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:
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights a Syrian Christian fighter from the Syriac Military Council beheaded a militant of Islamic State in northwest Syria as revenge for the terror group’s violence against the region's minority Christians. The Christian fighter, who was not identified, carried out the execution last Thursday in the village of Tal Shamiram in Syria's Hasakeh province, where Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, holds large areas of the countryside. They’ve seized more than 95,000 square kilometres of Syria and are now in control of the majority of Syria’s gas and oilfields - providing the terror group with one of its biggest sources of income. Meanwhile over the weekend close to 200 civilians in the Aleppo neighbourhood of Al-Shaar died from more aerial barrel bomb attacks carried out by the army of President Bashar al-Assad. See also:
Afghanistan: News from a missionary
04 Jun 2015
‘Daily we receive reports of more atrocities, higher death tolls, repeated attacks on NGOs and guest-houses with foreigners as victims. Pray that this spring offensive may soon come to an end and that the whole Taliban movement will be crushed. Signs of an alliance of the Taliban with IS come from the North and East. Pray against the demonic powers that drive those people. UN statistics show civilian casualties rose by 16% this year. We believe our prayer is the decisive weapon in a war that cannot be won in the natural by all the world’s superpowers. Many foreigners have left the country, so pray for the local believers not to be discouraged, but to share their beliefs with others and remain faithful in the midst of adversity. There have been months of political infighting over the appointment of the crucial post of defence minister. Pray for Masum Stanakzai, appointed to this position on 24 May.’
Burundi: It's enough to make you cry
04 Jun 2015
The following is from a missionary working in Burundi: ‘I'm sitting in a café having a snatched lunch alone, and I'm crying. Our teams on the frontline urgently need more resources to help save lives. The sound of gunfire in the capital is normal now. Most people are petrified. Suffice to say, there's plenty to make one weep right now after last week's failed coup and the deteriorating political and security situation. My colleague M’s 3 year-old daughter is so traumatised by the shooting that every time she hears a gunshot she pees herself - she's now peeing herself multiple times. C rings me, hunkered down in her hovel with her daughter and granddaughter, a gun battle going on outside. I would do anything for C, but I can’t swoop in through the bullets to save my dear friend. My widower buddy H tries to keep his six children's morale up, and L’s wife has just died in childbirth. He now has four starving children.’
Global corruption – not just FIFA
04 Jun 2015
The following comes from Radio 4’s Thought for the Day earlier this week. FIFA’s problems are part of global issues. Corruption conjures up images of people getting rich. But corruption often produces more poverty than wealth. The harmful effects of corruption are especially severe on the poor, who are hit by economic decline, are more dependent on public services and the least capable of paying the extra costs associated with bribery, fraud and the misappropriation of economic privileges. Countries that score badly on the World Bank’s Doing Business Indicators also score badly on the Corruption Perceptions Index, including Chad, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all ranking in the bottom 15 countries on both tables. Tackling corruption requires a sharp change of culture. Just as corrupt countries find it difficult to attract investors then so too will FIFA find it increasingly difficult to attract sponsors. Perhaps those leading FIFA might take inspiration from Jesus, ‘there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance’.
Nigeria: Villages raided, more Christians killed
27 May 2015
Many Christian villages in central Nigeria were attacked and a number of people were killed in raids by suspected Fulani militants on Sunday (the Fulani, mainly Muslim, are one of the most powerful people groups in west Africa). Militants attacked 20 villages in the Agatu local government area of Benue state, killing more than 30 people. Many fled to displacement camps in neighbouring Kogi state. Meanwhile, in the Barkin Ladi area of Plateau state, militants attacked several villages in Dorowa. Nigerian military responded to the attack but ‘made no search nor any arrests’. As Boko Haram attacks gradually build up around the north-east states, Fulani terror activities are also on the rise in central Nigeria. Please pray now for our brothers and sisters in Christ, facing this new threat.
Financial stress has increased to 44% of the households in New South Wales as people spend more than they earn, according to a Wesley Mission report launched in Sydney. Almost four in ten or 1,022,010 households are now technically insolvent. Politicians of all persuasions draw the analogy between government and household spending and the need to balance the budget. Households are not balancing their budgets and the burden of debt is increasingly shifting from the public to the private sphere. The evidence from the Wesley Report suggests, ‘Financial hardship and financial anxiety are impacting the health, safety and wellbeing of individuals and their families.’
A heatwave sweeping India has killed 1,118 since last week and the numbers are increasing daily. With temperatures of 48 C (118F), authorities are urging people to stay indoors and drink plenty of water. But people have to work! In Texas the governor said this week’s floods were the worst the state had seen. A wave of water had a ‘tsunami-like’ power. 1,000+ homes were damaged and more floods are expected. In Mexico a tornado reached 186mph, killing many who were walking on the street when it struck. The Philippines has placed eight provinces under a state of calamity due to a drought caused by 2015’s El Nino weather phenomenon. The rainy season due next month may not alleviate the drought’s impact. 40% of farmers’ crops are destroyed. Scientists have officially declared a major El Nino event due to an increase in sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. See also