According to the latest data from the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghan farmers grew a record 209,000 hectares of opium poppy in 2013. Even worse, these figures are projected to climb as security deteriorates in rural Afghanistan and eradication efforts lose steam. This information calls into question the efficacy of the US$ 7.6 billion counter-narcotics effort aimed at curbing the illicit trade. Afghanistan's opium poppy production was valued at US $3 billion in 2013 - a 50 per cent increase from the previous year - and Afghanistan continues to produce nearly 90 per cent of the world's supply. In past years opium poppy cultivation was met by a coordinated response from the US government and coalition partners. This led to a temporary decline in levels of opium production. Afghan farmers are being encouraged and helped by Christians to grow pomegranate crops instead for the western market.
Christians in the Cape Town area are being invited to a ‘Call to Unity’ on Saturday, 25 October. Speakers will include Dr Desmond Rose, author of Write The Vision; Rev Barry Isaacs, Director of Transformation Africa and a member of the Doves Peak campaign to rename Devil’s Peak; and Dr Graham Power, business leader and founder of Global Day of Prayer and Unashamedly Ethical. The meeting will be the fourth Call to Unity gathering and is based on Acts 1:14. The objectives of the campaign are to send a message of unity to encourage the Body of Christ to get together, and to pray and worship and seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Humanist- inspired ‘aggressive secularism’ is becoming a concern for Christians in all democratic countries. Nations that once functioned on the Judeo-Christian worldview are now functioning on Secularism/Atheism. A National Education Coalition was formed as part of an aggressive secularism in public education and a successful Humanist activist assault on Chaplains in public schools via High Court judicial involvement. The most extreme form of atheism is imposed on public and private schools science classes as scientism - not science. In a recent High Court school Chaplains William's vs The Commonwealth decision, the dissenting conservative justice openly expressed concern about High Court judicial activism and spoke against Judges who, ‘assume a law-making role resulting in the death of the rule of law in Australia. This whole scenario is not just a local or state issue, but international. Christians must jointly take a public and national stand on this whole affair.’ See also http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/
Israel: Hamas is rebuilding tunnel network
24 Oct 2014The leader of Al-Qassam Brigades (part of Hamas), said Hamas is rebuilding its terror tunnel network. The Gaza-based newspaper Al-Resalah was invited to send a reporter to a tunnel site where he was shown diggers hard at work repairing a tunnel that had been bombed during Operation Protective Edge. The commander of the digging team admitted that the tunnel’s repairs were started ‘during one of the humanitarian ceasefires reached during the war.’ This statement reveals Hamas was using ceasefires intended for humanitarian ends as part of their war strategy. Recently Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson announced at a rally ‘the tunnels of Al-Qassam are fine. Our men will begin the next battle with their feet on the ground in settlements around Gaza.’ With missile test launches over the last two months, signs point to Hamas preparing for another conflict. Al-Qassam Brigades is recruiting as many volunteers as possible for basic military training with various types of weapons. See
Iraq: Detention facilities
17 Oct 2014Hundreds of Iraqi Yezidi men, women and children are in IS detention facilities in Iraq and Syria. Young women and teenage girls are separated from their families and some have been forced to marry (or be concubines for) IS fighters, according to relatives of the detainees, escaped hostages, and two detained women interviewed by phone. They said the group has taken away boys and forced captives to convert to Islam. IS's litany of horrific crimes against the Yezidis in Iraq only keeps growing. Human Rights Watch heard shocking stories of forced religious conversions, forced marriage, sexual assault and slavery – and some of the victims are children. The prisoners were caught during IS’s offensive in northwest Iraq in August. IS separated captives into categories: 1) women and mothers with younger children and older men or husbands; 2 )women in their early 20s and adolescent girls; 3) younger men and older boys
USA: Racism
17 Oct 2014The UN committee on racism slammed the USA over police brutality after Michael Brown was killed and now calls for a review of 'Stand Your Ground' laws. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded that minorities in US are victims of persistent discrimination and the UN racism watchdog has urged the US to halt the excessive use of force by police.Young African--Americans are victims of disparities and racial and ethnic discrimination remains a serious and persistent problem in all areas of life,such as existing school segregation, access to health care and housing. Meanwhile a death threat emailed to hundreds of Asian students at Harvard University had authorities on alert last weekend. Using racist language the email warned recipients they will be shot on campus. Some received a second email with similar language. See:
As the Islamic State continues to push into the majority Kurdish town of Kobane in northern Syria, broad regional battles start to surface, it seems that geopolitics will prevent international assistance beyond limited airstrikes by coalition forces.The Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in an interview with CNN said, ‘We will not interfere on the ground as long as the US strategy does not include intervention against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.’ Many believe international coalition airstrikes are incapable of defeating IS in the vicinity of Kobane, and there is a need for Turkey’s involvement. There is a contradiction between the international and Turkish visions. US strategy seeks first to eliminate the enemy slaughtering Western hostages. The Turkish Kurdish political division goes back to the failure of applying an agreement to share management between the Syrian Kurdish political parties.
China: Pastor 'grateful' for prison sentence
17 Oct 2014Many Chinese Christians are saying that China is facing its worst persecution since the Cultural Revolution. However, Pastor Huang Yizi of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province said he is ‘grateful’ for the opportunity to go to jail; ‘Prison is a mission field with so many hungry and thirsty souls waiting to listen to the Gospel.’ He could face up to seven years in jail after being accused of gathering to assault a state organ. (he criticised police violence against churches}. His lawyer Zhang Kai said, ‘Judging from the evidence I don't think Huang's actions constituted any crime. Personally, I believe his arrest is directly related to the general crackdown on churches in Zhejiang.’ Salvation Church is just one of hundreds to be targeted in Zhejiang province. At least 360 have already been completely or partially demolished, ostensibly as a result of defying building regulations.