CAIRO (AP) – Sudan’s prime minister survived an assassination attempt on Monday after a blast in the capital, Khartoum, Sudanese state media said. 
  
Abdalla Hamdok’s family confined he was safe following the explosion, which targeted his convoy. 
  
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
  
Hamdok was appointed prime minister last August, after pro-democracy protests forced the military to remove the autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April and replace it with a civilian-led government.
  
After months of negotiations, the military and the pro-democracy movement reached a power-sharing deal in August. The deal established a joint military-civilian, 11-member sovereign council that will govern Sudan for the next three years.
  
Military generals remain the de facto rulers of the country and have shown little willingness to hand over power to the civilian-led administration. 
  
Hamdok has also confirmed the government will cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s efforts to prosecute those wanted for war crimes and genocide in connection with the Darfur conflict in Sudan in the 2000s.
  
Transitional authorities announced in February that they agreed to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC along with other former officials wanted by the ICC.
  
Sudan’s transitional government is under pressure to end wars with rebel groups as it seeks to rehabilitate the country’s battered economy, attract much-needed foreign aid and deliver the democracy it promises.
  
Nearly a year after al-Bashir’s ouster, the country faces a dire economic crisis. Inflation stands at a staggering 60% and the unemployment rate was 22.1% in 2019, according to the International Monetary Fund. The government has said that 30% of Sudan’s young people, who make up more than half of the over 42 million population, are without jobs. 

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea fired three unidentified projectiles off its east coast on Monday, South Korea’s military said, two days after the North threatened to take “momentous” action to protest outside condemnation over its earlier live-fire exercises.
  
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement it detected the three launches made from an eastern coastal town in the North’s South Hamgyong province. It said South Korea’s military is monitoring North Korea for possible additional launches.
  
In the past 10 days, North Korea has said leader Kim Jong Un supervised two rounds of live-fire artillery exercises in its first weapons tests since late November. Kim had entered the new year with a vow to bolster his nuclear deterrent and not to be bound by a major weapons test moratorium amid a deadlock in a U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at convincing Kim to abandon his nuclear program in return for economic and political benefits.
  
South Korea and some European countries protested against the second North Korea drills, which they believe involved ballistic missile launches in a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
  
North Korea has lashed out at the outside criticism, saying it has the right to conduct military drills in the face of U.S. and South Korean forces on its doorstep.
  
The U.N. Security Council didn’t issue any statement after discussing North Korea’s March 1 launches last week, but five European members condemned what they called “provocative actions.” 
  
Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, which called for the closed-door meeting, said in a joint statement afterward that the tests undermine regional and international peace, security and stability and violate unanimous Security Council resolutions.
  
The North’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused the five European countries of “repeating an absurd argument of condemnation and violation resolutions of the U.N. whenever we conducted military drills.” 
  
“The illogical thinking and sophism of these countries are just gradually bearing a close resemblance to the U.S. which is hostile to us,” a ministry statement said. “The reckless behavior of these countries instigated by the U.S. will become a fuse that will trigger our yet another momentous reaction.”
  
Last week, Kim Jong Un’s younger sister leveled diatribes and crude insults against South Korea for criticizing its earlier live-fire exercises, but her statement was followed by Kim sending a letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in expressing condolences over its coronavirus outbreak. 
  
Some experts say North Korea may intend to catch South Korea off balance before seeking help in reviving its dilapidated economy, since the U.S. has said sanctions on North Korea will stay in place unless it takes significant steps toward denuclearization.
  
Nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington remain stalled since the second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, in early 2019 ended without any agreement.
  
Subsequent talks between the two countries failed to produce much progress amid disputes over how much sanctions relief should be given in return for a limited step to move away from nuclear weapons by North Korea. 

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The Rt. Rev. George Phelps Mellick Belshaw, who served as the ninth bishop of New Jersey until his retirement in 1995, died peacefully at his home in Princeton on Feb. 29. He was 91.

“I am deeply saddened by the death of Mellick Belshaw, the ninth bishop of New Jersey,” said the Rt. Rev. William H. (Chip) Stokes, current Bishop of New Jersey. “Mellick was old-school gracious and kind. He loved the people God called him to serve from Hawaii to New York to New Jersey. His leadership in the Diocese of New Jersey was strong and stable during the years he was bishop suffragan and later bishop diocesan. When I was a seminarian at The General Theological Seminary in New York, Mellick was president of the board. I will always be grateful for his warm affection then and in later years when I ended up in the bishop’s chair in New Jersey. I will miss his wise care and counsel and am eternally grateful for the legacy he left for those of us who have succeeded to the office he occupied so faithfully and well.”

