South Africa has its third finance minister in less than a week. Pravin Gordhan was rushed into the position on Sunday night after days of confusion. Finance minister Nhanhla Nene was attempting to rein in state spending, including a controversial nuclear deal, but was fired last week and replaced with David van Rooyen, a little-known backbencher with no experience of working in the national government. The rand fell to a record low. Angry South Africans began planning marches on the presidential offices. On Sunday Mr Zuma removed Mr van Rooyen (after only four days in office) and announced that Mr Gordhan, an experienced ex-finance minister, had replaced him. It will be difficult to repair the reputational damage done by this reshuffle of one of the government’s most important positions.

Earlier this year, Prayer Alert readers were asked to pray for Hyeon-Soo Lim, the leader of the 3,000-member Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto. After hundreds of humanitarian trips, he was detained last January for ‘intending to overthrow the North Korean government and set up a new religious state’. Detaining Christian foreigners is somewhat of a North Korean tradition, but accusing them of planning to set up a theocracy is new. We are sad to announce that North Korea has sentenced him to life in prison. According to the official Korean Central News Agency, state prosecutors argued for the death penalty against Lim in Wednesday’s 90-minute trial. The defence begged for mercy, pointing to Lim as a fellow-Korean and that he readily confessed to his crimes. The Canadian government has severed consular ties with North Korea, but Sweden has an embassy in Pyongyang and does some diplomatic work for Canada.

Over half of US state governors closed their state’s borders to Syrian refugees after the Paris terrorist attacks, but Christians are defying orders. Their faith tells them to open their doors to the stranger. In Georgia, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church has resettled a Syrian family, despite Gov Nathan Deal. The Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis defied Gov Mike Pence by welcoming a Syrian family last Monday. In Ohio, Westminster Presbyterian Church will accept up to three refugee families from Syria or elsewhere. The Refugee Services of Texas, an affiliate of several Christian refugee organisations, settled six Syrian refugees in Houston and expects to settle nine more soon, despite Gov Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz, who proposed legislation that would allow governors to reject refugees deemed to be a security risk. The CEO of Refugee Services of Texas said, ‘We reassure all Texans that refugees are receiving a warm and compassionate welcome from staff and volunteers.’

After days of nonstop negotiations in Paris, nations united around a final document that is effectively a blueprint for how the world will tackle global warming. Everything from greenhouse gas targets to finance has been discussed. The document contains a number of unresolved items, which will need to be addressed in the future. Scientists have cautiously welcomed the text. An atmospheric consultant said at the time of the document’s preparation, ‘Perhaps some of the more ambitious options have not reached the final document, but the fact that these targets are being seriously discussed is hugely positive.’ See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35084374