Home Blog Page 3533

‘God Has a Purpose and a Plan’: Church Leader Says Afghan Christians Dealing with Crisis Through Prayer

Widespread chaos has consumed Afghanistan now that the Taliban have gained control of the country, inciting fear among religious minorities, including Christians who are worried about an increase in persecution. 

International Christian Concern (ICC), a non-profit persecution watchdog, recently spoke with an Afghan church leader about the enormous dangers confronting people of faith in the war-torn country.

In a two-part interview with ICC posted to YouTube, the anonymous church leader explained that the Taliban “has a great number of influence” against people in terms of obtaining information.

“They want to be safe,” the church leader explained. “They want to be protected so if they come to my area, I will tell them everything that I know so that when the Taliban come then they somehow spare my family. They don’t hurt me.”

He said that some Christians cannot even trust their own family members.

“The Taliban come in the area of the mosque, ask how many members of the household are part of that and they take names of all of the people who live there. Places like north of Afghanistan, Taliban control some of the areas, having a beard is compulsory. Taliban come to houses. They ask for food. They ask for money. Some of them are known that they have been Christian,” the leader noted. 

And those who do not adhere to the militants demands risk the chance of being killed.

“Definitely, they’re going to kill some of the Christians that have been known and that way they want to spread that fear that we will not tolerate anything against that,” the church leader added.

He pointed out that “weaker people” such as women and villagers will probably be forced to convert to Islam.

In part 2 of the interview, the church leader explained that many Christians are dealing with the crisis through prayer. 

“Definitely we trust in the Lord and pray that He is sparring His people,” he said. “We believe in God and we believe that as Christians we know there is persecution. Every Muslim background believer like myself that converted to Christianity knows the consequences of conversion. Islam is very clear, for the apostasy it is death. And there is no mercy on those people.”

The church leader added, “God has a purpose and a plan. He knows what’s best for His children in Afghanistan. 

Meanwhile, multiple terrorist groups – some supported by the Republic of Turkey – applauded the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. 

ICC reports that some compared the coup with the fall of Mosul to ISIS in 2014.

Abu Maria al-Qahtani, a former Mosul policeman and former commander of Syria’s Jahbat al-Nusra, reportedly said, “The victory of the Taliban is a victory for the Muslims, a victory for the Sunnis, a victory for all the oppressed.”  

Several mosques in Syria celebrated after the Taliban acquired Kabul on Sunday by reportedly passing out sweets.

Additionally, Turkey was mobilizing terrorists within Syria for deployment into Afghanistan. President Erdogan has even attempted to communicate with the Taliban. 

Last Wednesday, he invited the group to Turkey, saying, “Our relevant institutions are working on it, including talks with the Taliban, and I may also receive the leader of the Taliban. Turkey has nothing that contradicts their beliefs.”

Many Iraqi Christians are worried that their own country could fall victim to a major security crisis like Afghanistan.

An Iraqi journalist tweeted, “If a similar takeover of state happens in Iraq, it won’t be ISIS. It’s the PMF (Popular Mobilization Forces), the IRGC-backed (Iranian-backed) groups in particular, that will run down the army and state security apparatus. They’re taking notes from the Taliban right now.”  

Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, said terrorists feel “empowered” by the Taliban’s success in taking over Kabul.

“The atmosphere throughout the Middle East region has changed with the fall of Kabul to the Taliban,” she said. “The Middle East had just entered the recovery stages following the defeat of ISIS, an ideology predicated on the genocide of religious minorities. This is potentially a significant turning point for religious freedom across the Middle East. We are watching the Middle Eastern response closely and with great concern.”

Please continue to pray for the people of Afghanistan, for them to find strength, wisdom, and peace in His promises.

