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Catholic journalist arrested for reporting Christian persecution

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A Nigerian journalist faces prolonged detention allegedly for his reporting about attacks against predominantly Christian communities in Nigeria and the government’s response.

Luka Binniyat, a Nigerian Roman Catholic journalist and father who writes for the anti-communist Epoch Times, was arrested last week. On Tuesday, Binniyat was arraigned at the Barnawa Magistrate’s Court in Kaduna state. He was charged with cyberstalking, a charge that critics say is often used in the African country to silence the media.

On Nov. 4, Binniyat informed Epoch Times Africa Desk Editor Doug Burton that he was arrested and urged the editor to “contact all relevant persons.”

Burton elaborated on the circumstances leading up to Binniyat’s arrest and the dangers he faces in an interview with The Christian Post.

Burton attributed Binniyat’s arrest to an Oct. 29 article he wrote titled “In Nigeria, Police Decry Massacres as ‘Wicked’ But Make No Arrests.” The article is part of The Epoch Times’ coverage of the deadly persecution of Christian farming communities in the African country that human rights advocates say have escalated to near “genocidal levels” in recent years as thousands have been killed.

In the article, Binniyat pushed back on Kaduna’s Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan’s characterization of an attack on Christian farmers in the state as a “clash.”

The Nigerian government has long refuted claims by human rights activists that a religious genocide is taking place in Nigeria’s Middle Belt states, where radicals from the Fulani herding community have been accused of invading countless Christian farming communities. The government has long attributed attacks and reprisals as being part of decades-old farmer-herder clashes.

In his article, Binniyat included a quote from a Nigerian senator, who accused the Kaduna government of “using Samuel Aruwan, a Christian, to cause confusion to cover up the genocide going on in Christian Southern Kaduna by describing the measure as a ‘clash’” as opposed to a targeted act of violence against Christians.

“What he [Binniyat] did there is he showed that the commissioner was projecting a false narrative,” Burton explained. “For this reason, I think the authorities, though they knew they would get pushback for prosecuting a dissident journalist, they decided they had to do it because … they want to shut his voice down.”

Burton told CP that the journalist was accused of cyberstalking Aruwan. Cyberstalking is a federal offense.

“The magistrate ruled that he does not have authority to try the charge of cyberstalking because it’s a federal charge, it’s a federal statute. So the case will have to be transferred to a federal court. And so, therefore, in the meantime, he can’t get bail because the magistrate doesn’t have authority to give him bail since he doesn’t have authority over this crime.”

Sources Burton spoke to believe that the prosecution is using a “legal technicality to keep Luka in jail.”

“By having his charges presented first in a lower court, a district court where he was charged, they expected him to be charged with defamation and injurious falsehood,” Burton said. “These are statutes … in the criminal code in Nigeria and can be tried at the lower court level.”

“But the charge of … cyberstalking is a federal charge that … has to be issued by a higher court,” he continued. “And so by doing that deliberately, the prosecution knew that bail couldn’t be given, and that is the whole idea.”

On Monday morning, Binniyat “texted that he felt like his life was in danger,” Burton said.

Additionally, Binniyat said he had been held for five days in a very “cramped” and “dingy” cell that he described as “uncomfortable.” Binniyat further alleged that he hadn’t gotten much sleep.

“He texted to another person, another journalist I know named John Shiklam. And Shiklam said he feared for his life,” Burton detailed.

Based on conversations with other people who have faced detention for cyberstalking in Nigeria, Burton estimates that Binniyat could spend about five months in prison.

Burton specifically cited the case of Stephen Kefas, who “wrote something on Facebook that embarrassed” a government official. The government official claimed he was being cyberstalked and feared he could be attacked because of what Kefas wrote.

Burton indicated that prolonged detention could have an impact on Binniyat’s physical health.

“The folks who have to spend time in custody, they have to endure pretty harsh conditions and they get sick,” he warned.

Kefas contracted Hepatitis C while in prison, and members of the Adara tribe who spent time in prison caught malaria, typhoid and/or dysentery, Burton stressed.

“Based on what I have learned with my many conversations with Steven Kefas, the conditions in prison are not only uncomfortable, but they’re dangerous and toxic,” he stated. “The Adara elders were in a common cell with other criminals. They had no toilet. They have a sewer trench that goes through the middle of the cell, which serves as their toilet. Apparently, the prisoners don’t have proper protection from mosquitoes because many of them come out with malaria.”

Based on a conversation Burton had International Committee on Nigeria Executive Director Kyle Abts, who has delivered rations to prisoners in the past, “the prisons … and jails don’t provide food and water for the prisoners.”

