North Korea: sudden lockdown ordered
13 May 2022
In late April, North Korea confirmed its first Covid cases and suspended overland trade with China (which had been resumed in January) after a surge of Chinese cases. The reclusive nation has repeatedly shunned international offers of vaccines, and has been forced into two years of strict isolation to stop the pandemic from crippling the already weak healthcare system. But blocking commerce with China, their largest trade partner, has upset an economy damaged by decades of mismanagement and punishing international sanctions. A serious lack of rainfall in the second worst drought since records began is disrupting farming and food supplies. Despite alarm over Omicron spreading, Kim Jong-Un has ordered scheduled construction, agricultural development and other state projects to continue, decreeing that ‘single-minded public unity is the most powerful guarantee that can win in this anti-pandemic fight.’
Australia: election and climate change
13 May 2022
Scott Morrison's government is criticised for its inaction on climate change. When Australia - long considered a climate policy laggard – holds an election on 21 May, the outcome could be significant for the planet's future. Still reliant on coal for most electricity, it is one of the dirtiest countries per capita, making up over 1% of global emissions with only 0.3% of the world's population. It is also a massive supplier of fossil fuels globally; when that is factored in, it accounts for 3.6% of the world's emissions. Australia is most at risk from climate change, having recently suffered severe drought, historic bushfires, successive years of record-breaking floods, and six mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef. It is racing towards a future full of similar disasters. Climate policy played a role in toppling three prime ministers in a decade. Most voters want tougher climate action, but some coal towns in swing constituencies are key to winning elections.
Bernice is baptised at 93
06 May 2022
Erdie Carter, senior pastor at Glasgow Baptist Church, said Evelyn faithfully attended church until the pandemic. Then she began watching the church’s services on a local TV broadcast with her husband, 93-year-old Bernice. During their 67-year marriage Evelyn had faithfully prayed for Bernice to receive Christ as his saviour. Members of the church visited their home to bring food as part of the church’s pandemic community outreach program. A few weeks ago, when Erdie visited them, Bernice said he was ready to make a decision for Christ. Erdie asked him if he would like to be baptised, and he said yes! Carter said seeing the transformation in Bernice deeply affected him and his congregation. ‘Pastors say it’s never too late - but seeing Bernice at 93 have a spiritual realisation and publicly profess his faith in Christ, was a joy,’ Erdie said.
Aisha was born to a strict Islamic family. Her father abused her verbally and religion gave her no peace. She felt constantly condemned by Islam and was desperate to be loved. She became pregnant at 17 and knew her father would kill her for dishonouring her family. Fearing for her life, she had an abortion, a shame she carried for many years. In Islam, ‘her sins were unforgivable,’ and she was ‘hated by Allah’. Suffering from depression, she cried out to Allah for mercy and heard an audible voice say ‘Jesus’. After hearing from heaven, Aisha turned her prayers to Jesus, asking him to reveal himself to her. ‘The first time I felt any peace was when I prayed to Jesus’, she explains. That one supernatural experience gave her an insatiable hunger for truth. Aisha finally discovered that Jesus is full of mercy and compassion for women, a stark contrast to Islam.
Fred Parry attributes twenty years of sobriety to a rehab clinic, saying recovering from alcoholism was the best thing that ever happened to him. He is now a cellist, a music teacher, a husband and father. When his son Adam began battling addiction, Fred sent him to the same clinic to recover. He did for a short time, but Fred could not afford further rehab. Adam didn’t present like an alcoholic; he was well-spoken, intelligent, often reading three books at a time. But he was tortured and couldn't find a way out. Addiction took over when he started studying chemistry at University. He dropped out and was hospitalised six times for alcohol-related seizures. Fred was told by a doctor, ‘There's nothing you can do for an alcoholic, just lock them up and throw the key away’ Adam died after another seizure. He was 32. Mr Parry wants the Scottish government to improve access to addiction treatment services, including residential rehab.
UK threatened by Russia
06 May 2022
Dmitry Kiselyov, a Putin mouthpiece on Russian state TV, said that a possible course of action could be a Poseidon underwater drone triggering a 'radioactive tidal wave' against the UK. ‘Then Britain would be plunged into the depths of the ocean by an underwater nuclear strike. This tidal wave would also carry high doses of radiation surging over Britain turning whatever is left of them into radioactive desert, unusable for anything.’ He also warned the UK of a Sarmat 2 weapon, which Russia said earlier this month it planned to deploy by autumn. These intercontinental ballistic missiles carry ten or more nuclear warheads and could reach Europe and the US, experts have warned. Boris Johnson recently said he did not expect further Russian military failures to push Putin into using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and Russia had room to manoeuvre and end the conflict. See also Europe article ‘Russia talking about a nuclear apocalypse’.
Nicola Sturgeon - assisted suicide bill
06 May 2022
CARE for Scotland has urged Nicola Sturgeon to oppose assisted suicide to protect people with disabilities, after she signalled she might support plans to legalise the practice. In a recent interview Ms Sturgeon said she is ‘more open’ to a law change and has no ‘concluded view’ on a member's bill from Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur. Ms Sturgeon expressed opposition to assisted suicide in 2015 when it was last considered in Scotland. CARE said, ‘The First Minister's assessment of assisted suicide's dangers was correct in 2015 and ‘remains so today. It is confirmed by Canada’s tragic experience, where vulnerable citizens are coerced into opting for assisted death after being unable to access care and support. Canada experiences the ‘slippery slope’ of such laws. If Scotland agrees to assisted suicide for terminally ill, a campaign will begin in earnest to widen eligibility for the physically and mentally disabled.’ For more on Canada’s experience, see
Shell profits nearly triple as oil prices surge
06 May 2022
Energy giant Shell has reported its highest-ever quarterly profits (£7.3bn) as oil and gas prices surge around the world. But Shell said pulling out of Russian oil and gas due to Ukraine’s conflict had cost them £3.1bn. BP also reported a sharp rise in profit, and Norway's Equinor, which supplies a quarter of the UK's gas, also posted record earnings this quarter. Oil prices were already rising before the Ukraine war as economies started to recover from the Covid pandemic. The public is now asking what these companies will do with all their extra profits. The Government has so far ruled out a windfall tax.