‘We must bring peace,’ Baptist pastor declares as Sudan civil war intensifies
DARFUR, Sudan (BP) – Thousands of civilians are trapped and untold numbers dead after Sudanese Rapid Defense Forces (RDF) captured the capital city of El Fasher, North Darfur, Oct. 26 in an intensifying civil war.
Send Relief teams to be in Jamaica no later than this weekend
ALPHARETTA (BP) – Send Relief assessment teams are preparing to go into Jamaica and other affected areas from Hurricane Melissa no later than this weekend, said Jason Cox, the organization’s vice president for International Ministry.
Gaza ceasefire tested as Israel and Hamas exchange fire and blame
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli army launched a barrage of attacks in Gaza on Tuesday (Oct. 28) as tensions with Hamas grew two weeks into a fragile ceasefire, and the militant group responded by saying it would delay handing over the body of a hostage.
Ministry offers trauma healing to women in Ukraine
More than 1,000 women in Ukraine recently attended conferences, workshops and seminars designed to offer Christ-centered trauma healing.
U.S. missionary kidnapped in Niger, reports say
NIAMEY, Niger (BP) – An evangelical Christian missionary from the U.S. was kidnapped late Oct. 21 in Niamey, Niger, less than 100 yards from the presidential palace, CBS News reported.
U.S. urges release of jailed Chinese pastors
BEIJING (BP) – China falsely claimed Oct. 13 to protect religious freedoms after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged the country’s government to release several pastors arrested in house church raids.
‘Tainted joy’ upon hostage/prisoner exchange, leading Israeli care group says
ISRAEL (BP) – Israeli families are relieved Hamas released 20 living hostages but grieve that bodies of remaining hostages are still held or missing, the leader of a top care group serving traumatized families told Baptist Press.
After hostages and prisoners freed, complex issues remain
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel and Hamas moved ahead on a key first step of the tenuous Gaza ceasefire agreement on Monday (Oct. 13) by freeing hostages and prisoners, raising hopes that the U.S.-brokered deal might lead to a permanent end to the two-year war that ravaged the Palestinian territory.
Trump urges leaders to put ‘old feuds’ aside as he calls for a new era of harmony in the Middle East
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — President Donald Trump called for a new era of harmony in the Middle East on Monday during a global summit on Gaza's future, trying to advance broader peace in the region after visiting Israel to celebrate a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Hamas.
Thousands of Palestinians return to what’s left of their homes as Gaza ceasefire takes effect
WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip (AP) — Tens of thousands of Palestinians headed back to the heavily destroyed northern Gaza Strip on Friday as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into effect in a deal that raised hopes for ending the Israel-Hamas war. All the remaining hostages were set to be released within days.