“All their food and water has to be brought to them by their relatives,” he said.

Those without relatives or anyone to bring them food and water can “beg for charitable donations” from other prisoners.

Because Binniyat is “not wealthy,” Burton predicted “he will need assistance” in his legal proceedings.

“His legal bills will have to be paid by his friends. That would be the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, SKPU, and also he will be getting some financial aid probably from the International Committee on Nigeria,” Burton detailed. “His friends and allies are … planning some kind of a legal defense fund, but it’s not clear who will take the lead.”

Binniyat’s arrest for cyberstalking is not the first time the journalist has faced legal headwinds for his reporting.

Burton recalled that Binniyat was previously imprisoned in 2017 for “breach of the peace.”

Binniyat had previously served as the bureau chief of Vanguard Newspapers until 2017.

“Then after he was imprisoned, I don’t think he got hired by any newspaper group because, the way it was explained to me, he’s considered a controversial reporter,” he said.

“So I started working with him in March this year, maybe May of this year. And I encouraged him to … compile reports for The Epoch Times. I worked with him as his editor. And so he’s published some very timely and factual reports about kidnappings and mass murders this year.”

Burton maintained that the central claim made by Aruwan highlighted in Binniyat’s Oct. 29 story, that the attacks on Christian farming communities in Nigeria are simply “clashes” between farmers and herders, is widely held and promoted by Nigerian government officials.

“That is a distorted representation of what’s really happening. In fact, there is a farmer-herder aspect to the violence,” the editor added. “But that discounts the fact that the preponderance of the attacks are sectarian in … nature.”
Sources:Christian Post

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Woman Meets Jesus During Shocking NDE: ‘I Was Preparing to Die’

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Vanessa Joy Lancellotti was a newlywed preparing to get her life moving when the unthinkable happened — a February 2016 near-death experience that was absolutely terrifying.

“I had a ruptured arteriovenous malformation of the brain … and it’s something that I wasn’t aware I had that you can actually develop … in the womb … before birth,” Lancellotti told CBN News. “And, so, it just ruptured out of nowhere when I was having tea with my two sisters, Amanda and Melissa.”

The sisters were having a good time when Lancellotti started experiencing sharp pain in the back of her head — an ache so strong she collapsed to her knees in discomfort.

Lancellotti, who tells her story in the new book, “Miracles Really Do Happen!: Jesus Makes All Things New,” said she was “really scared,” and that her sisters rushed to get her to the hospital.

“I felt [like my head] was wet inside,” she said. “I felt it rupture. I felt the bleed out.”

Lancellotti said she knew what she was experiencing was serious and “life-threatening” and that death might befall her.

“I started preparing myself to meet Jesus because I really felt and believed that, ‘OK, this is it. I think I only have a few minutes left and I better get ready and prepare myself to meet Jesus,’” she said. “And, so, I started to repent the best way that I could and go through kind of my life history.”

She continued to repent while on the way to the hospital, fully prepared to die.

By the time she reached the hospital, she was unable to function. With the hospital ill-equipped to deal with the situation, they prepared to transport her to another facility and loaded her into an ambulance.

“I was preparing to die,” Lancellotti said. “I was not praying like, ‘Oh, Lord, let me be healed,’ because I knew that this was happening quickly. … It was like I was preparing to meet the Lord.”

Suddenly, while in the ambulance, she felt like she had been swept up into a “new place” and all of her pain and fear dissipated.

“I had no recollection of the past at all whatsoever,” she said. “It’s like sin never existed, pain never existed — no physical, spiritual, emotional pain at all. It was all gone, and it was wiped away immediately, and I was in the presence of the Lord. It was just this bright white, vibrant light around me, like this pure, pure white.”

Lancellotti said it is hard to put the experience into words. Overtaken by peace, she said she was suddenly with Jesus.

“I had an encounter with Jesus, like he was standing before me and He was just brilliant,” she said. “He was in brilliant white robes with this light blue sash around him, and I remember I felt like this little girl, like I felt very pure and innocent.”

Lancellotti continued, “And I remember that Jesus — He hugged me. I felt so, so loved … just like I was completely taken out of any trauma and I was in His presence. I was in His arms … He hugged me with His wide open arms and I felt so loved, and like all the fear was gone and I knew that I was protected.”

And then she said the Lord delivered a message she’ll never forget.

“He said to me, ‘It is not yet your time,’” she said. “I went back into the ambulance or back into the hospital.”

What’s most remarkable is the fact that her heart didn’t stop, so at no time was she clinically dead. Yet she doesn’t believe the experience was merely a dream or a vision.

