Kazakhstan: officials harass churches
15 Aug 2019
Officials are harassing founders of religious communities, possibly trying to block applications to exist. In May police began harassing Oskemen's New Life Protestant Church as it sought re-registration after changing its name. Officers visited parishioners late at night, threatening one woman in her late 70s. People who give their names as founders of religious organisations applying for legal status continue to face harassment and intrusive questioning. Against international law, Kazakhstan bans all exercise of freedom of religion and belief without state permission. The UN Human Rights Committee states, ‘No one can be compelled to reveal his thoughts or adherence to a religion or belief.’ A church member said, ‘At present the founders do not think that their rights are being protected by the law or its representatives. We are being subjected to pressure, which cannot help but arouse concern about the right to freedom of conscience in Kazakhstan.’
China: World’s first human-monkey hybrid
09 Aug 2019
A human-monkey hybrid was created in a Chinese laboratory by injecting human stem cells capable of creating any type of tissue into a monkey embryo. The experiment was stopped before the embryo was born. The scientists were Spanish but held the trial in China to evade a ban on such procedures in Spain. They said a human-monkey hybrid could have been born. The embryo was genetically modified to deactivate genes that control organ growth. Ethical concerns were raised over stem cells migrating to the brain. The scientists said mechanisms were in place for cells to self-destruct if that happened. Thomas Aquinas said that if when doing something morally good there is an unintended side-effect that’s OK as long as the side-effect was not the objective. We can pray for all countries to forbid crossing the physical and spiritual laws separating one species from another. What would happen to the hybrid’s soul, conscience, spirit?
Malawi has been in a week of repentance and prayer for peace ( 5 – 11 August) in response to ongoing post-election unrest and riots over allegedly rigged presidential elections. As intercessors pray for their country, peaceful protesters took to the streets of the nation’s four main cities in a call for the resignation of the embattled electoral commission chairperson. However commentators are calling for deep soul-searching to bring back sanity in the streets as criminal elements are taking advantage of the demonstrations to burn tyres, clash with police, loot shops, and torch government premises and property. They blame Pastor Dr Jane Ansah for alleged election fraud involving doctoring election papers with Tippex. Ansah maintains her innocence and says she will not bow to ‘mob justice’. The Constitutional Court in Lilongwe started a case on 8 August in which opposition parties have applied for the nullification of the election results and a rerun of the elections. The hearing is expected to last for 24 days. See
Sierra Leone: Blood diamonds and land corruption
09 Aug 2019
Koidu Town’s processing plants and surrounding earthworks create a rich diamond mine. Since the 1930s it has brought employment and prosperity to the region but it fell into the hands of South African mercenaries during the civil war and has been a private enterprise ever since. Koidu Limited took control of the mine in early 2000, evicting hundreds of residents from their homes leaving them destitute, to make way for the expanding diamond mine. Local leaders and land administrators did not uphold citizens’ land rights or protect their homes. The hundreds of millions of dollars generated by the extraction of diamonds continues to leave the community and the country with no benefits. Recently Transparency International has been working to expose the corporate corruption and bring justice to those evicted and living as refugees. Pray for the promises of running water, schools, clinics and recreation grounds to be honoured and the homeless to be compensated.
India: Unrest
09 Aug 2019
Jammu and Kashmir (JK) is in militarised Kashmir, an Indian region dividing India and Pakistan. On 5 August Indian authorities revoked JK’s special status that had allowed them to make their own laws, and anticipating resistance they imposed an unprecedented clampdown - shutting down the internet, media and mobile phones, barring movement and jailing Kashmiri leaders. They argued that JK’s ‘special status’ hindered integration by their Muslim majority population with the rest of Hindu India. The disputed region has had two wars fought over it by India, Pakistan and China. Narendra Modi reached out to people of JK, in the five languages spoken there, trying to instil peace on the troubled streets of a new Kashmir; which has been stripped of its constitution, flag, and hereditary rights. A historical powder keg has been ignited. The US asked Pakistan to refrain from ‘retaliatory aggression’ as airspace corridors were closed and bilateral trade suspended. China’s foreign ministry voiced ‘serious concern’ over India’s contentious move over an area claimed by both countries. See
South Africa: Johannesburg riot
09 Aug 2019
Foreign street vendors have clashed with Johannesburg police attempting to seize counterfeit goods. An armed police vehicle was pelted with stones and rubbish bins by street vendors accusing the police of terrorising them after the raid turned into violence and petrol bombing. The police retaliated by firing rubber bullets to disperse the protesters. The African Council of Hawkers and Informal Business condemns the brutality against Hawkers by the Johannesburg Metro Police and South African Police Service. SABC News reported, ‘the police were not attacking but trying to evict the illegal vendors from a congested area in town’. The ANC condemns stoning, petrol bombing and attacks on police by foreign nationals. Police are continuing with raids to remove counterfeit goods in Johannesburg and across the country. South Africa is complex. Locals resent migrant street traders, many sell contraband / fake / illegally imported goods. Many distrust corrupt authorities and there is high unemployment. Disputes quickly escalate into a riot.
Global: Five ongoing wars
09 Aug 2019
Yemen - Five years of war between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi/US backed government forces have created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. This Iran-Saudi rivalry threatens to grow as Houthis increase rocket attacks on Saudi Arabia. Syria - Assad, aided by Russia and Iran, has won the war. But killings in Idlib Province continue. Libya - A UN-recognised Government rules in Tripoli. A rival government controls much of the east. Each side has oil fields within its territory and its own central bank in this civil war. 1,000+ have been killed and 1.3 million people need urgent humanitarian help. Democratic Republic of Congo –25 years of violence has displaced 4.5 million people. A new government has not brought peace. Armed groups wreak havoc in a conflict fuelled by access to lucrative mineral reserves. A year-old Ebola outbreak has been declared a Global Health Emergency. Afghanistan –Washington is currently trying to convince the Taliban to engage directly with the Kabul government. There is a report today of a new Taliban reconciliation initiative.
Arts in mission
09 Aug 2019
We are made in the image of a creative God and our creativity can bring him glory. The arts are an asset in mission work, they are personal. Artistic expression and response prevent the Christian faith being reduced to formulas, programmes, or clichés and our complex selves respond not just to facts or emotion, but also to the sense of beauty or ugliness. The creative arts add extra dimensions to a person’s encounter with God. Humans hunger for stories and beauty and Christian arts can enlighten a dulled world, sustain Christians in trials, and spark hope in seemingly hopeless situations. The arts bind communities together. Collective sung worship, aesthetically pleasing paintings, sculptures, buildings etc.can unite people in communal devotion to God. Art can find soft places in hard hearts. Pray for the multiplication of Christian artistic endeavour throughout the world.