Sri Lanka: Indian fish poaching
21 Oct 2021
On 17 October Sri Lankan fishermen launched a flotilla of boats from the northeastern fishing town of Mullaittivu to Sri Lanka’s northernmost tip, Point Pedro away. They are demanding that the government does more to protect the nation's prawn-rich northern waters from poaching by Indian fishing trawlers in the narrow Palk Strait which separates the South Asian neighbours. Bottom trawling was banned from Sri Lankan waters in 2017 because it involves dragging heavy nets across the seafloor to catch a large volume of fish, causing severe damage to the marine ecosystem. However, the authorities have failed to stop Indian poaching even though their fishing community has been complaining for years. Mass poaching takes valuable fish stocks away from Sri Lankan fishermen, so they struggle to make ends meet. Palk Strait is a rich fishing ground known for jumbo prawns. Sri Lanka regularly detains large numbers of Indian fishers and seizes their boats, but poaching continues.
Twelve Christians attacked by almost 300
21 Oct 2021
A mob of 300 chanting ‘Hail Lord Ram! Victory to Lord Ram’ attacked the House of Prayer church, destroying CCTV cameras, lights, fans, musical instruments and furniture. Eva Lance, the church leader, tried to call the police but couldn’t connect. The mob tried to set fire to vehicles parked outside and attacked twelve church members. One man was beaten semi-unconscious, a woman’s hair was pulled out and a young boy was found lying in a pool of his own blood and vomit after having his ears cut off and being badly beaten. He was hospitalised. The police opened an investigation naming Eva’s former school principal and a member of a right-wing Hindu group among those responsible. Then the mob filed a counter case against the victims, accusing them of non-bailable offences like molestation, robbery and organised crime. Christian Solidarity Worldwide said the involvement of the police and community leaders in this attack must be a wake-up call to India’s lawmakers.
Australia: missing four-year-old
21 Oct 2021
On 16 October four-year-old Cleo Smith was camping with her family. During the night she woke up and asked for a drink of water. Ms Smith checked on her other daughter, Isla, who was sleeping separately, then went back to bed. A few hours later she woke up to give Isla a bottle and saw that Cleo had gone. Her red sleeping bag was also missing. It is a very harsh environment, with limited freshwater. If she wandered off and is still in the area, there are grave concerns for her survival. Investigators are now imploring people across Australia to keep their eyes peeled for her, as another scenario is abduction. Marine and sea-based searches, mounted section officers, helicopters, drones and local Aboriginal bush trackers have all been deployed to help locate Cleo. The police are determined for a positive outcome, saying that they are ‘throwing everything’ at the effort.
India: floods and landslides
21 Oct 2021
Record-breaking rains and heavy flooding have killed over 150 people in India and Nepal in recent days. 77 have been killed, 22+ injured, and 26 are missing across Western Nepal; at least 46 have died in Uttarakhand, and 27 bodies have been recovered in Kerala. 11 teams from the National Disaster Response Force also evacuated 6,500 people to 184 relief camps. Crops have been destroyed, roads are waterlogged, bridges washed away, vehicles submerged, and houses reduced to rubble in Kerala, home to 33 million people. The flooding comes in the middle of a religious pilgrimage when Hindus journey to Uttarakhand. 3,000 pilgrims were evacuated from a barge on the Sarda River, which had overflowed. Meanwhile more than 200 families are currently in a further 26 evacuation camps across the state. Heavy rainfall is forecast to continue for the coming days, and residents are urged to stay indoors.
USA / UK: ‘Build Back Better’
21 Oct 2021
Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan has a $3.5tn price tag that could transform millions of Americans’ lives. The bipartisan senate infrastructure bill proposes $66bn of new spending on passenger and freight rail projects over the next decade as the Democrats undertake the most ambitious and transformative domestic policy agendas since the New Deal of the 1930s. It also focuses on a long list of social policies and programmes ranging from education to healthcare to housing to climate. With Republicans unified in opposition, Democrats are using a special budgetary process known as ‘reconciliation’ to avoid the 60-vote filibuster threshold and pass the bill on a party-line vote. Boris Johnson’s Build Back Better plans to support economic growth through significant investment in infrastructure, skills and innovation, and will tackle the NHS backlog while capping social care costs for adults. Another aspect was for a Build Back Coronavirus recovery plan: see
She survived cancer and Covid at the same time
15 Oct 2021
Geane Prado was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. After a bone marrow transplant and a round of chemotherapy, doctors discovered Covid-19. Her condition deteriorated; she wrote goodbye letters to her family, and fully surrendered her life to God. While intubated, she endured pulmonary embolism, cardiac arrest, renal failure, and bacterial pneumonia. Doctors said she had 48 hours to live. Her children mobilized a massive prayer chain through WhatsApp, social media and praying at the hospital door. Across Brazil people joined in intercession. God answered them. Within a short time her fever vanished and her condition improved. Doctors called it ‘a miracle’ because it had nothing to do with medicine. After forty days Geane left the hospital not only healed from Covid, but also from cancer.
From gang leader to gospel sharing
15 Oct 2021
Daniel had successes in Gangsta Rap and sold crack and heroin to gangs until 2014. Now he is a missionary pouring out teas and coffees to the marginalised in London. An excited, joyful guest shows Daniel pictures of his new flat. There’s no mistaking his relief at getting a safe stable place to stay after sleeping in tunnels. ‘That’s beautiful bro!’ bursts, Daniel. ‘I’m so happy for you! Bless you!’ Then Daniel points upwards with both hands. ‘And you know what? We give thanks to Jesus!’ This life-changing turnaround for the guest is an insight into how Daniel’s life has changed. Many of those Daniel now ministers to used to be his customers for crack and heroin. To read his story, click the ‘More’ button.
Another boxer gives God the glory
15 Oct 2021
After both Manny Pacquiao and Oleksander Usyk declared their faith to the media, Britain's Tyson Fury praised God after retaining his heavyweight boxing world title in a classic fight with Deontay Wilder. ‘First of all, I would like to say thank you to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.’ Fury said.