Myanmar: human rights crisis
30 Aug 2018
Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett described to the UN security council meeting in New York 'gut-wrenching' accounts from Myanmar of Rohingya people being tortured, raped and killed in front of their relatives. 'How can any mother endure seeing her child thrown into a fire?' she said. The UNHCR goodwill ambassador also praised Bangladesh for taking in more than 700,000 refugees, calling it 'one of the most visible and significant gestures of humanity of our time'. UN secretary general António Guterres has called for those behind the Rohingya crisis to be held accountable, urging the council to act on what has become 'one of the world’s worst humanitarian and human rights crises'. However Aung San Suu Kyi probably won't be stripped of her Nobel peace prize, despite revelations around the Rohingya crisis. The UN report said that Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings of Muslim Rohingya. See
Saudi Arabia: repression
30 Aug 2018
Five Saudi activists face possible execution for ‘participating in protests’, ‘chanting slogans hostile to the regime’, and ‘filming protests and publishing on social media’. The five, including women’s rights campaigner Israa al-Ghomgham, have spent over two years in prison. Now their deaths are demanded. Their plight reveals the emptiness of claims that Saudi Arabia is ‘liberalising’ after the death of King Abdullah and that the heir apparent, Prince Muhammad bin Salman, is a driving force behind ‘modernisation’. Over the past year, dozens of activists, clerics, journalists and intellectuals have been detained in a pattern of widespread and systematic arbitrary arrests and detention. Under current ‘reforming’ 146 people were executed in 2017, many for political dissent, which the Saudi authorities rebrand as ‘terrorism’. The regime permits women to drive, but executes them for speaking out of turn. Christians are treated as second-class citizens and persecution is an ongoing and serious problem. Apostasy is punishable by death for Christian converts who refuse to recant. See also
A was 19 when Jesus spoke to her in a dream. She dreamt that she walked into a Christian’s home and heard a magnificent voice. ‘I have never heard anything like it before or since,’ she said. ‘Later, I was very unwell for two days. I asked my friends to take me to church and there I wrote a prayer request on a piece of paper and asked the pastor to pray for me. All signs of illness disappeared. I knew Jesus was the truth and I committed my life to Him.’ A was forced to leave her family as the Christian faith is ‘Haram’ deserving death. She fled into the woods and prayed, ‘If the men in my family find me now, they will kill me. You know how angry they are at me. You know the community expects them to punish me. Show me the way.’ She was taken in by a pastor’s family and now attends a twice-weekly Bible study.
Egypt: suicide attack on church foiled
24 Aug 2018
IS terrorists have mounted a number of attacks on churches in Egypt in the last two years, but on 11 August tight security foiled an attempted suicide attack on a church in Mostorod, north of Cairo. Security guards stopped the attacker from entering the church grounds to target worshippers. The bomber then detonated his explosives about 250 metres from the church, killing himself and a passer-by. Egyptian security services subsequently made seven arrests in relation to the attack. At the time of writing, no organisation has claimed responsibility. Please pray for the friends and relatives of the deceased.
Children conditioned to gamble
24 Aug 2018
Children play online casino-type games that allow them to gamble (without money). At the same time, whether on tablets or phones, children are bombarded with ads which make gambling sound harmless fun. The combined effect of these two factors is that children are being conditioned to gamble. It is legal because of a legislation loophole that allows such games because they do not offer monetary prizes. Meanwhile illegal online gambling for under 18s has been made possible by the creation of virtual items called ‘skins’, modified weapons or costumes that players can win or buy in video games. Parent Zone, an advice service for parents and schools, is demanding action to close the loophole that allows skins to serve as a digital currency that can be gambled and cashed out on roulette wheel spins or other games of chance. There are 6bn skins in circulation, worth an estimated £10bn - potentially fuelling the rise in addictive gaming among teenagers. See
Making church more accessible
24 Aug 2018
Church buildings house congregations with a variety of physical, mental and spiritual needs. We need flexible and creative approaches when planning a service, so that adults and children with disabilities are not overlooked. Reading isn't easy for those with learning disabilities, poor eyesight or declining comprehension.Pray for churches to explore fresh Bible translations like the Easy to Read Version for those with lower reading skills and comprehension, braille, or versions designed to help the dyslexic. Our churches can sometimes be loud during praise and worship for those with autism who could experience sensory overload. The teaching can be boring or confusing for those with moderate or profound learning disabilities. Pray for more personalised services that tell God’s story creatively just for them. Pray for congregations to help with the range of needs without splitting church families into types, abilities or tastes. See
Brexit key dates
24 Aug 2018
When MPs return from their summer recess, parliamentary battles on the road to Brexit will be held on the following key dates:20 September: EU leaders discuss Brexit, possibly at a full summit. 17-18 October: EU summit deadline for agreement setting out the ‘divorce’ terms of the withdrawal agreement.A political declaration on the future relationship between the UK and the EU is also expected at this point. November: there is speculation that an emergency EU summit on Brexit might be held if a withdrawal agreement is not reached in October. 13-14 December: EU summit. If a deal has not been done by October, this is the fall-back option if the two sides still want to reach an agreement. 2019: withdrawal agreement approved by UK and the EU.
Forced to sleep in car
24 Aug 2018
Five of England’s leading letting agents are discriminating against tenants on housing benefit, a report by Shelter and the National Housing Federation has found. Stephen Tyler, who uses a wheelchair, said he was forced to sleep in his car because of such discrimination. In an undercover investigation carried out by Mystery Shoppers Ltd. 149 regional letting agent branches were called by researchers posing as prospective tenants. One in ten had a branch policy not to let to anyone on housing benefit, regardless of whether they could afford the rent. The worst offender out of the six big brands investigated was Haart, with an outright ban on housing benefit tenants in a third of the branches called (8 out of 25). The research also exposes the uphill struggle faced by housing benefit tenants. Almost half of the letting agents said they had no suitable homes or landlords willing to let to someone on housing benefit.