Christian victims of flooding in Pakistan call for assistance

A POOR, largely Christian district of Karachi, Eissa Nagri, has been badly hit by recent flooding in Pakistan. The British Pakistani Christian Association has reported that blocked sewers caused fetid floodwaters to linger and raise the dangers of waterborne diseases. It is appealing for donations to help fund a medical team sent to offer free check-ups, vaccines, and treatment. https://britishpakistanichristians.worldsecuresystems.com/donate

Kenyan police officers killed guarding church

TWO police officers who were guarding an Anglican church in the town of Ukunda, on southern coast of Kenya, have been killed in an attack by gunmen, Reuters has reported. Four men sprayed bullets at the police outside the church before escaping on motorbikes. It is not yet confirmed who carried out the attack, but the Islamist terrorist group Al-Shabaab is suspected of involvement. Rifles belonging to the dead officers were stolen, which has led the authorities to reassure Kenyans that the attack did not appear to target Christians in particular.

Bishop shelter 2000 from Christian militia in CAR

THE Roman Catholic Bishop of Bangassou, in the Central African Republic, the Rt Revd Juan-José Aguirre Muñoz, has housed 2000 Muslims in a seminary to protect them from death at the hands of a Christian militia. He pleaded for help and said that if he could not persuade the militia to leave, the civilians could be massacred, The Times reported on Wednesday. Children and others who had gone out for water had been murdered, he said, and he had received death threats. Sectarian violence between armed Muslim and Christian groups in CAR first flared up in 2013 (News, 8 November 2013). The UN recently warned that in the volatile situation genocide could take place.

Vatican calls for more action on human trafficking

REFUGEES and asylum-seekers are still vulnerable to exploitation by human traffickers, an official in the Vatican’s Section for Refugees and Migrants, Fr Michael Czerny SJ, said at a UN meeting on combating the problem. In a statement, he said: “Irregular migration is not freely chosen, but, rather, forced on people because legal and secure channels are simply not available.” He said that governments must ensure that there were safe and legal pathways for seeking refuge, and clamp down on forced labour, sexual exploitation, and other forms of trafficking.