Australia: removing Christian school chaplains
14 Nov 2019
The Australian Christian Lobby has been asking Christians to make their voices heard, as the Labour government plans to ban public schools from employing a school chaplain from January 2020. For almost two decades, students enrolled in a public school who sought advice and counsel have been able to receive help from a chaplain with religious and spiritual capabilities. The education minister explained the move by saying, ‘All we’re doing is taking the religion out of it’. But banning school chaplains is a ban on spiritual support for children. The government has decided that faith does not matter to children, and that relevant questions cannot be answered for students of faith. Depression and anxiety in youth are the highest in a very long time, so this is not the time to ban chaplains.
Australia: NSW and Queensland bushfires
14 Nov 2019
Crews are currently battling 120+ fires. ‘Leave now' warnings have gone to homes and dozens more are at ‘Watch and Act’ level. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, and over a million hectares consumed. A water-bombing helicopter crashed in gusty conditions. Pray for the farmers who have lost entire crops and farm infrastructures. Ask God to comfort residents told to evacuate immediately and now fearful of what they will return to. Pray for stamina for the crews fighting fires and those patrolling smouldering zones. Pray for the police to have wisdom and discernment as they contend with looters impersonating firefighters to gain access to empty homes. The deputy prime minister dismissed talk of climate change as the concerns of ‘raving inner-city lefties’, adding, ‘We've had fires in Australia since time began’. See also
Hong Kong: chaos and excessive police force
14 Nov 2019
Two protesters are in a critical condition after being shot in violent demonstrations and a pro-Beijing supporter was doused in flammable liquid and set alight after arguing with protesters, who are demanding greater democracy and police accountability. The pedestrian crossing where the first young protester was shot has become a site of considerable tension. He remains in a critical condition. The protester we prayed for last week after falling from a car park has since died. The police also drew firearms from their holsters in two other places but denied reports that they were ordered to ‘recklessly use their firearms’. An independent expert said that Hong Kong’s police watchdog does not have the powers or resources to cope with the scale of protests, and ‘light touch’ body probing by the police at demonstrations has a capabilities ‘shortfall’. Powers to summon witnesses need to meet the task of examining allegations against police. See also
On 12 November the Israel Defence Forces killed a senior commander of a Jihad terror group responsible for firing dozens of rockets out of the Gaza Strip. This prompted a massive retaliation of over seventy rockets fired at Israel’s civilian districts. The UK’s foreign office advised visitors that attacks could be indiscriminate, including places frequented by foreigners, and on public transport. Most embassies in Tel Aviv have heightened caution or have temporarily closed. Palestinian Islamic Jihad declared that it was preparing for war with Israel. By 13 November, 220 rockets had been fired as far north as Tel Aviv, with 90% intercepted by the army. Schools in the south and much of the centre were closed, keeping 1 million students at home, and a commando unit was deployed to secure border communities from possible infiltration. On 14 November a ceasefire was achieved, but just hours later five rockets were launched from the coastal enclave, with two of them intercepted by Israel’s army. See also
IJM supported Mumbai authorities in rescuing five girls and young women from a small, cluttered apartment where they were being repeatedly sold for sex. Police have also arrested a 35-year-old woman suspected of exploiting these victims to a network of private customers. She would secretly share images of the girls to potential customers over social media and then, based on the customer’s selection, force the girls to come to her home on demand. The girls and young women she abused lived nearby in the community. The police concentrate on traditional red-light areas, brothels and lodges to find and protect minors, and consequently traffickers have attempted to operate only through close networks and unassuming homes to avoid being caught. We can thank God for the rescue of these girls: may they speedily recover in the safe environments now being provided.
Global: mothers speak out on climate change
14 Nov 2019
From the vanishing Solomon Islands to the burning Amazon rainforest, mothers speak up from danger zones. Alice, in Brazil, fears for her two-month-old son: ‘It is hotter than when I was a child, and I don’t know how it will be when he grows up. There is more pollution, he’s already having breathing problems. I am privileged to live in this paradise, but I look around today and fear that we are losing it.’ Baby Rafsan lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the most overpopulated city in the world. His mother said, ‘We fear for our futures but not enough to quit using cars to save the climate'. By 2050 one in seven people will be displaced by rising sea levels - that’s 18 million people. Bangladesh will not exist in 100 years if carbon dioxide emissions remain the same. ‘My baby should not be wearing a mask’, said a mother in Delhi.
Persian Gulf: Operation Sentinel launched
14 Nov 2019
Large navy vessels will watch at chokepoints while smaller vessels will patrol key transit lanes, and airborne assets will monitor traffic in the Persian Gulf. This stems from a new coalition officially launched on 7 November from its Bahrain headquarters. It will protect shipping in the troubled waters after a string of attacks that Washington and its allies blame on Iran, threatening the world’s oil supply. Iran denies responsibility for the attacks, and has put forward its own proposals for boosting Gulf security - that pointedly exclude outside powers. The new mission, dubbed Operation Sentinel, will see vessels escorted through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic chokepoint at the head of the Gulf and the main artery for transporting oil. Australia and the United Kingdom are the main non-Gulf countries to have sent warships to escort shipping. The newest member, Albania, joined on 6 November.
25 pastors pray for Trump at White House
07 Nov 2019
A group of pastors and faith leaders had an exclusive meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on 29 October. During that meeting, Trump asked the pastors to lay hands on him and pray. The meeting, according to several pastors, involved discussions of the president's accomplishments on behalf of evangelical Christians, including defending religious freedom, battling opioid addiction, reducing abortion, and nominating conservative and pro-life supreme court judges. Soon afterwards, several leaders posted photos of the meeting and prayer. Some praised the president's pro-family and pro-biblical values, while others offered prayer against what they see as unjust impeachment hearings.