“I was literally in a new place,” Lancellotti said. “I believe I was in paradise. I was with Him in heaven.”

The interaction profoundly transformed her life.

“Right after I had the encounter with Christ and my family was around me, my mom, she’s like, ‘You have such a glow around you,’ and I had such a joy despite what just happened or what we were going through.”

That joy persisted even as she was prepared for surgery. Suddenly, her spiritual awareness was totally illuminated, with Lancellotti focusing on Jesus’ imminent return as well as His care for her.

“He loves me,” she said. “He saved me.”

Afterward, she started attending revivals and learned more about the Holy Spirit. Over time, she said her faith got much stronger.

“Up to that point…I knew I had a strong knowledge and understanding of the Gospel,” she said. “I had a relationship with Christ. But, up until that point, I didn’t really know very much about the power of the Holy Spirit or the gifts of the Holy Spirit and how they operate in us as believers.”

Now, Lancellotti is sharing her story in an effort to help build up others’ faith, using her book “Miracles Really Do Happen!: Jesus Makes All Things New” to inspire.
Sources:faithwire

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Popular Preacher Almost Quits Ministry, Accidentally Sparks Revival

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A California pastor is getting candid about why he almost quit ministry, shedding light on struggles preachers routinely face.

Shane Idleman of Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, is out with a new book, “I Almost Quit: My Journey of Leading Through the Landmines of Ministry,” a text detailing the factors that almost drove him away from the pulpit.

Idleman said he had gone through a “hard season” in recent years that presented difficult challenges — a time of chaos that started with COVID-19 chaos and lockdowns, his mom’s death, health issues, and extended into other realms.

After nearly leaving it all behind, the preacher could have concealed what he faced and felt, but, instead, he decided to openly share it all.

“I didn’t want to write it, of course,” Idleman admitted of the book. “Number one, it’s a little embarrassing. Of course, I’ve got the armchair critics. … ‘It’s God’s call. You should never want to quit.’ But, then, on the other hand, we know all the pastors I’m hearing from feel the same way.”

Recent survey data show that around 1 in 100 preachers leave the pulpit each year, a relatively low number, according to Lifeway Research. But the pressures of the role are evident.

“Two in 3 (67%) [preachers] feel they must be ‘on-call’ 24 hours a day,” the research firm reported. “Another 57% say their role is frequently overwhelming, up slightly from 54% in 2015 but down from 63% in 2021.”

Lifeway continued, “Around half (47%) of pastors often feel the demands of ministry are greater than they can handle.”

Idleman was feeling some of these very pressures.

“Everything was just hitting, and hitting, and hitting,” he said. “And I went through a very difficult season.”

What’s most interesting is that Idleman’s decision to share his struggles with his congregation actually encouraged spiritual fervor and sparked revival.

“When I finally [spoke] to our congregation, the floodgates broke,” Idleman said. “The following Sunday, we couldn’t even have a service. We just went into worship, the altar’s full — it really sparked revival in our hearts and in our church.”

The preacher believes the decision to be “transparent and repentant” helped others in their own faith walk.

“I had to repent of it,” he said. “I was disgruntled, I was discouraged, I didn’t really want to go to church.”

But Idleman was encouraged by the response and decided to write the book. Already, he’s hearing from other preachers who are feeling strongly encouraged by his honesty — a testament of struggles to which many of them can deeply relate.

“I just want to be faithful,” he said. “And we get our hearts right, we’re happy, we’re filled with joy. It makes all the difference.”

Ultimately, Idleman said God worked on his heart in key ways that prevented him from actually taking the plunge and quitting. At first, he wondered if he needed a sabbatical, but his wife pushed back.

“I thank God for our spouses, right? She’s like, ‘No, I don’t think you need another sabbatical. … You need a man up and just do what God’s called you to do,’” he said.

Idleman leaned into worship and repentance, telling God about his discouragement and apologizing. He also asked the Lord to bring back joy in his life – and he committed to showing up to church and fulfilling his obligations despite his feelings.

“He’s a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” Idleman said of God. “And that’s a process of just pressing in.”

As for his health, the preacher regained self-discipline and was able to get his body back in order.