Taliban fighters riding bumper cars and a merry-go-round following their takeover of Afghanistan

  • Videos on Twitter appeared to show Taliban fighters on amusement-park rides after their takeover of Afghanistan.
  • They could be seen driving bumper cars and riding a merry-go-round in the videos.
  • Meanwhile, thousands of Afghans have been trying to escape the capital.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

As thousands of people swarmed Kabul’s airport on Monday in a bid to escape the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, videos circulating on social media appeared to show armed Taliban fighters enjoying amusement-park rides.

One video that went viral on Twitter depicted fighters driving bumper cars while touting guns.

In another video posted by Mediavenir, a French media outlet, they could be seen riding a merry-go-round.

Another video was said to show fighters trying out the gym at Afghanistan’s presidential palace.

The hardline Islamist group ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when US-led forces removed it from power following the September 11 attacks. The US has reportedly invested nearly $83 billion in training Afghanistan’s security forces to defend against a Taliban incursion.

After years of fighting, the Taliban overtook Kabul over the weekend. The group’s leaders declared that the “war is over” in the country.

On Sunday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani went into exile, effectively handing the country over to the Taliban.

On Monday, crowds swarmed Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in a desperate attempt to flee the country. Footage showed Afghans clambering aboard departing flights and some falling off the planes in midair.

Read the original article on Insider.

New Zealand Prime Minister Orders Citizens: “Don’t Talk to Your Neighbors”

Whole country under lockdown after just one COVID case detected.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has mimicked Australia’s top public health official by telling citizens, “Don’t talk to your neighbors,” after the country went into full lockdown as a result of just a single COVID case being detected.

As we highlighted earlier, the entire country has been placed under lockdown for three days, with Auckland in lockdown for a week, following the discovery of a single coronavirus infection in the coastal town of Coromandel.

Citizens are now being told to avoid work, school and leisure activities while only venturing outside for “essential” reasons like purchasing food.

However, Ardern went further, claiming the risk of passing on the infection was so high that people shouldn’t even have conversations with their own neighbors.

“Stay local and do not congregate, don’t talk to your neighbors, please keep to your bubbles,” said Ardern.

“We know from overseas cases of the delta variant that it can be spread by people simply walking past one another – so keep those movements outside to the bare minimum, wear a mask, and make sure you keep up that physical distancing,” she added.

Arden is basically repeating what the chief health officer of New South Wales told Australians last month.

“Whilst it’s human nature to engage in conversation with others, to be friendly, unfortunately this is not the time to do that,” said Dr. Kerry Chant.

“So even if you run into your next door neighbor in the shopping center…don’t start up a conversation, now is the time for minimizing your interactions with others, even if you’ve got a mask, do not think that affords total protection, we wanna be absolutely sure that as we go about our daily lives we do not come into contact with anyone else that would pose a risk,” she added.

Why are authorities in Australia and New Zealand so insistent on people not talking to each other?

Perhaps because if enough of them did, authorities would come under enough pressure to reverse the disastrous ‘zero COVID’ policy which means both countries could be under some form of on and off lockdown for years to come.

New Zealand has followed many of the same draconian restrictions imposed by neighboring country Australia, with authorities previously announcing that they will put all coronavirus infectees and their close family members in “quarantine facilities” even if they refuse.

Watch: Roger Stone Slams the Politically Motivated Indictment of Tom Barrack, President Trump’s Best Friend

COVID Vax Is a ‘Bioweapon’ for a ‘Genocidal Event’ Killing ‘Billions’: Nobel Prize Nominated Dr. Zelenko

The Covid-19 vaccine “puts bombs in your body.”

