Italy: Mediterranean journeys from Libya
26 May 2017
Italy's coastguard reports that at least 34 migrants (some of them children) have drowned off the Libyan coast. The overcrowded boat was carrying about 500 migrants when it listed, sending about 200 people into the water, and triggering a frantic search for survivors. Good weather has prompted an increase in the number of migrants leaving Libya for Italy. The waters are busy with Italian and Libyan coastguard boats, humanitarian vessels, and even scavenger boats hoping to recover abandoned equipment. An NGO reported a Libyan coastguard vessel firing gunshots as it conducted a rescue. The boat was already carrying migrants, presumably picked up from other vessels, who panicked and threw themselves overboard, only to be shot at. ‘We cannot say whether and how many dead there were,’ the 25-year-old captain, named Jonas, was quoted as saying. ‘We had to be careful not to get a bullet ourselves. We are speechless against this crude violence.’
Afghanistan: warlord joins the government
26 May 2017
A missionary writes, ‘Thank you for praying for our recent International Board meeting (see ). Board members and country directors are freshly united in our vision to see unreached people groups reached with the Good News. We ask for further prayers for an increasingly dangerous situation. The Taliban now control 50% of Afghanistan, and the former Hisbi-i-Islami leader Gulbadin Hekmatyar is ‘working with’ the Afghan government. He is nicknamed the Butcher of Kabul, for killing thousands of Afghans. At a rally in Kabul he asked his Taliban ‘brothers’ to join the peace process while outside the stadium Afghans demonstrated against him. This sad decision by parts of the government has caused further division in the government and the people.’ The inclusion of Hekmatyar in the volatile political powderkeg of Afghan politics is a gamble. He has never been a team player, and has never worked for anyone else. The influence of the Taliban, their allies and IS needs to be completely broken.
Egypt: Jesus and tourism
26 May 2017
Egypt’s tourism minister recently met Vatican tourism officials in Rome, to discuss the idea of expanding the country’s religious tourism map by adding the route that Jesus, Mary and Joseph are believed to have used when fleeing Palestine. Egypt aims to boost an industry that has been hit hard since the 2011 revolution, and hopes that highlighting its religious heritage will attract many visitors. In 2005, there was a plan to feature the holy family's connection and journey, but it never got off the ground. A committee was established last year to revive it, but little has been accomplished so far. Tourism has long been a major source of income for the country. Historically Egypt was a sign of hope, refuge and help. When the region suffered famine, Jacob and his sons went to Egypt. When Jesus was persecuted, he was taken there. Pray for Jesus, not tourism, to bring hope to Egypt today.
Kenya: police abuse of power
26 May 2017
Praise God for the release of a new advocacy song by a Kenyan artist calling for an end to police abuse of power. The International Justice Mission (IJM) has been working with partners in the human rights community in Kenya to raise awareness of police abuse and create public demand for change. IJM hosted an event for the launch of the song, which was covered widely by local media and highlighted the need for radical transformation in the police service. Please pray that this support will continue to grow, and that we will see a response from Kenya’s leaders to bring this abuse to an end. Last year a television channel broadcast shocking images of police descending on protesters with water cannons, batons and tear gas, beating and bloodying people. Kenya's police chief called for internal investigations, but not much has changed. See
Israel: Netanyahu sees hope for peace
26 May 2017
This week, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope for the possibility of a diplomatic resolution with the Palestinians, and with the Arab world in general, under Donald Trump’s tutelage. Speaking at a festive dinner at his residence in Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu told Mr Trump that he looked forward to working closely with him to advance peace in the region - ‘because you have noted so succinctly that common dangers are turning former enemies into partners’. Mr Netanyahu was referring to the reported change in the stance of Sunni Arab states in the region, who are shifting away from animosity towards Israel towards a possible working relationship.
Ukraine: media crisis
26 May 2017
The Russian media is repeatedly criticised for the use of misleading images, false narratives, misrepresentation, suppression and fabricated news stories when it comes to Ukraine. A regular claim has been that the Ukrainian army is committing ‘genocide’ against Russian-speakers who state that they strongly desire Russia to ‘protect’ them against Kiev. The media battle between the two countries has not gone away: neither has spasmodic cross-border fighting, regardless of ‘ceasefires’. On 15 May, a decree banned access to the country's most popular social networking sites and other Russian-based web businesses. This was described as a ‘national security measure’, part of economic sanctions against Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has sent weapons, equipment, and troops to support and fuel the separatist side in the war in eastern Ukraine.
Global: terrorism and prayer
26 May 2017
On Wednesday in Iraq, an IS booby-trap killed a family of twenty-three, including pregnant women and children. In Indonesia, two suicide bombs detonated outside a bus terminal, killing three guards. In Somalia, five people were killed by a Shahid suicide bomber, and in Syria children were among fifteen civilians killed by IS. Last Saturday Islamic terrorists opened fire on Nigerian villagers, killing at least seven. The list goes on. Manchester brought terrorism to the UK, but so far this year there have been 496 terrorist attacks globally, with 3,292 fatalities. We can’t remove terrorism, but God can change hearts, situations and nations. He can use situations and circumstances in Iran, Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia, Bangladesh and other nations being shaken to achieve His purposes. Terrorism is a big concept, but our God is bigger.
Sudan: government campaign against Christians
26 May 2017
Recently, members of the Sudan Church of Christ gathered for worship in the Khartoum suburb of Soba al Aradi. Before the service began, a bulldozer rumbled toward the church and demolished it, the last church still standing in the area. In 2011, the Sudanese government demolished twelve churches in the same suburb, as part of its announced plan to destroy 27 churches. Sudan’s president, Umar al-Bashir, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes. Nevertheless, he continues his campaign to rid Sudan of Christians, demolishing church buildings around Khartoum and routinely bombing Christian villages in the Nuba Mountains to the south. Pray for pastors who are experiencing persecution and have had property confiscated, for Christians in various prisons throughout Sudan, and for Christian communities experiencing bombing campaigns in their schools and hospitals.