MANILA, Philippines (Associated Press) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte apologized to Germany on Tuesday for failing to save a German hostage, who was beheaded by Muslim militants, and said a massive offensive backed by fighter jets against the extremists was underway. Philippine military officials said Jurgen Gustav Kantner was beheaded by Abu Sayyaf militants in […]
LIAOYANG, Liaoning (ChinaAid) — A court in China’s northeastern Liaoning province sentenced five Christian leaders to three to seven years behind bars on Wednesday for purchasing and selling prohibited Christian material. On Feb. 22, the defendants, comprised of four women and one man, learned they would be imprisoned for allegedly buying and selling “officially forbidden […]
Belize (Mission Network News) — Sometimes, the best way to find out what someone needs is simply to ask. Jason Woolford of Mission Cry, formerly Christian Resources International, did just that on his recent trip to Belize. “They’re not asking for food or clothes, but they’re saying, ‘Listen, we need discipleship, we need Bibles, we […]
(Medscape) — As the legal status of marijuana evolves, pediatricians should counsel teenagers and their parents about its potential for harm, write the authors of a new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Despite the impression among many teenagers and their parents that marijuana is a fairly benign drug, it has some real […]
JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – Sudan released Czech aid worker Petr Jasek on Saturday (Feb. 25), nearly one month after a court in Khartoum sentenced him to life in prison for espionage and other charges, according to reports. Jasek returned to the Czech Republic on Sunday with Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralekj, who had […]
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 […]
(The Christian Institute) — The remarkable story of Christian missionary Jim Elliot has been told afresh by his daughter in a BBC feature. Elliot was killed in 1956 by members of a previously unreached tribe in Ecuador. He had traveled there with a group of other missionaries in order to share the gospel. Elliot’s daughter Valerie […]
(Yahoo News/ABC News) — An 86-year-old Georgia man has donated approximately $400,000 to a local charity over the course of about 30 years, using money he received from recycling. Johnny Jennings, of Ringgold, Georgia, began recycling decades ago as a way to bond with his only child, a son named Brent Jennings. “We used to […]
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. […]
LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A 16-year-old Christian in Pakistan is languishing in jail under a baseless blasphemy charge after a judge declined to grant him bail this month, his attorney said. The judge in Punjab Province’s Kasur District on Feb. 7 denied bail to Nabeel Masih, who has been jailed since Sept. 18, 2016 […]