“When you discipline your body, it has spiritual benefits because the physical effects is spiritual,” Idleman said. “It’s quite amazing. And so all of those things combined together really just released that floodgate that opened up.”
Sources:faithwire

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സ്വന്തം പേരിൽ സ്മാർട്ഫോൺ വിപണിയിലിറക്കി ട്രംപ്; ബുക്കിങ് തുടങ്ങി, ഇന്ത്യയിലേക്ക് അൺലിമിറ്റസ് കോൾ റീചാർജ് പ്ലാൻ

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യുഎസ് പ്രസിഡൻ്റ് ഡോണൾഡ് ട്രംപിന്റെ (Donald Trump) ഉടമസ്‌ഥതയിലുള്ള ദ് ട്രംപ് ഓർഗനൈസേഷൻ (The Trump Organization) മൊബൈൽഫോണും റീചാർജ് പ്ലാനും അവതരിപ്പിച്ച് ‘ടെലികോം’, മൊബൈൽ സേവനത്തിലേക്കും കടക്കുന്നു. 499 ഡോളർ (നിലവിലെ വിനിമയനിരക്കു പ്രകാരം ഏകദേശം 43,000 രൂപ) വിലയുള്ള ‘ടി1′ (T1) സ്മാർട്ഫോണാണ് “ട്രംപ് മൊബൈൽ’ (Trump Mobile) ബ്രാൻഡിൽ വിപണിയിലിറക്കുന്നത്.

സെപ്റ്റംബറിലാണ് ഫോൺ വിൽപനയ്ക്ക് എത്തുകയെങ്കിലും 100 ഡോളർ (8,600 രൂപ) നൽകി ഇപ്പോൾ ബുക്ക് ചെയ്യാമെന്ന് ട്രംപ് ഓർഗനൈസേഷൻ വ്യക്തമാക്കി. അതേസമയം, ഫോൺ ബുക്ക് ചെയ്യാൻ ആളുകൾ തിക്കിത്തിരക്കിയതോടെ കമ്പനിയുടെ വെബ്സൈറ്റ് ഏറെ നേരത്തേക്ക് പ്രവർത്തനരഹിതമായെങ്കിലും പിന്നീട് സജീവമായി.

റീചാർജ് പ്ലാനിലും സവിശേഷത

പ്രതിമാസം 47.45 ഡോളറിൻ്റെ (ഏകദേശം 4,000 രൂപ) റീചാർജ് പ്ലാനും ട്രംപ് ഓർഗനൈസേഷൻ അവതരിപ്പിച്ചു. അൺലിമിറ്റഡ് കോളും എസ്എംഎസും ഡേറ്റയും (ഇന്റർനെറ്റ്) ഒപ്പം 24*7 റോഡ്സൈഡ് അസിസ്റ്റൻസും ടെലിഹെൽത്ത് സേവനവും മറ്റും ഉറപ്പുനൽകുന്നതാണ് “ദ് 47 പ്ലാൻ’ (The 47 Plan). ഇന്ത്യയിലേക്ക് ത് അടക്കം 100ഓളം രാജ്യങ്ങളിലേക്ക് അൺലിമിറ്റഡ് കോളും വാഗ്ദാനം ചെയ്യുന്നു.
Sources:azchavattomonline.com

http://theendtimeradio.com

US President Donald Trump’s company, Trump Organization, launched an America-made smartphone named Trump Mobile on Monday, 16 June 2025, according to the news agency Reuters. The company aims to capture conservative consumers and give them an alternative to other major telecom providers.

According to the agency report, the company has fixed the price of the phone at $499. The Trump Organization also said that both the call centre and the manufacturing of the phones will be done in the United States.

“Trump Mobile is going to change the game, we’re building on the movement to put America first, and we will deliver the highest levels of quality and service. Our company is based right here in the United States because we know it’s what our customers want and deserve,” said Donald Trump Jr. in the official announcement on Monday.

Monthly cost of Trump Mobile
According to the official website, Trump Mobile is offering “The 47 Plan,” which is wireless services for a monthly charge of $47.45 through which users will be able to avail unlimited talk, texts, and mobile data (first 20GB at high speed).

The benefits also highlight that the users will be able to call internationally to 100 destinations, have no contract and will be eligible to cancel anytime.

The company also said that it will not carry out a credit history check before giving a user a SIM card. Trump Mobile will also give out SIM cards to people who bring their own phones.

Other special features of the new device will be to provide Roadside Assistance through Drive America.

The company also announced that it will release its golden colored ‘T1 Phone’, which is made in America, for the people of the United States.

“Trump Mobile is also excited to announce it will release the “T1 Phone” in August. It is a sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States for customers who expect the best from their mobile carrier,” said the company in the official release.

According to the agency report, more than 60 million smartphones are purchased annually in the United States. However, all of these devices are manufactured in India. China, South Korea, India and Vietnam are the major smartphone manufacturing hubs of the world.

The agency cited that due to the higher labour costs, supply chain complexity, and dependence on overseas component sourcing, the domestic manufacturing of smartphones has always been a challenge in the US.
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