Maldives: army will guarantee election result
28 Sep 2018
The British high commissioner tweeted on 26 September that Maldivians were ‘looking forward to the election commission formally confirming the results of the presidential election on 23 September, so that an orderly transfer of power can begin’. However Abdulla Yameen, who was defeated, was ‘preparing to annul’ the vote that raised Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as president. The police and army said they will act to guarantee the election result. After Yameen conceded defeat on election day, political prisoners were released, exiled leaders said they planned to return, and media outlets that closed during his rule said they would re-open. His five-year term was marred by the arrest of scores of activists, opposition leaders being charged with trumped up terrorism offences, and sharp restrictions on free expression. Many are apprehensive and unwilling to believe that a leader who jailed political rivals and top judges will go willingly.
Dominica: two-way communication needed
28 Sep 2018
Last year Hurricane Maria caused damage, deaths, and disruption to Dominica’s communication networks for 65,000 people. Survivors needed to let aid providers know what they needed. When help arrived, it didn’t meet people’s needs. Dominicans described initial silence from aid providers. They were frightened by the lack of information after Maria struck. The first responders were amateur radio operators, civilian volunteers, and diaspora communities on social media. When information from national and international responders finally filtered through, it lacked detail; there were inaccuracies, communication delays, and rumours everywhere. People said they wanted to know what assistance they were entitled to and how decisions were made. But fragmented, late, confusing information in the wrong language left people in the dark. As Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut remind us of the devastation large storms can cause, there is a need to make two-way communication a priority in the aid response effort, so that more lives are saved in the future.
Saudi Arabia unstable
28 Sep 2018
Saudi Arabia’s stability is becoming fragile as the judgment and competence of Mohammed bin Salman, the young crown prince, are questioned. The kingdom has been stable since 1964, and there was a smooth transition when Salman became king in 2015. However, Prince Muqrin, next in the line of succession, was recently removed with no explanation, in favour of Mohammed bin Salman. He has a track record of impulsive and reckless decisions at home and abroad, which call into question the kingdom’s future. The changes have alienated significant parts of the family. The crown prince’s signature initiative is the war in Yemen, now in its fourth year with no end in sight. The Royal Saudi Air Force has wrecked Yemen’s feeble infrastructure and attacked civilians. One observer said Yemen is now in a death channel. See The kingdom is unpredictable, and the Trump administration financially supports the Yemen war with a blank cheque.
Calls for abortion clinic buffer zones rejected
21 Sep 2018
Calls for buffer zones to be introduced outside abortion clinics to stop patients being harassed have been rejected by the Home Secretary, who said that protest-free areas around clinics ‘would not be a proportionate response’. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his decision was a ‘shocking failure to protect women’ and should be reversed. Be Here For Me, a campaign group which opposed the ban, welcomed the commonsense decision which would mean ‘women could continue to be offered much needed help and support’. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said they were ‘delighted’ by the decision: ‘This is a massive victory for common sense, democracy and above all for the hundreds of vulnerable women who are saved from the horror of abortion at the very gates of the abortion clinic.'
India: back from the dead
21 Sep 2018
‘See, as your Jesus was beaten and killed, so have we killed your pastor now. His body is in a ditch in the forest. Find him and bury him!’ Militants had tied up the Christian pastor and beaten him until he had bloody wounds all over his body. They made him crawl up a mountain, still beating him with their sticks to force him forwards. When Tilak took his last breath, they sent for the village doctor to confirm his death and then threw his body in a ditch. There was no way he could have survived. The Christians from Tilak’s village found his body and brought it home. Laying him in a hut and paying their last respects they did not expect him to start to move and open his eyes. Tilak was alive! Some of his attackers were present when he came back to life. They must have been the most shocked of all.
Brexit: farming and the land
21 Sep 2018
Farmers are coming to terms with low crop and forage yields resulting from a long cold winter and hot dry summer. They are also worried about Brexit; many feel that farming is a long way down the list of politicians’ priorities. The main concern is the direct payments to farmers made under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (an essential part of their income as long as food is cheap). They fear new trade agreements will allow imports of cheaper food from countries that lack our high standards of animal welfare, soil protection, minimum wages, and quality goods (all of which add value and cost). Meanwhile, over the past months the National Farmers Union has been preparing reports on international trade, domestic agricultural policies, competent/flexible workforce, managing price volatility, and improving productivity. The EU withdrawal bill is now working its way through Parliament; the wheels are in motion to enact Brexit. The first agriculture bill for a generation is also on its way and must be seized as a golden opportunity to build a system that works for British farmers. See
The CofE in Parliament
21 Sep 2018
On 13 September 2018 the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Popat, ‘to ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to reassure the Jewish community over the impact of anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom.’ David Urquhart, the Bishop of Birmingham, said, ‘There is a need for constant vigilance to ensure that anti-Semitism plays no part in the life of our country’. A further report on the theology of Christian-Jewish relations is in preparation, led by the Bishop of Lichfield.
Christian Unions in schools
21 Sep 2018
Christian Unions (CUs) are groups within schools for young people to explore Christianity and develop their faith, usually meeting during a lunchtime. They are typically student-led, sometimes with teachers present, and every group is different. We can pray that this year’s CUs are powerfully outward-looking to their non-Christian friends. May many Youth Alphas be used in the CU meetings. Being a young person who wants to follow Jesus in 2018 is not easy. It is difficult just to survive in their faith through the years of change in their teens. Reaching friends for Jesus takes a serious amount of courage and character. Pray for more parents, church leaders, and youth workers to stand with these teenagers in a show of support and encouragement as they work towards transformation in their school.