New satellite images of the two most notorious North Korean prison camps show undeniable proof that the government, while persistently denying the existence of such camps, continues to upgrade the torturous facilities that appear to be ‘very much in working order.’ A new report from Amnesty International showed images of the two camps that differed from those released by the UN in 2014. In one camp there are six additional guard posts, while the old guard posts have also been maintained. These changes ‘strongly suggest that Camp 25 remains an active detention facility.’ The images also revealed ongoing agricultural activities from 2014 to 2016, with people working the land. In the past it was recorded that prisoners worked for 12 to 15 hours per day, receiving very little food. They suffered malnutrition, lost their teeth, their gums turned black and their bones became weak.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have fled fires: 32,000 acres have been burnt, along with hundreds of homes and businesses. November has been very dry, with strong winds. Forest fires of similar magnitude, or worse, have recently been raging every year throughout the Mediterranean basin. Professor Carmel (of environmental, water and agricultural engineering) said, ‘Climate change is causing things we haven’t seen before.’ Russian, Palestinian and American first-responders are helping Israeli fire-fighters. In the USA many months of drought brought weeks of wildfires in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, destroying hundreds of homes and sending thousands through ‘hell-like’ escapes. 4,000 firefighters were deployed to extinguish dozens of large fires all burning at the same time. Yesterday, winds of 70 mph intensified multiple fires in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and fires are spreading into communities and knocking down power lines. See also http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.755665

Yaser, Saheb and Mohammed Reza were arrested at a house church in May and charged with ‘action against national security’. They were released on bail after weeks in detention. Their pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani, and his wife Fatemeh (Tina) Pasandideh were also arrested but not detained. However, Yousef was later charged for the same crime. All four were summoned to the revolutionary court in Rasht in October, but the judge didn’t issue a verdict. The second hearing is on 14 December. In addition, Yaser, Saheb and Mohammed face charges related to consumption of alcohol (they drank wine during a communion service). Drinking alcohol is not illegal for Christians, but is prohibited for Muslims. The charges against Christian converts reflect the view that a Muslim cannot change religion. After a court hearing on 10 September, they were each sentenced to eighty lashes, but they are appealing this verdict. The appeal hearing is scheduled for 9 February 2017.

Marco Chacon read, ‘bucket of losers trending online’, and freaked out. It came from a story he had posted on his website about a ‘secret transcript’ of Hillary Clinton’s speech given to Goldman Sachs, which claimed Clinton called Bernie Sanders’ supporters a ‘bucket of losers.’ Once posted, the story went viral and was picked up on Fox News - the scoop of a lifetime - but Chacon had made the whole thing up. Chacon said, ‘This is ridiculous, things had gone way too far.’ Fox News issued an apology for reporting it. Chacon’s story is an example of fake news making real news headlines. Lies and fabrications of mainstream media are not ‘sloppy journalism’: they are intended to mislead. As intercessors we usually have the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other hand (or watch the news on TV). We need to be aware of the risk of clever fake news.