QUICK FACTS:
  • Dr. Vladimir Zelenko is a Ukrainian-American family physician known for promoting hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and azithromycin as part of an outpatient treatment for Covid-19.
  • He received his medical degree from the University at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and has been in practice between 11-20 years, according to US News.
  • Dr. Zelenko was nominated for a Nobel Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  • He is credited (here) for bringing hydroxychloroquine to President Donald Trump’s attention.
  • Zelenko recently told host Stew Peters that Covid-19 is “a bioweapon designed to isolate humanity and create pathologic, pathogenic fear which then is manipulated by the stakeholders, manipulating human behavior into a course of action that is irrational.”
  • He goes on to say that Covid-19 is “not a threat” to humanity but a “psy-op” (psychological operation).
  • Dr. Zelenko argues that more have died from the mainstream “response of lockdown and global immunization” than from the coronavirus.
  • Zelenko believes we are “on the verge of a potentially genocidal event” that will kill “billions of people.”
  • “It’s not a matter of belief,” says Zelenko, “It’s a matter of understanding the science. This is an immunologist’s worst nightmare.”
WHAT ELSE DR. ZELENKO SAYS:
  • Dr. Zelenko cites Professor Dr. Luc Montagnier—who won the 2008 Nobel Prize for identifying the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—for warning that the Covid-19 vaccine is “the biggest risk of genocide of the human race in history.”
  • He goes on to cite former Pfizer VP Dr. Michael Yeadon for warning that “for every one child who dies from Covid, 100 will die from the vaccine,” and that 75% of those who receive the vaccine will be dead “in three years.”
  • Zelenko says “the world experts are warning that [the Covid-10 vaccine] could be a global genocidal event.”
  • He also notes the Covid-19 vaccine is causing heart disease and miscarriages.
ANTIBODY-DEPENDENT ENHANCEMENT (ADE) CAUSED BY VACCINE:
  • In animal testing, “these vaccines killed the animals,” said Dr. Zelenko.
  • He clarified that the vaccinated animals had died “indirectly,” when exposed to the coronavirus after vaccination. “When those animals were challenged with the actual virus they were immunized to, they died.”
  • And, “It was their own immune system that killed them,” said Zelenko.
  • Since experimentation for this deadly ADE response has not been conducted in humans, Dr. Zelenko warns that “you are the experiment.”
WHAT TO DO IF YOU’VE ALREADY BEEN VACCINATED:
  • Dr. Zelenko says there is a “strategy” for potentially avoiding severe side effects from the vaccine even if you’ve already taken it.
  • His strategy is “to prophylax them with antiviral drugs.”
  • “That person needs to be…on prophylaxis (preventive therapy)…so that they will not get Covid, and, if they do get Covid, …to treat it immediately within the first day or two,” Zelenko suggests.
  • Zelenko says he kept 85% of his patients out of the hospital using combinations of zinc, hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, quercetin, vitamin C, and vitamin D.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW:

Jon Fleetwood is Managing Editor for American Faith and author of “An American Revival: Why American Christianity Is Failing & How to Fix It.“

COVID Vax Causes ‘Autoimmune’ Disorder: Ex-Pfizer VP, Toxicologist, Research Scientist
Vax Cause of Death in 30–40% of Autopsies of Recently Vaccinated: German Chief Pathologist

Video Game Adds Trans Character: Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six

While game journalist applaud the game’s transition to a more diverse roster, Siege’s transient playerbase is less enthused, citing the character’s similarity to previous operators

Ubisoft’s multiplayer tactical third-person shooter Rainbow Six Siege has added a transgender operator to the game, whose ability revolves around transforming maps by deploying transparent portable shields that they transport on their person around the map. Corporate game journalists are transfixed in admiration for the new character, who is the first transgender operator in the game.

PC Gamer reports that the new character Osa, “brings a gadget to her team that the defenders would probably love to steal: redeployable, transparent, waist-high bulletproof walls that can attach to windows, doorways, or anywhere on the ground,” with the author claiming that the character could become their new main in the game. The article notes that the character is voiced by a transgender voice actor, and that “Siege’s roster has become more diverse in recent years, which feels like a win for a game that began with a very white, male-dominated roster.”

Game art director Alexander Karpazis declared, “We haven’t kept it a secret, the Rainbow team is diverse. And we quite frankly love that inclusivity, that representation where anybody can come into the game and find somebody that they can relate to, want to play, and can see as a role model. Osa is just that, another operator that comes from a diverse background.”

