Nigeria: Violence follows recent elections
11 Jun 2015
Horrific violence has followed the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari in May, as Boko Haram militants attacked the city of Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state and birthplace of the Islamist insurgency group Boko Haram. Gunfire and explosions reverberate through the city and scores have been left dead. ‘We don’t know what happens next,’ a church leader told Barnabas. ‘Pray for the believers in the city of Maiduguri. Pray for God’s special intervention.’ On 29 May, militants launched 50+ rockets into the town, killing scores of people. On Saturday, a suicide bomber killed several people as he detonated himself in a mosque. On Sunday, a bomb went off near the Gomboru market, killing scores more. On Tuesday 2 June, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Gomboru market, killing at 20+ people. In his inaugural speech President Buhari announced that the command centre for security forces would be moved from Abuja to Maiduguri.
Australia: Faith leaders write to PM on marriage
11 Jun 2015
Australian Christian Lobby Managing Director Lyle Shelton has joined with 38 leaders of Christian and other religious groups in signing a letter to the Prime Minister urging him and the parliament to uphold the true meaning of marriage. Mr Shelton said that such a demonstration of support from Australia's faith communities for man-woman marriage and the rights of children it protects was a welcome development in what has been largely a one-sided debate. ‘It is so important our nation does not sleep-walk into a legislative change to the definition of marriage without considering the consequences,’ Mr Shelton said. The letter was signed by Catholic and Anglican archbishops and 36 heads of many other denominations.
A man and his friend saw 48-year-old Richard Matt and 34-year-old David Sweat in their backyard with what looked like a guitar case. The witnesses' identities are being withheld because of safety concerns. When the witnesses confronted the men they said they were lost and then ran away. The man added, ‘we’re lucky to be alive.’ The escaped convicts used power tools to cut through a steel wall in their adjoining cells and escape through a steam pipe. The search for the two men has been extended to Canada and Mexico as well as New York. Matt was serving a life sentence for killing and dismembering his former boss. Sweat was also serving life for torture and murder.
In an area where being a Christian is very dangerous, brave intercessors are running courses on how to pray and to hear from God with the vision of building a strong network of prayer groups in 24/7 prayer for Pakistan. The organiser said, ‘During this course we shared how God has worked in hopeless places around the world to bring change. We had periods of forgiveness and reconciliation between churches and denominations, with them coming forward and asking forgiveness. People told of how they had never done this in person before and the blessing it was to them. With demonic activity more evident against Christians, we taught ‘cleansing your house of evil’ - using Scripture to rebuke the evil one and send him out of your home. Many came back the next day telling of the peace they had for the first time in their homes.’
Global: 30 days of prayer for the Muslim world
11 Jun 2015
30 days of Prayer is an international movement of intercession for the Muslim world. The purpose is to mobilise the church to pray! The origin of this call to prayer and fasting for the Muslim world came about as a group of Christian leaders were praying about the Islamic world during a meeting in the Middle East in 1992. God put a burden on the hearts of these men and women to call as many Christians as possible to pray for the Muslim world. Today this event draws millions of Christians worldwide to a united, global prayer meeting. In 2015 the prayer will start on 18 June and finish on 17 July. A wave of mission mobilisation and Muslim mission awareness is occurring across the globe, and this prayer event is planned to coincide with the Islamic month of Ramadan.
Libya: IS captures 88 Christians
11 Jun 2015
The IS terror group kidnapped 88 Eritrean Christians from a people-smugglers' caravan in Libya last week, a U.S. defence official confirmed on Monday. The defence official confirmed initial reports of the mass kidnapping to Fox News after seeing a recent intelligence report. The independent Libya Herald newspaper reported that the convoy was ambushed by militants south of Tripoli before dawn this past Wednesday morning. Meron Estafanos, the co-founder of the Stockholm-based International Commission on Eritrean Refugees, told the paper that the group of migrants included about twelve Eritrean Muslims and some Egyptians. They put them in another truck and they put twelve Eritrean women Christians in a smaller pickup. The militants had initially stopped the truck and demanded that the Muslims on board make themselves known. Everyone who responded was asked about the Qu'ran and their religious observance in an attempt to catch Christians pretending to be Muslims.
USA: Foreign aid bill for Armenia
04 Jun 2015
Questions of aid for Armenia will be among a broad range of US assistance issues addressed by members of the House as they start drafting the foreign aid bill for fiscal year 2016. As in the past, the specific text of the measure will not be made available until after the subcommittee’s consideration. The Armenian National Committee of America will be sharing details on issues of concern to Armenian Americans as they become available. ANCA is urging friends of Armenia across America to reach out to their legislators and visit a website to voice opinions on: 1) ending military aid to Azerbaijan until it agrees to pull back its snipers, cease its aggression, renounce violence, and commit to a purely peaceful resolution of regional conflicts; 2) releasing $40 million in US economic assistance to Armenia; 3) focussing on addressing difficulties in providing humanitarian and resettlement aid to Armenians fleeing from Syria.
Yemen: Humanitarian crisis and ethnic cleansing
04 Jun 2015
Thousands of tonnes of food aid for Yemen have been diverted from the port of Aden because of heavy fighting between Saudi-backed forces and Shia Muslim Houthi fighters. The city has been cut off from supplies for months, creating a humanitarian crisis for hundreds of thousands of desperate people. Aden has no running water or electricity, and food shops are empty. Yemen imports 90% of its food, and an estimated 16 million people (more than 60% of the population) need humanitarian assistance. Elsewhere ethnic cleansing is happening. Fewer than 100 Jews are believed to be living in Yemen, and the number could soon drop to zero, as Houthi rebels expand their control of the country. The Houthis are Shia Muslims, supported by Iran, and their chant is ‘Death to America. Death to Israel, Allah curse the Jews’. Most Jews fled some time ago to Israel. The remnant are under virtual house arrest and victims of persecution. See: