Moqtada al Sadr, the Muslim Shiite cleric, and his Marching Towards Reform alliance with Iraq's communists look to be in first position coming out of the national polls.The elections rejected the Iraqi elite that has run the country since the ousting of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Running a campaign highly critical of both the USA and Iran, the controversial cleric and militia leader has struck a chord with millions of poor Shia voters. Only 44 percent of voters turned out, the lowest in the four elections since the removal of Saddam. During the next two weeks, the various parties will jockey for position as they seek to form a governing coalition.
North Korea: summit in jeopardy?
18 May 2018
On 16 May, President Trump was asked whether his summit with North Korea would still take place after the communist regime had threatened to call it off. ‘We haven't seen anything, we haven't heard anything’, Trump said. When asked if Kim was bluffing when he threatened to cancel the planned summit on 12 June, he replied, ‘We'll see what happens’. Pyongyang’s statement blamed the annual military drills between the US and South Korea that had started two days earlier, adding: ‘The USA must carefully contemplate the fate of the planned summit amid the provocative military ruckus that it is causing. We will keenly monitor how the authorities react.’ China has urged North Korea to go forward with the summit. Its foreign ministry says the two countries should make sure that the meeting runs as planned and yields ‘substantial outcomes’.
DRC: Ebola outbreak
18 May 2018
The Democratic Republic of Congo is braced for a gruesome battle, this time against the deadly virus Ebola. Congolese authorities declared the outbreak in the northwest region on 8 May; so far three have died from the disease. The number of reported cases is 42, according to a World Health Organisation tally. A health ministry spokeswoman said that 5,400 doses of vaccine had arrived from Geneva; they would be kept in Kinshasa until refrigerated transport could be guaranteed. The WHO said the risk of the disease spreading was high, and announced it was preparing for the ‘worst case scenario’. Its chief executive visited the affected area last weekend, saying he hoped for a ‘better way out’ of the latest outbreak. On 16 May Oxfam pledged an initial £50,000 to fight the spread of the disease. Ebola is one of the world's most notorious diseases, being both highly infectious and extremely lethal. See also:
An excerpt from ‘30 Days of Prayer for Muslims’
18 May 2018
Long ago, wise men in Eastern Arabia noticed a star burning brightly in the night sky and set out to see where it would lead them. At the end of their journey they found Jesus and presented him with costly gifts - one of which was frankincense. Frankincense trees still bloom today, particularly in the Arabian peninsula. At the centre of this region is a city that is home to six unreached people groups - each with their own specific language or dialect, with unique customs and traditions, divided into tribes and families. As different as each group is, they hold certain things in common: their unifying faith in Islam, their abiding love of camels, and the daily use of frankincense. Every day after evening prayers, the city is permeated by the sweet smell of frankincense as families heat it in burners and carry it throughout their homes. Wise men from Arabia once offered Jesus frankincense: today, He is offering the lasting healing, cleansing and deliverance they seek.
Indonesia: one family bombs three churches
18 May 2018
IS has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings in three Indonesian churches, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens of others. According to police, the suicide bombers were all members of the same family: a mother and two daughters aged nine and 12 detonated their bombs in one church, while the father and two sons, aged 16 and 18, targeted two other churches. The Santa Maria Catholic Church was attacked first, then the Surabaya Centre Pentecostal Church and the Diponegoro Indonesian Christian Church. The fact that a family, including children and teenagers, carried out these attacks is part of what makes them so shocking. A family should be a place of love and safety - and yet this one was used to inspire hatred and violence. But there is another family that we are a part of: God’s worldwide family of the church. Our brothers and sisters in Surabaya need our prayers and support today. Many are grieving, many are injured, many are scared.
Hawaii: major eruption 'imminent'
18 May 2018
Fears are growing that Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is heading for a major eruption. The US Geological Survey has raised the alert from orange to red, meaning that a major volcanic eruption is imminent or very likely. The volcano is one of the world's most active, and its activity level has increased substantially over the past twelve days. A 300m-long fissure has opened on the volcano's side, releasing more lava and gas and sending a plume of ash and smoke as high as 12,000 feet. There were reports of ash and vog (volcanic air pollution) falling as far as 18 miles downwind, the USGS said. Dozens of homes and swathes of farmland in that area have been destroyed. US president Donald Trump declared it to be a disaster on Friday, following a request from Hawaii's governor, David Ige.
Progress towards ending child marriages
11 May 2018
One of the UN’s sustainable development goals is to end child marriages by 2030, and UNICEF reported this month that approximately 25 million child marriages have been prevented in the past decade, with a substantial drop in the number of child marriages worldwide. While this is a great improvement, progress still needs to be accelerated significantly . At current rates, more than 150 million additional girls will marry before their 18th birthday by 2030. Without far more intensive and sustained action now from all parts of society, hundreds of millions more girls will suffer profound, permanent, and utterly unnecessary harm.
North Korea frees three men ahead of summit
11 May 2018
Three US citizens have been set free from prison by North Korea, according to a tweet on 9 May from US president Donald Trump. This is viewed as a goodwill gesture before a historic summit between Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un. Mr Trump greeted the men when they returned with secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who was in Pyongyang to arrange a date and location for the planned talks. Missionary Kim Hak-song, humanitarian worker Tony Kim, and pastor Kim Dong-chul boarded the plane ‘without assistance’, the White House said. They had been jailed for alleged anti-state activities and placed in labour camps.