Corporate journalists across Twitter gushed over the character, claiming Osa could revive Siege’s flagging playercount. Unfortunately, actual Rainbow Six players were less enthused. In the comments section for the character gameplay reveal on IGN, players pointed out the character’s similarity in gadgetry to other operators already in the game, reused weapons, and the lack of a new map being produced for the game in several years.

Top comments on the reveal include observations such as “Can not wait to not use this operator,” “We need new maps, and literally nobody wants another OP shield operator,” and “Why does it seem like Ubi doesnt have any actual operator idea designers, they just reuse and slightly alter old operators and think that’ll fix it.”

Texas Supreme Court Blocks Mask Mandates – But Dallas Defying Court Order

On Sunday, the Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency stay for Governor Greg Abbott’s ban on local face mask mandates.

The Texas high court’s action overrides some earlier lower court rulings that ruled in favor two Texas counties specifically, Dallas and Bexar counties, enabling them to impose temporary mask mandates.

The two counties had ordered mask mandates in defiance of Governor Abbott’s executive order that banned such mandates.

Moving On With Mask Mandates

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) tweeted on Friday that he would continue to fight for the governor’s order in court. There are court hearings scheduled for Monday, and again on August 24.

However, officials from the Dallas Independent school district said they will continue the mask mandates in defiance of the state’s supreme court ruling.

Before the ruling, the Dallas, Austin, and Houston school districts had imposed mask mandates in defiance of Abbott’s order.

The Dallas school district said on its website, “Governor Abbott’s order does not limit the district’s rights as an employer and educational institution to establish reasonable and necessary safety rules for its staff and students.”

Florida Districts Also Defying Mandate Bans

In another Republican-led state, school districts in Florida are also defying Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on mask mandates. Broward County school district is the latest to defy the ban on mask mandates in the Sunshine state. 

DeSantis said recently that he could work to withhold pay to any school officials who continue to enforce mask mandates. This prompted White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki one day later to suggest that the Biden administration would pay anyone who was docked pay for enforcing mask mandates.

Even with lawsuits flying in Florida, DeSantis has stood by the mandate ban, saying it is a matter of parental choice.

He said, “It’s about parental choice, not government mandate, and I think ultimately, parents will be able to exercise the choices that they deem appropriate for their kids.”

COVID Numbers In Dallas County

As of Friday, COVID-19 cases in Dallas County reported 787 confirmed cases and 128 probable cases. Dallas County was also reporting an additional 915 positive cases. A total of 4,244 Dallas County residents have died from COVID.

District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said on Sunday, “Until there’s an official order of the court that applies to the Dallas Independent School District, we will continue to have the mask mandate.”

Hinojosa asked the Governor to let local communities to get past “this ugly period,” and allow local municipalities to make decisions for their particular situations.

Fleeing People Cling to, Fall From Planes Departing Airport in Kabul

Video from Kabul’s international airport shows people clinging to departing American planes as thousands of desperate Afghans attempt to flee the city following the Taliban’s takeover.

The Taliban’s seizure of Kabul on Sunday prompted large crowds of people to head to Hamid Karzai International Airport in hopes of escaping the city with evacuating Americans as the U.S. completes its withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. sent troops Sunday to secure the airport and facilitate the evacuation of American and allied personnel.

U.S. forces repeatedly fired into the air and helicopters dropped smoke grenades in an effort to disperse the crowd, according to The Wall Street Journal. People were hanging onto boarding ramps and crowding around parked planes in an effort to escape the city.

Evacuation flights from the airport in Kabul were suspended Monday morning due to the crowds, Fox News reported.

At least five people have been killed during the chaos at the airport, Reuters reported, though their cause of death is unclear. One witness told Reuters a stampede occurred that may have caused injury or death.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told the BBC that troops were under strict orders not to harm anyone, and that the militants desired a “peaceful transfer of power.”

Ashraf Ghani, president of Afghanistan, fled the country to Uzbekistan early Sunday, reportedly bringing with him four cars and a helicopter full of cash, a Russian Embassy spokesman told Reuters.

