STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED… AND WHY THEY MATTER
By Donnelly McCleland Jesus challenged His disciples to be aware of what was going on around them (Luke 12:56) and to respond to changing times from His perspective, rather than seeing things through their human understanding. 2020 was one of those monumental years – on a global scale. Covid-19 has quite possibly impacted every person…
TERROR ATTACKS IN FRANCE AND MACRON’S PLAN TO COMBAT ‘ISLAMIC SEPARATISM’
By Donnelly McCleland French President Emmanuel Macron has said he can understand why Muslims were shocked by controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. But, in an interview with broadcaster Al Jazeera, he said he could never accept the issue justified violence. It comes after Thursday’s deadly knife attack on a church in Nice, the third…
HOSTILITY TOWARDS ROHINGYA REFUGEES GROWS
Rohingya refugees face rising opposition from surrounding South East Asian nations, as they seek asylum and compassion, after years in crowded camps in Bangladesh. Last week, Bangladesh said it would not take back nearly 300 Rohingya who were detained by Malaysia after their boat was found drifting off the country’s northwestern island of Langkawi. From…
UN CALLS FOR COMPASSION FOLLOWING ROHINGYA DEATHS AT SEA
The UN called for compassion for people desperately seeking shelter after at least 30 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar reportedly died on a boat in the Bay of Bengal that had spent nearly two months at sea. Bangladesh’s coast guard rescued a further 396 near-starving refugees from the vessel. One refugee told a reporter the group…
BLAZE KILLS DOZENS IN DHAKA HISTORIC DISTRICT
21 FEBRUARY 2019 (SOURCE: BBC NEWS) – A fast-moving fire swept through a historic district of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, killing at least 78 people, officials say. The blaze broke out on Wednesday night in a residential building that had flammable material stored on one floor. Members of a bridal party are thought to be among the…
ROHINGYA REPATRIATION DELAYED TILL 2019
By Alex Pollock Bangladesh’s plans to tackle the Rohingya refugee crisis are set to be stalled until the new year with repatriation and relocation programmes only likely be revisited after year-end general elections, a top Bangladeshi official said on Sunday [18 November]. Abul Kalam, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told Reuters “a new course…
MYNAMAR MILITARY FIGURES ACCUSED OF GENOCIDE AGAINST ROHINGYA
By Cherolyn Amery A UN report has said top military figures in Myanmar must be investigated for genocide in Rakhine state and crimes against humanity in other areas. The report, based on hundreds of interviews, is the strongest condemnation from the UN so far of violence against the Rohingya. The army’s tactics are “consistently and…