Globe Trot: Foreign aid piling up at Nepalese ports, borders

NEPAL: Local churches representing Nepal’s tiny Christian minority are pooling resources to assist in relief efforts following Saturday’s earthquake. But locals also are warning against sending aid via overseas organizations that lack boots on the ground. As we’ve seen in previous disasters, that aid is getting held up at the border by government officials who either want a cut or want to be sure proper supplies are getting in. One member of Parliament today told a U.K. news anchor aid is piling up at the airport because the government has decided to tax it.

One group we know has boots on the ground is YWAM, and its team there has long experience working in the country.

SAUDI ARABIA has beheaded a Pakistani on drug smuggling charges, as the country is carrying out a record number of executions—87 in 2014.

IMMIGRATION: U.S. lawmakers are questioning the Department of Homeland Security over its civics test for citizenship, which lists “freedom of worship” rather than “freedom of religion” as the right guaranteed by the Constitution. Heritage Foundation analyst Sarah Torre explains why the difference is significant:

“This incorrect view of religious liberty argues that faith should remain a private affair—relegated to personal activities or weekend worship services,” she said. “Step outside the four walls of a home or house of worship and robust protection of religious freedom ends.”

USCIRF: The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued its annual report Thursday, recommending nine countries be re-designated “countries of particular concern” along with eight new ones. The growing list reflects the growing hazards for religious expression around the world.

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