Arizona Auditors To Release Findings On Election Fraud

The team of forensic auditors in Arizona are set to release their preliminary report on fraud in the 2020 election next week. According to reports Sunday, state auditors will release their early findings the week of August 22.

The preliminary report is expected to show data and election discrepancies found in Maricopa County that they have analyzed to date. Meanwhile, auditors have yet to examine internet routers and voting machines under subpoenas by the state Senate.

Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers said other states can now use Arizona’s experience to conduct their own audits.

“The media is beside itself because they won’t communicate the truth of the excruciating detail to which this analysis was done,” she stated. “2.1 million ballots…this is a package-able effort, this is a transportable, usable again in other states project that you can take.”

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is now expected to enforce the subpoenas to acquire the routers, voting machines and other evidence from the Maricopa Board of Supervisors and Dominion Voting Systems.

House moderates reject Pelosi’s simultaneous-vote proposal on spending bills

A group of moderate House Democrats rejected Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s attempts to fashion a compromise on the timing of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and a broader $3.5 trillion party line spending bill.

The nine moderates, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, said the speaker’s proposed solution of conducting simultaneous procedural votes on both measures was insufficient. Instead, the moderates argued for a stand-alone vote on the infrastructure package.

“While we appreciate the forward procedural movement on the bipartisan infrastructure agreement, our view remains consistent,” the lawmakers wrote. “We should vote first on the bipartisan infrastructure framework without delay and then move to immediate consideration of the budget resolution. … We simply can’t afford any delays.”

Mrs. Pelosi, a California Democrat, initially pledged that the House would not take up the infrastructure bill, until after the Senate passed the $3.5 trillion social spending measure. Moderate Democrats, however, balked at the idea, demanding a stand-alone vote.

Since the infrastructure bill passed the Senate last week, the group of moderates making such demands has only grown exponentially. Mrs. Pelosi can lose no more than three defectors to pass legislation through the closely split House.

That reality forced the speaker to offer the moderates a compromise over the weekend, proposing to hold a vote on both the infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion measure when the House reconvenes on Aug. 23.

“Let us proceed united, respectful of everyone’s views and determined to deliver the results we need in the weeks ahead,” she wrote in a letter to the moderates on Sunday.

The rejection of Mrs. Pelosi’s compromise is only the latest sign of an intra-party skirmish over the infrastructure deal.

Far-left Democrats, including Mrs. Pelosi and the 95-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, have lambasted the package for not doing enough about climate change and other liberal priorities. Some progressives, in particular, are threatening to withhold their support from the infrastructure bill, unless it is accompanied by the $3.5 trillion social spending plan.

“This is the Democratic agenda, it’s the president’s agenda, and it’s what we promised people across America,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “Now we must deliver.”

Democrats have dubbed the $3.5 trillion legislation “human infrastructure” in hopes of making it an easier sell to voters. The legislation includes a wish list of liberal priorities, including free community college, universal pre-kindergarten and expanded health care benefits.

Democrats are also working to include amnesty for illegal immigrants and new climate change mandates that would phase out fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas from the electric grid.

Since the $3.5 trillion package is unlikely to garner Republican support, Democrats plan to pass it along party lines via budget reconciliation. The process allows some spending measures to avoid the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold and pass with a simple majority of 51 votes.

Moderate Democrats are uncomfortable with both the proposed legislation and the means with which it is set to be passed. Many also fear that by delaying a vote, the package will only lose support.

“The route we’re going is let’s get a vote right now on that great bipartisan infrastructure package,” Mr. Gottheimer said during an appearance on CNN over the weekend. “The key is not risking the momentum we’ve got.”

Progressives, though, say the push is short-sighted.

“We can’t call people moderate Democrats if they vote against child care, paid leave, health care and addressing climate change,” Ms. Jayapal said.

1...3,5323,5333,534...3,965Page 3,533 of 3,965
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 American Faith Media Network. All rights reserved.