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 2019
US 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 2019
Iceland’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.
Jesus stopped honour killing
21 Nov 2019
In Middle East’s honour-shame culture, a raped woman brings her family shame and they have a duty to kill her. Three Yazidi girls were taken as slaves by IS. Later, while their father was asleep, he saw Jesus. He recognised Him by His nail-pierced hands. Jesus said, ‘You don’t need to kill your daughters. I paid for everyone, so go and get them.’ The man woke and thought this can’t be real. He went back to sleep and had exactly the same dream. He woke up again, went back to sleep, and had the same dream for a third time - one dream for each daughter. He gathered the Yazidi elders and told them what happened. ‘Jesus showed up in my tent, I’m going to get my girls and not kill them.’ Because of Jesus, he welcomed his girls home and persuaded other Yazidi men to take back their daughters without harming them.
An election prayer
21 Nov 2019
Lord, we pray for peace in this election season. We pray for peace between divided communities and within families; we pray for peace between political opponents. We pray that You will be our refuge and our strength, our mighty fortress in times of need. Lord, keep our focus on you, and as we hear and think about politics we would seek to serve and worship you. ‘I lift my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven’ (Psalm 123:1). We pray for political journalists who are reporting on the election and Brexit, that they will work with integrity and maintain professionalism; and for young people under the age of 18, who cannot vote, still to be engaged in politics and voice their concerns.
Cleanup after floods
21 Nov 2019
Please continue to pray for the owners of over 1,750 properties that have been flooded in recent weeks. Ask God to support them as they go through the painful process of assessing damage, claiming insurance, and discarding much that was not salvageable. Pray particularly that those who did not have insurance will receive appropriate help to rebuild their lives. Pray for God to comfort those who have lost sentimental and irreplaceable possessions. The Environment Agency (EA) has warned that some older properties could be contaminated with anthrax or other dangerous pollutants after the floods, so the fire brigade might say they are not safe for re-occupation. Pray for wise and effective reviews by the EA of the flood defences required for the future. See also
Christian banned from Speakers’ Corner
21 Nov 2019
On 10 November Rev Roland Parson was told by police officers he could not show his ‘Blood of Jesus Christ’ banner which was fixed with rope to the side of his preaching stand while he preached the Gospel. He has displayed his Christian banners and preached at Speakers’ Corner for over twenty years. Now the police informed him he was violating the Royal Parks regulations - banning the display of printed material. However, they didn’t do anything about other large banners displayed in the area. Mr Parsons is now taking legal advice to fight the ban, ‘not least because of the undue effect it has on evangelical Christians’. Mike Phillips, legal adviser to Christian Concern, added, ‘If you are doing something which has been allowed for many years, and suddenly the authorities prohibit it, then arguably they are acting outside their powers.’
Designer babies in two years?
21 Nov 2019
New research by bioethicist Dr Kevin Smith claims that the risks of gene editing are now low enough to warrant its use with human embryos, arguing that ‘creating designer babies is ethically justifiable and highly desirable’. He said it could kick-start a revolution in producing genetically-modified (GM) people, offering hope to parents at risk of transmitting serious genetic disease to their future children. He said, ‘The human germline is not perfect. Evolution furnished us with minimal protection from diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. GM can protect future people against these and other common disorders.’ Producing GM babies in China last year was criticised by geneticists and ethicists. Smith compared GM people to the advancement of IVF, stating that if such negative attitudes to biomedical innovation had prevailed in the 1970s, the development of IVF would have been delayed and might never have come to fruition. His paper is published in the medical ethics journal Bioethics.