Chinese Pastor Under Extreme Surveillance, Church Building Renovated Without Permission

Chinese Pastor Under Extreme Surveillance, Church Building Renovated Without Permission

BEIJING (ChinaAid) — Fractured into small groups by persecution, a house church in Beijing recently informed China Aid that authorities were restricting their pastor. Meanwhile, their church is being refurbished without their approval. Six years after authorities banned Shouwang Church members from holding meetings outdoors, they revealed that their pastor, Jin Tianming, is still under […]

Drug Overdose Deaths Nearly Tripled Since 1999, CDC Reports

Drug Overdose Deaths Nearly Tripled Since 1999, CDC Reports

WASHINGTON (CBS News) — Drug overdose deaths have nearly tripled in the United States since 1999, with whites and middle-aged Americans bearing much of the brunt, a new government report shows. More than 16 out of every 100,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2015, compared to just over 6 in 1999, the U.S. […]

Man Arrested After Threatening to Kill Protester With Knife Outside California Planned Parenthood

Man Arrested After Threatening to Kill Protester With Knife Outside California Planned Parenthood

VENTURA, Calif. (KTLA-TV) — A 30-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after threatening to kill a protester outside a Ventura Planned Parenthood, police said. The incident was reported about 8:40 a.m. at the facility in the 5400 block of Ralston Street, according to the Ventura Police Department. Brandon Beechum was accompanying a “female companion” to the […]

Famine Declared in South Sudan: 100,000 Facing Death, Another Million on Brink of Starvation

Famine Declared in South Sudan: 100,000 Facing Death, Another Million on Brink of Starvation

NAIROBI, Kenya (National Post) — A severe food shortage has deteriorated into a famine in two counties in South Sudan, the government and United Nations announced Monday, with 100,000 people facing starvation. Joyce Luma, head of the World Food Program in South Sudan, called the famine “man-made,” blaming it on political turmoil in a country […]

Boko Haram Recruited 2,000 Child Soldiers in 2016: UNICEF

Boko Haram Recruited 2,000 Child Soldiers in 2016: UNICEF

(UPI) — The Nigerian insurgent group Boko Haram recruited 2,000 children to fight in 2016, a United Nations report released Tuesday said. The data were part of a report indicating that at least 65,000 children, worldwide, were released from military and armed groups in the past 10 years. An estimated 17,000 children were recruited in […]

Report: Children of Alcoholics in UK Calling Helpline to Hear Bedtime Stories

Report: Children of Alcoholics in UK Calling Helpline to Hear Bedtime Stories

(Metro) — Children as young as five are ringing a helpline to hear bedtime stories because their alcoholic parents are too intoxicated. Some of the youngsters call the counsellors at the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (Nacoa) so regularly their favourite story books are kept by the phones. According to a parliamentary group there […]

Man Charged in Turkey Nightclub Massacre Says His Intent Was to Target Christians

Man Charged in Turkey Nightclub Massacre Says His Intent Was to Target Christians

(World Watch Monitor) — The man charged with killing 39 people on New Year’s Eve at Istanbul’s exclusive Reina nightclub attack, Abdulkadir Masharipov, has testified before a Turkish court, saying, “My purpose was to kill Christians.” The Uzbek national was arraigned in court 11 Feb., nearly a month after he was captured by Istanbul police […]