George Phelps Mellick Belshaw was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1928, the son of the Rev. Harold Belshaw and Edith Mellick. He attended St. Paul’s School, in Concord, New Hampshire, where he was a member of the Missionary Society. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of the South in 1951 and followed that with both a bachelor of arts in 1954 and a master of arts in 1959 in sacred studies from The General Theological Seminary.

After completing his studies at General, Mellick Belshaw served churches in Waimanalo, Hawaii; Dover, Delaware; and Rumson, New Jersey, where he was rector of St George’s-by-the-River for 10 years. He was elected Suffragan Bishop of New Jersey in 1975, then Bishop Coadjutor in 1982, and in 1983 became the ninth bishop of New Jersey. He served as diocesan bishop until his retirement in 1995.

Bishop Belshaw has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary and the University of the South; he has also been the recipient of an honorary degree from Hamilton College. His service to General Theological Seminary includes 31 years on the board of trustees, as well as serving at various times as tutor, fellow, adjunct faculty member, chairman of the Board of Trustees, and acting dean of the seminary.

Source: Episcopal News Service

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With some of the most important games on the horizon, basketball analyst Julianne Viani gets to be center court for all the action.

But beyond interviewing coaches and players and giving fans a front-row seat, Viani is committed to making sure her talents and influence glorify God.

Viani, a fixture on ESPN, CBS Sports Network, NextVR, Big 10 Network and MSG Network covering men’s and women’s college hoops, the NBA and WNBA, is also a board member for the rapidly growing Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) presence in New York City.

It took nearly two years of planning between Sean McNamara, FCA’s Vice President of Field Ministry for the Northeast, and Frank Reynoso, FCA’s Inner City Regional Coordinator, to establish FCA in one of the world’s largest cities: New York City. Reynoso was thrilled at the opportunity to reach up to 11 million people living in the city’s five boroughs and Long Island.

As he considered influencers who could rally support, Reynoso looked to a former standout basketball player from New York who had a passion for the game and for God. Once he connected with Viani over the phone, she jumped at the opportunity to help.

“When you think of the impact we can have in a highly-populated area like New York City—there’s more people in each of the boroughs than in some states in the country—it’s unbelievable,” she said.

Viani quickly began speaking to athletes and sharing the ministry with other contacts, uncovering more ways God would use basketball to open doors.

“I started playing basketball in kindergarten, and literally my whole life has revolved around sports,” Viani said.

One of three girls, she says her parents were very committed to their daughters’ success—a commitment that has paid off. In high school, Viani won three of her four New York state championship games and helped lead her team to become one of the top teams in the country. Then at Marist College, Viani became a four-time MAAC Champion, made four NCAA appearances and led her team to their first-ever Sweet 16 in program history.

Source: CBN

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YAMAL PENINSULA, NORTHERN SIBERIA – The locals call this place “Yamal,” which means “the end of the world.” And in many ways, it is. There are no roads here. People use frozen lakes and rivers to get around on reindeer or snowmobile.

The Yamal Peninsula sits in the deep, frozen Siberian tundra above the Arctic Circle – Latitude 70 degrees north. Longitude 70 degrees east.

The temperature here fluctuates between -30 and -60 degrees Fahrenheit. As I prepare to venture outside, I put on layers and layers of clothing.

It’s a little after 6:00 a.m. Peter Khundi, our Siberian guide, does last-minute checks on a snowmobile that has a sleigh attached. The sleigh is covered with reindeer skins. This is how we are going to travel into the tundra.

The Dangerous Trek Across the Siberian Tundra

“I have to make sure we have enough rope and other emergency supplies in case we get stuck,” Peter says.

I ask him if this is dangerous. “Yes, it is,” he replies.

Our destination this morning is a four-hour journey deep into the wilderness to meet a nomadic family. Two hours into our journey, we stop briefly. It’s about 9:25 in the morning, and the sun has yet to rise.

The sun shines only a few hours during the winter. When it does appear, normally around Noon, the sunrise is something to behold.

“This is a special place,” Peter says.

Sharing the Gospel with One Family at a Time

Peter belongs to the largest nomadic tribe in Northern Siberia. It’s called the Nenets. He’s more than just a guide. He’s a Christian. And for the last few years, he’s been sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with his tribe and others who live here in the tundra.

“When I became a Christian, God gave me a new heart,” Peter tells me. “He also gave me a new heart for my people. I go out on my snowmobile meeting these nomadic families and telling them about the love of Christ.”

The Lifeblood of The Nenets – Reindeer

The Nenets are nomadic reindeer herders. The word “Nenet” means “child of a deer.”

Reindeer are the lifeblood of the Nenets people here on the Siberian tundra because their meat and their hides fetch a lot of money in the villages.

“Our food, clothes, shoes, homes, our transportation – everything comes from them,” says a Nenets herdsman. “Without deer, we cannot not survive.”

Source: CBN

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