On 16 June the Saudi crown prince said he would ‘deal with’ threats to his people and vital interests following attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. America blamed Iran for the attack. The UK promised to deploy 100 Royal Marines ‘within weeks’ to ships operating from Bahrain. On 17 June Iran said its stockpile of uranium would soon exceed the agreed 2015 levels, and EU ministers said they were unconvinced that Iran was behind the attack and wanted more evidence and UN investigations. On 18 June the US supplied further images to back up their accusations, and promised 1,000 troops to the region in response to ‘hostile Iranian behaviour.’ On 19 June, forty workers were evacuated from an oil-drilling site in southern Iraq after it came under rocket fire. On 20 June Iran said it was ready for war after US confirmed that an American drone had been shot down in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz. See

Amnesty International reported that the Saudi public prosecutor has sought the death penalty for Murtaja Qureiris for offences and participating in protests when he was ten years old. This prompted a global outcry in support of the teenager. Riyadh has come under mounting international scrutiny over its human rights record since a journalist’s murder and the detention of women's rights activists who are still on trial. In April, 37 men were beheaded for ‘terrorism’ crimes. The UN said most of them may not have had fair trials, and at least three were minors when sentenced. We can give thanks for the increasing pressure that is being put on the Saudi government by Amnesty, the UN, and the wider international community to release imprisoned human rights activists. Ask God to use this pressure also to bring freedom to Christians who are in prison for their faith.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo made the long-feared jump across borders with three cases confirmed in Uganda, including the death of a five-year-old boy. Concern has been mounting that this would happen, underscored by an increase in the number of cases in recent weeks. The World Health Organisation and Ugandan health authorities said the Congolese boy had travelled to Uganda with his family. The other two confirmed cases are the boy's three-year-old brother and his grandmother, 50. They are in isolation at a Ugandan Ebola treatment unit. Eight people who had been in contact with the family are being traced. The Congo outbreak is the second largest and second deadliest in history. The Wellcome Trust said, ’This epidemic is in a truly frightening phase and shows no sign of stopping any time soon.’ WHO is expected to come under pressure to declare an international health emergency.

China’s president Xi Jinping visited North Korea on 20/21 June. It is the first visit by a Chinese president in over a decade. While the world ponders Korea’s denuclearisation issue, the plight of trafficked victims from North Korea to China is being ignored. Women and girls from the reclusive state are being taken to China and forced to work as prostitutes or sold as brides, and Beijing is doing little to stop it. Fleeing a patriarchal regime of tyranny and poverty, they are passed through the hands of traffickers, brokers, and criminal organisations before being pulled into China’s sex trade. Pray for sexual slavery and trafficking to be topics of conversation  between Xi and Kim. Xi is also expected to attend the G20 summit in Osaka the following week. Pray for a positive meeting between him and Donad Trump there.

Boko Haram warned Christians, ‘You have three days to go or you will be killed!’ So rural families fled to Diffa city. Islamist militias have killed dozens and displaced thousands in the Diffa region of Niger, according to UN officials. There are an estimated 200,000 displaced people in Niger:  those displaced internally, and also many who are fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Niger’s church ministers working close to zones of conflict are now taking refuge with other Christians in the relative safety of Niamey, the capital. This means that no minister now lives in the premises of the church in these dangerous areas. An observer said, ‘I do not know how the services take place every Sunday, but the churches are not closed’. Earlier this month the governor of the Diffa region ordered churches to close due to the threat of terrorist attacks.

On 17 June buildings collapsed, trapping people underneath in a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in the south-west Chinese province of Sichuan. Thirteen people have died so far, and 4,000+ people have been relocated from damaged and destroyed homes. Landslides damaged major roads. Over 500 firefighters were deployed to the area, and rescue teams are bringing in 5,000 tents, 10,000 folding cots, and other supplies. See  Earlier this year a thousand residents gathered outside government buildings in Sichuan province, blaming recent earthquakes on shale gas exploration in the area. The county subsequently suspended fracking operations. The Seismological Society of America attributed a 5.7 quake in December 2018 and a 5.3 quake in January 2019 to fracking activities in the region. Quake-prone Sichuan has extensive fracking operations, accounting for about a third of China's total shale gas production. Chinese geologists said that over-development of hydropower resources has undermined the seismic stability of Sichuan. Some blame the 2008 catastrophic earthquake on large-scale damming.

Facebook will launch a Swiss-based cryptocurrency and payment system, called Libra, which could ‘reinvent money’. It is a huge political gamble, but the rewards could be enormous. Facebook is asking its 2.5 billion users and government regulators to entrust it with a power that governments jealously protect - access to money. Currently ‘Big Tech’ has become powerful but is not doing enough to protect the privacy of users or put a stop to fake news. Nevertheless it wants to launch a project that could give Silicon Valley the ability to track not just what people say and like but how they spend their money. If Libra overcomes political and regulatory storms and develops trustworthy technology and financial stability, it would attract 1.7 billion people around the world who currently lack access to traditional bank accounts. It is claimed that they could use their smartphone to make payments, as inexpensively as sending a text message.

Little Worship Company is a new project which offers a range of co-viewing products designed to inspire and delight children aged 0 - 7 years, while helping families worship and discover God together. Finding the right resources that will equip children on this important journey to build their relationship with God can be challenging. The company’s beautifully crafted products are designed to support both children and grown-ups, with a range of inspiring and entertaining media, built on a solid Bible curriculum. A 32-lesson pack can be used as individual sessions, or split and delivered over a number of weeks. It is designed to support educators, children’s workers and volunteers in delivering highly engaging, interactive children’s sessions in Sunday schools, family services, or school assemblies.