Global persecution of Christians reaches “near-genocidal levels” 

Late Tuesday evening, a massive house explosion in Brandon, Manitoba left one 63-year-old woman dead and a 63-year-old man critically injured. Police say that he needed to be airlifted to a Winnipeg hospital.

According to police, the explosion occurred at roughly 7:50 p.m. in the 200 block of Queen’s Avenue East.

Following the explosion, police could distinctly smell gas and the investigation now included the Office of the Fire Commissioner as well as police.

Authorities said a strong smell of gas was present following the explosion, but the cause of the blast is under investigation by police and the Office of the Fire Commissioner.

Surrounding homes also had to be evacuated, but residents were allowed to return overnight. The street needed to be blocked off while police investigate, and students were redirected to the nearby school.

The explosion is still being investigated by the police.

While our prime minister can survive a blackface scandal, the same can’t be said for these pumpkins.

Bed Bath & Beyond has removed all black Jack-o’-lanterns from their shelves after a News 12 uncovered complaints that a law firm’s display had generated outrage.

The niche jack-o-lanterns are incredible festive, adding a moderate touch of Gothic to the already dark holiday.

However, it’s 2019, and some colours must not be appropriated. Due to complaints from community members, the plastic pumpkins were removed from the Feerick, Nugent, MacCartney Law Offices in Nyack to take the pumpkins down less than 48 hours after setting them up.

 “We understand that someone complained about them and so once we got word of that we immediately took them down,” says law firm partner Mary Marzolla.

“We represent people of all colors and faiths, and we would never do anything to exclude anyone from any community.”

The pumpkins had also been custom made, each being engraved with the name of a partner at the firm. Marzolla asserts the pumpkins were purely meant to be festive and not designed to offend anyone.

” It’s just nothing I take offense to personally, but since it did offend someone we took proactive steps to take it down,” says associate Alak Shah.

However, taking them down wasn’t enough.

Local NAACP Director Wilbur Aldridge said it shows an “extreme lack of sensitivity,” and now both attorneys have scolded Bed Bath & Beyond over their insensitivity and lack of foresight.

Bed Bath & Beyond, of course, bent the knee and capitulated, removing all of the pumpkins from sale.

On Monday, two children in Montreal were found killed by their father, who later committed suicide. The children, one girl and on boy, aged five and seven respectively, were found by their mother at 9 p.m. on Tuesday when she returned from work to her house on Curatteau St. at Pierre-De Coubertin Ave. in the Tétreaultville district, reports the Montreal Gazette. The father was found dead in the next room, and police ruled that it was a suicide.

Police report that neighbours had seen the father outside at roughly 3 p.m., only hours before the bodies were discovered.

“The father had his head down and didn’t say hello,” said another neighbour.

One woman, whose son was friends with one of the children, said the boy had come over to play just last Saturday, and that he will be missed by her son.

“They played in the basement for two hours,” said Mayela Sandoval. “They met this year and my son really liked him, they played together every day.”

Neighbour Manoj Chandarana told reporters that he saw four police cruisers and two ambulances hurrying to the scene and knew something was terribly wrong.

“There are suicides, we know that, but to take the lives of children is not acceptable,” he said. “Just think, if they were here today, they would be at school or daycare. Children look to their parents for protection.”

Police are still investigating the circumstances which led the 40-year-old man to commit such a terrible act.

On Wednesday, October 23, Essex Police discovered a transport truck containing the dead bodies of 39 people believed to be from Bulgaria. 38 have been identified as adults, while one was a teen. All 39 were pronounced dead on site.

According to police, one 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, the driver of the vehicle, has been arrested and remains in custody on suspicion of murder.

“We believe the lorry is from Bulgaria and entered the country at Holyhead on Saturday 19 October and we are working closely with our partners to investigate,” says Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills in a press release.

“We have arrested the lorry driver in connection with the incident who remains in police custody as our enquiries continue. I appreciate this cordon is going to disrupt the activity of local businesses in the area and we will work to ensure that disruption is kept as short as possible. We are working with Thurrock Council to mitigate against any impact our investigation scene will have locally.”

Police say they were alerted to the existence of the truck shortly before 1.40 am Wednesday morning. They received reports that a number of people had been found inside a lorry’s container at the Waterglade Industrial Park on Eastern Avenue in Grays.

A full murder investigation into the tragedy and role the driver played is now underway. Police say that they have so far been unable to identify any of the victims and anticipate that it will be a lengthy process.

The circumstances surrounding the truck and the transport of so many people remain unknown to the public.

“This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives. Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened,” says Mills.

“We are in the process of identifying the victims, however, I anticipate that this could be a lengthy process.”