U.S. Attorney “to be on the lookout for state and local directives that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.”
India Christians Forced To Become Hindus For Food
Aid workers say Christians, including pastors and their families, are excluded from government food aid in several parts of India despite an ongoing lockdown to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
Journalists Suffer Arrests and Attacks In Pandemic
A survey by the world’s largest journalism group shows three in every four journalists have faced official restrictions, obstruction or intimidation in reporting on the new coronavirus disease COVID-19. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also noticed that most staff and freelance journalists have “suffered pay cuts, lost revenue, job losses, canceled commissions, or worsening working conditions.”
India Condemns U.S. Religious Rights Report
A U.S. government advisory panel wants India on a religious freedom blacklist over a “drastic” downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering an angry reaction from New Delhi. In addition to India, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also recommends the inclusion of four more – Nigeria, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam.
Some 132,000 Turn To Christ In ‘Quarantine Revival’
More than 130,000 people from across the world, many in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, have decided to follow Jesus Christ after an online evangelism event, organizers said. “We are living through a Great Quarantine Revival, and I think God is just getting started,” explained evangelist Nick Hall, whose Pulse movement organized the virtual program.
About half of US churches planning to resume in-person services in May
After weeks of having online services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, about half of US churches are expected to resume holding in-person services in May, the Christian Post reported. Churches that reopen are expected to do so while still observing safety measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
EU Unveils $580 Billion Aid Package Amid Virus Lockdowns
After the U.S. unveiled similar measures, the European Union has approved a $580 billion aid package to help limit the devastating economic consequences of coronavirus pandemic lockdowns in member states. However, beyond the immediate aid, the dispute remains over the structure – and funding – of a long-term recovery plan. It emerged this weekend that the European Commission, the EU’s executive, has now been tasked to make proposals by May 6, when another video conference will be held.
Pastor in India, driven from his home, beaten and choked for filing police report
A pastor in India whose family’s house was demolished a month ago was assaulted on his way home from grocery shopping by the same people who forced him to flee his village.
Daughter of Indian pastor killed in 2015 receives bullet wound
The daughter of a murdered pastor in India was shot last week, five years after the death of her father and in the same house.
Americans Protest U.S. Lockdown
Protests continue in the United States against the perceived ‘tyrannical’ lockdown orders to halt the coronavirus pandemic. In Richmond, Virginia, dozens of people gathered outside the state legislature Thursday in defiance of stay-at-home rules, which the governor instituted until June 10. ‘STOP the MADNESS! It’s just a COLD VIRUS! End the shutdown for the GOOD of U.S. all!’ read one sign.
Lockdowns Extend As Coronavirus Cases Hit 2 Million
Confirmed cases of the new coronavirus reached two million worldwide late Tuesday, prompting several countries to extend lockdowns aimed at stopping the spread of the virus, COVID-19. The lockdowns came amid warnings that the pandemic could lead to the deepest global recession in a lifetime.
Christian father and husband in India beaten in front of family, refuses to renounce Jesus
A young Christian family in India once considered cursed by their village was attacked by a mob wielding sticks, the husband beaten unconscious before his wife and two children.
Sri Lanka eyes “anti-conversion” law that could harm Christians
The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is calling for the establishment of an “anti-conversion” law he claims will “save this country” from the phenomenon of people converting from Buddhism to other religions, Christians say as a pretext for persecution.
Government, police, radical Hindus in cahoots against Christians in India
Police, state governments, and radical Hindu nationalist groups are joining together against Christians in India, marshaling the accusation that Christians are forcing people to convert to faith in Jesus.
Pastor in Nepal punished in spite of following quarantine orders
A pastor in Nepal who made sure to fastidiously follow government regulations forbidding worship services was attacked by police anyway while at home with his family, the officers taunting him and Jesus.
Christians in India berated and falsely charged by police for handing out food to the poor
A pastor and a team of youth missionaries from his church were abused and falsely charged in India earlier this month for providing food and clothing to the poor, in another instance of police complicity with the radical Hindu nationalist agenda.