Indian authorities on Thursday started to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people from villages along the country’s eastern coast ahead of a strong storm. Cyclone Fani is expected to make landfall early Friday with winds of up to 124 mph and heavy rainfall, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. Authorities worry the storm could become the strongest since 1999, when a cyclone killed about 10,000 people after raging through the eastern coastal areas of the state of Odisha.
SYRIA: Christians leading aid efforts in the embattled Deir Ezzor region, along with a Norwegian Share Mission Network, are calling for global prayer Friday through Sunday. “This could be a bloodbath here and drag on and on, and concerted prayer is very needed,” said David Eubank, director of Free Burma Rangers, a team of U.S. and Burmese medics and caregivers who have been on the ground near the fighting in Baghuz since Feb. 1.
At least 81 people died when an apartment building caught fire in an older, overcrowded part of Bangladesh’s capital, officials said Thursday. The blaze began late Wednesday night in a building in Dhaka’s Chawkbazar district. It quickly spread to several other buildings, including some that stored chemicals and plastics. The buildings also housed shops and restaurants. Many of the casualties were trapped inside the buildings, and the death toll could rise as some of the 50 injured people remain in critical condition, according to local officials.
Myanmar | Christian missionaries offer assistance to Rohingya Muslims amid a state-driven humanitarian crisis
