Philippines: three earthquakes, two typhoons
28 Nov 2019Of the 12 disaster-prone cities in the world, ten are in the Philippines. It is not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when’ that typhoon or earthquake will come, as happened recently. The devastation and the intensity of these are what are so unique. Hundreds have died and over 1,000 are displaced and lost. Then came Tropical Storm Nakri, which developed into a typhoon. The epicentre of the deadly quakes was near Mindanao, where World Mission minister. There is a great humanitarian effort going on right now, with local churches responding with food, shelter, and clothing - all in the love of Jesus. Previously there had been hostility to the Gospel in this region, with some areas hosting IS training camps. However when these disasters strike,it definitely creates a wide-open door for the Gospel, as the churches’ help is well-received. The Philippines get about two thousand earthquakes a year.
Hong Kong: US act and election results
28 Nov 2019The US Senate has passed a Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (see ) that aims to protect the human rights and autonomy and freedoms of Hong Kong. This bill sends a message of hope to many pro-democracy protesters. China warned it could take ‘firm counter-measures’ if Washington continues to show support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters. We need to pray that more nations in the free world will also send a clear message to Beijing that they stand with Hong Kong in their struggle for democracy. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s first election since the protests began saw a turnout of 71% as people stood up to defend their freedoms against an increasingly aggressive Beijing. Their votes resulted in seventeen of the eighteen district councils now being controlled by pro-democracy councillors. However, China’s state media outlets are either making no reference at all to election results or claiming ‘tampering’ had taken place.
Egypt: Christian faces terror-related charges
28 Nov 2019In 2018 Rami Kamil, a prominent human rights activist, joined a UN fact-finding visit to investigate the situation of members of the Coptic community who had been displaced from their homes following sectarian incidents. On 23 November he was arrested: the police refused to allow him to change his clothes, carry his medications, or speak to a lawyer. They confiscated his laptop, mobile phone, camera, and books, and took him to an unknown location, where he underwent intensive physical and psychological interrogation. He later appeared before the state security prosecution without legal representation, and was given fifteen days’ pre-trial detention. He was accused of joining a terrorist organisation, receiving foreign funding, disturbing public order, inciting the public against the state, and using social media to provoke tensions between Muslims and Christians.
Latin America: a new Cold War?
28 Nov 2019Many geopolitical media watchers and prayer warriors believe the growing wave of anti-government protests ravaging the streets of Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Colombia hasn’t been seen since the old Cold War, which is why the increase in protests and tensions might be called Cold War 2.0 in Latin America. This time, at least as yet, there aren’t armed proxy groups in play but Moscow has weaponised social unrest to sabotage Western power in the region. Earlier this decade we saw similar issues on Russia’s strategic periphery, notably in Ukraine in the wake of the 2014 Maidan protests and the 2005 Orange Revolution. These protesters aren’t necessarily armed Marxists, but anti-government and armed with anti-US rhetoric. Much the same approach is evident in Moscow’s support for Nicholas Maduro’s failing regime in Venezuela, with the help of Cuban operatives. Russia has become increasingly adept at using social media to disperse disinformation on the Internet.
Australia: fight the ‘war of truth’
28 Nov 2019Most opposition to religious freedom is opposition to the knowledge of the truth. Laws to prevent Christian schools teaching Christianity compromise a mission field. Laws that claim to ban ‘LGBT conversion therapy’ are more likely laws that ban parts of the Bible, key aspects of the Christian gospel, and a parent’s right to raise their gender-dysphoric child to affirm their biological sex. These laws are a serious attack on Christianity and the Christian home - another mission field. When employees cannot hold down their job whilst discussing beliefs grounded in God’s truth at work, another evangelistic option is lost. When people are losing professional accreditations, getting drummed out of universities, disciplined at work, and generally facing the prospect that the godly life is no longer a life of peace. We need to remember Paul’s call to ‘pray for our leaders’. The content of that prayer is that the godly life might be a life of peace.
The Foreign Office has called on China to allow UN observers ‘immediate and unfettered’ access to China’s Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, after two leaks provided further evidence of mass arbitrary detentions. An estimated 1 to 3 million Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities are detained without charge in ‘political re-education’ camps. US media published 400+ pages of documents detailing widespread involvement of senior Chinese officials in these unprecedented mass detentions, where authorities use a scoring system to determine who can leave the camps. Also, the behaviour of relatives outside the camps can affect detainees’ chances of release. More documents were leaked by investigative journalists, similarly detailing mechanisms, guidelines and procedures behind the detentions in Xinjiang and the severity of conditions inside the camps. China claims that the camps are voluntary training centres to combat terrorism.
Iranians urged to expose regime abuses
28 Nov 2019US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has urged Iranians to continue sending messages exposing the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on recent widespread protests; by some estimates, over 200 people have been killed. He stated the USA would impose sanctions on those it could identify for perpetrating abuses. ‘The Iranian people are, once again, on the streets because of the regime’s poor economic management,’ he said. ‘Instead of addressing their grievances, Tehran has responded with violence and by blaming those outside the country.’ Despite the Iranian regime's shutdown of the internet last week, the United States received 20,000 messages, videos and pictures from Iranians through a messaging service. ‘The United States hears you,’ Pompeo said. ‘We will continue to sanction Iranian officials who are responsible for these human rights abuses, just like we did to Iran’s minister of communications.’
Large-scale money laundering exposed
21 Nov 2019Iceland’s largest fishing company, Samherji, exploited legal loopholes and secrecy jurisdictions to enable corruption and environmental exploitation on a global scale. It used an anonymous shell company to launder and transfer 70 million dollars’ worth of illegal fishing activities off the coasts of West Africa, and bribed members of the Namibian government. Two Namibian ministers have already resigned over allegedly giving preferential access to fishing grounds. Samherji used shell companies in Dubai, Mauritius and Cyprus. Most of the money was traced to a bank account at a state-owned bank: the bank’s largest shareholder is the Norwegian state, which holds a 34% stake.