Lyndsey Koh, Mission Network News

Can Ukrainians survive another winter of Russia targeting the power grid? NATO Foreign Ministers wrapped up two days of meetings in Brussels yesterday discussing support for the war in Ukraine.

Romans 12:15 encourages Christians to “weep with those who weep.” Rev. Dr. Jack Sara is the President of Bethlehem Bible College where many Christian Palestinian faculty, staff, and students are heartbroken and frightened over the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The death toll continues to rise from Saturday’s attack on Israeli soil by Palestinian Hamas terrorists. We now know over 1,200 Israelis were brutally murdered in the attack, including women, children, babies, and the elderly.

Sebastian Schmidgall, a Christian pastor in Israel and a friend of Mission Network News, shared his account of what it was like on the day of the attack.

It’s been almost one year since the latest coup in Burkina Faso overthrew Interim President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba on September 30, 2022. Violence in the country has escalated over the last year with Islamist groups, state militias, and security forces attacking each other and civilians. This has led to the closure of roughly one-quarter of the nation’s schools.

A new report says more and more countries are adopting blasphemy laws and damaging international human rights.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) updated its Blasphemy Legislation Factsheet last week. It shows 95 countries now impose fines, imprisonment, or even the death sentence to punish religious blasphemy – up from 84 in 2020. That’s a 13% increase in three years.

Bruce Allen with FMI says their ministry often sees how blasphemy laws are used to promote state-sanctioned targeting of minority Christians.

Two dams burst in Libya on Sunday during Storm Daniel with barely any warning. The tremendous floodwaters swept away whole buildings in the Libyan town of Derna.

At least 11,300 people are confirmed dead, but that number could be as high as 20,000 with many still missing. Now there is also a fear of disease with contaminated water in the streets.

There is still no electricity in Derna and communication is severely hampered. Local media calls it catastrophic. The situation is making it difficult for family and friends to contact missing loved ones if they are still alive.

It’s the deadliest fire in Hawaii’s history, and the worst the United States has seen in the last century. Wildfires broke out on the island of Maui last week forcing thousands to flee their homes.

We now know at least 100 people have died. Authorities expect that number to go up as crews go through the hardest-hit town, Lahaina. Over 1,300 people are still missing.

On Monday in Burkina Faso, shopkeepers near the Togolese border were returning from a day at the market. But their journey was cut short when suspected jihadists attacked, killing at least 20 people.

It’s a disturbing trend in Burkina Faso. Terror attacks in the West African country have killed over 5,000 people so far this year.

Helen Williams with World Missionary Press says in this context, their local ministry partners are being cautious.

Nigerian Christians in Plateau State have received letters from extremists threatening attack, and they’re taking it seriously.

Since May, over 450 believers have been killed in targeted attacks across northern Nigeria. Yet, Greg Kelley with World Mission says these threats stand out.

“The thing that’s most concerning to me is the location of it,” Kelley says. “Plateau State is very much in the center of Nigeria.

 The Deaf in Uganda are often kept on the margins of society. Employment with accommodations is hard to come by and, unfortunately, the Deaf are not always met with kindness in Ugandan culture.

However, with God’s leading, one Deaf girl in Uganda went from hidden at home to finding the joy of employment and Christian community.

Grace and her older brother were both orphaned at a young age. Grace is Deaf and her older brother kept her at home for safety while he worked to provide for them.