Qatar has vowed it will not surrender its foreign policy in an escalating row with other Arab states over its alleged connections to extremism, which it denies. Its foreign minister has said he favours diplomacy to resolve the crisis, and that there is no military solution. Meanwhile, Qatar's Al Jazeera network said it was suffering a cyber-attack; it has been in the crosshairs in the current dispute, and other Gulf countries blocked it in May. There were also reports of hacking attempts on Qatar’s state-run TV station. Saudi Arabia and other states cut travel and diplomatic links with the country on 5 June. The emir of Kuwait is trying to mediate the row, carrying out shuttle diplomacy between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Ramadan is a time of increased security tensions, particularly on Fridays when hundreds of thousands of people gather on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for prayer. Lord, give wisdom to Israel’s security forces during this month to know how to handle the emotions of multitudes of Muslims, often stirred up against Israel by the preaching of their leaders. Give alertness to those who are guarding against people intent on doing evil acts of terror, especially after many days of high alert during President Trump’s visit. Protect security personnel from murderous attacks against them. Guard them against ‘alertness-fatigue’, tiredness, hot weather, and mobile phone distractions. Give police, government and security guards discernment of danger and decisiveness to act when needed. Pray that Jerusalem, ‘the city of the Great King’ (Psalm 48:2), will be kept safe. ‘Like birds flying about, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem’ (Isaiah 31:5).

Unicef reports that cholera cases in Yemen could quadruple in the next month to 300,000. A runaway epidemic is killing someone nearly every hour and threatening the lives of thousands, says Oxfam. There is an urgent call going out for massive aid efforts and an immediate ceasefire to allow health and aid workers to tackle the outbreak. The World Health Organisation said that between 27 April and 3 June, 676 people died and over 86,000 were suspected of having the disease. Yemen’s neglected medical reporting system and the widespread nature of the epidemic mean that these figures are likely to be under-reporting the full scale of the crisis. The crisis follows two years of war which have decimated water and sanitation systems, restricted imports, and left millions one step away from famine.

On 3 June, while liberating western Mosul, Iraqi troops discovered a huge underground prison with dozens of detainees from Anbar province. The detainees were treated medically and then transferred to another place to check their identities. The UN estimates the number of civilians stranded at the battlefield in the old city at 200,000. They will be suffering severe shortages in food and medicine.