1. According to Reuters, Islamic State militants released a video on Tuesday appearing to show a captured Jordanian pilot being burnt alive, and Jordan promised to avenge his death. Reuters could not immediately confirm the content of the video, which showed a man resembling airman Mouath al-Kasaesbeh standing in a black cage before being set ablaze. But the reaction of the Jordanian authorities made clear they treated it as genuine. A government spokesman said in a statement that Jordan would deliver a “strong, earth-shaking and decisive” response.
2. According to USA Today, A government spokesman says Jordan executed two prisoners, including a female would-be al Qaeda suicide bomber hours after vowing a harsh response to the gruesome killing of a Jordanian pilot captured by the Islamic State extremist group. The executions at dawn Wednesday came just hours after Islamic State militants released a video that purportedly showed the captured Jordanian fighter pilot being burned alive in a cage.
3. According to BBC, In an historic move, MPs have voted in favour of the creation of babies with DNA from two women and one man. The UK is now set to become the first country to introduce laws to allow the creation of babies from three people. In a free vote in the Commons, 382 MPs were in favour and 128 against the technique that stops genetic diseases being passed from mother to child. A further vote is required in the House of Lords. It everything goes ahead then the first such baby could be born next year.
4. According to Click2Houston, The bodies of three family members — a Houston pastor, his wife and their son — were found inside an apartment Monday morning in west Houston, according to Houston police. Houston Fire Department firefighters found the bodies Monday morning at an apartment complex, after concerned church members said the pastor and his wife did not show up at church on Sunday and couldn’t be reached on Monday. Houston police said the family of three was found dead in the apartment. Sources say all three had been beaten to death. It’s not clear how long they had been dead. Police said there were no signs of forced entry. The victims have been identified as Israel Ahimbisibwe, vicar of Redeemer Episcopal Church; his wife, Dorcus; and their 5-year-old son, Israel Ahimbisibwe Jr. Police are still combing through the apartment.
5. According to the BBC, a pro-Russian separatist leader says rebels aim to boost their forces to 100,000, as fighting with Ukraine’s military intensifies. The rebels want to push government forces out of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and are trying to capture the key town of Debaltseve. Dozens of people including civilians were killed in clashes and artillery fire over the weekend. Attempts to agree to a truce failed when rebel negotiators did not turn up.
6. According to BBC, A man with a knife has attacked three soldiers patrolling outside a Jewish community centre in Nice, in the south of France. Two soldiers were lightly wounded. The assailant was arrested, police say. The attack happened in central Nice. Two people who were with the assailant fled the scene. France has been on high alert since last month’s terror attacks in the Paris region by three Islamist gunmen, in which 17 were killed. Two police officers from the city’s train service and another man managed to arrest the assailant, who reportedly had two knives.
7. According to the New York Times, Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Republican bill that would finance the Department of Homeland Security, objecting to a measure that would have gutted President Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration. The vote set up an urgent confrontation over the department, which will see its funding run out at the end of the month. The bill, passed by the House recently, would have revoked the president’s action that provides legal protection for as many as five million undocumented immigrants, including children. Democrats said that was unacceptable, and Mr. Obama has promised to veto any legislation that reversed his directives on immigration.
8. According to Reuters, Chadian forces have killed 120 militants from Boko Haram in a battle in the north of neighbouring Cameroon that began when the insurgents attacked its troops. Three Chadian soldiers were killed. Boko Haram has recently launched cross-border attacks from Nigeria into Cameroon and Chad as part of its five-year drive for an Islamist state in the northeast of Nigeria. Chad and Cameroon have stepped up troop deployments to fight the militants and on Saturday Chad’s army said it bombarded Boko Haram militants.
9. According to The Associated Press, A packed commuter train slammed into a sport utility vehicle on the tracks at a crossing and erupted into flames Tuesday night, killing seven people, the governor said. The northbound Metro-North Railroad train struck a Jeep Cherokee in Valhalla, about 20 miles north of New York City, railroad spokesman Aaron Donovan said. Killed were the SUV’s driver and six people aboard the train, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, making this crash the railroad’s deadliest.
10. According to USA Today, Up to 40 people were awaiting rescue after a plane crash in Taipei. The TransAsia Airways plane crashed into a river in New Taipei City. The plane had 53 passengers on board, according to Taiwan state media. The turboprop aircraft was headed from Taipei to the island of Kinmen when it went down in the Keelung River.
As you go throughout this day, keep this word in mind: Psalm 18:1-2 says, “I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.”
Thomas A. Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
God loves you. He always has and He always will. He loves you so much that the Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, why don’t you get to know Him today. Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose by the power of God for you. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Thanks so much for listening. May God bless your day.
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