The UN has raised the alarm over fighting in eastern DRC, warning that the violence could hamper next month's elections. Leila Zerrougui, a UN special representative, said that three provinces were most at risk. ‘There is a potential for armed group interference in the elections’, she said at a UN security council meeting. The area has been troubled for decades by inter-ethnic bloodshed and militia violence, a crisis that has escalated this year. DRC is also battling the worst Ebola outbreak in its history. These factors cast a shadow over the country's ability to stage elections on 23 December to succeed President Joseph Kabila.
Aasia Bibi out of prison but not yet safe?
09 Nov 2018
Pakistani Christian mother Aasia Bibi has finally been freed from prison after spending over eight years on death row for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’ against Islam, but she is not yet free. Government officials confirmed on 8 November that she had been flown to Islamabad under tight security due to radical Muslim death threats against her and her family following the news of her acquittal. While some reports stated that she had left the country, a foreign ministry spokesman said that this was not true. It is unclear what might happen to her, given that Imran Khan’s government has seemingly given way to the huge protests caused by her acquittal on 31 October, and made a deal with the party responsible for organising them. According to that agreement, Aasia would be re-tried by a new supreme court, not including the original three judges.
An eye surgeon from the Diocese of Peshawar, Khushbakht Peters, celebrates the work of the Christian hospital at Tank in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She writes: ‘Tank is a city in the south of our province. The war against terrorism has been going on for a long time here; many people, both soldiers and civilians, have lost their lives. Yet even when things were at their worst, the dedicated staff at the Christian Hospital persisted in providing healthcare services. A few years ago, even the Taliban refused to attack the hospital, as this is where all their women and children go for treatment. For the past 150 years the hospital has been following the footsteps of the Good Samaritan, providing a healing touch for those in need. They have been helping the poorest of the poor, the underprivileged of society, giving them their only chance to better health. Following the living example of the hospital, let us be obedient to our calling to the Lord, and become a blessing for many.’
Cameroon: kidnapped students freed
08 Nov 2018
Students kidnapped from a Christian boarding school in Cameroon's restive North-West region have been reunited with their parents amid joyful scenes. The 78 boys and girls and three others were seized early on 5 November in the region's capital, Bamenda. A driver was also freed, but the principal and a teacher are still being held. After being released, the students were taken in army vehicles back to the school, where their parents were waiting. One of those kidnapped, a 15-year-old girl, said she had been treated well, and that they had all had been given fruit, food and warm water to wash with. A separatist group which is fighting for independence for the two English-speaking regions, in a country where French is the most widely-spoken official language, has denied that it was responsible for the kidnapping.
UK faith leaders back 'real' living wage
08 Nov 2018
Sixty-five religious leaders have written a letter to the Times supporting the real Living Wage. They include twenty Catholic and Anglican bishops, a Roman Catholic archbishop, thirty Jewish rabbis, the president and vice-president of the Methodist Church, and the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain. The letter cites concern at low pay and in-work poverty 'which is damaging family life and robbing future generations of a secure and stable home'. It comes as celebrations are planned with 4,700 employers accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, which oversees the real Living Wage (currently £8.75) and the London Living Wage (currently £10.20) - set to rise in line with the real cost of living. Research has found that one in five workers is paid less than a real Living Wage, meaning millions are struggling to stay afloat financially as their wages don't meet the real cost of living.
A 16-year-old is reported to have been killed in front of his parents in the Tulse Hill area of London - the fifth stabbing in the city in less than a week and the 119th this year. Local vicar Rev Richard Dormandy said people in the community are struggling to come to terms with what happened. This latest victim was found unconscious in the street, but the paramedics who attended were unable to save him. ‘People carry knives in the mistaken belief that it's going to help them in a time of need. It won't help them - it might actually lead them to murder someone. The police and community organisations, many Christian or church-based, are seeking to address the situation’, said Rev Dormandy. It is time now for Christians to be lights in the darkness. You are invited to fight violence with prayer and to join the ‘Peace on Our Streets’ campaign: see
21 Vietnamese found in lorry, driver arrested
08 Nov 2018
A Romanian man has been charged with people trafficking after 21 Vietnamese stowaways, including children as young as 12, were found inside a refrigerated lorry at Newhaven. The eleven children were passed into the care of social services, but one has since absconded, a spokesman for East Sussex County Council said. The children were said to be ‘fine’ and did not require medical treatment. After the ten adults were interviewed by immigration officials, two were removed from the UK. Following his arrest, the driver was charged with assisting unlawful entry to the country, and was remanded in custody to appear at Lewes Crown Court at a later date.
A UK hospital is investigating a patient's death after the UK's first robot-assisted heart valve surgery. The pioneering robot-assisted operation ended in catastrophe, with a cascade of failures causing the death of retired conductor Stephen Pettitt at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. Lead surgeon Sukumaran Nair and his assistant could hardly hear each other due to a ‘tinny’ sound emanating from the robot console Nair was operating. He had to shout to warn his colleague that the robot was stitching up the valve incorrectly - and then shout again when he saw the robot knock one of the surgical assistants' arms. The patient's aorta was damaged. As events spiralled out of control, the two robotics experts who should have been on hand to take over in a crisis could not be found, having already gone home. The surgeons abandoned the robot and began open chest surgery, but by this point the patient’s heart was functioning ‘very poorly’. He died days later of multiple organ failure. The coroner said it was ‘more likely than not’ that the patient would have survived conventional open-heart surgery.