France bans children’s beauty contests to curb sexualisation
France has banned child beauty pageants in a bid to curb the ‘hyper-sexualisation’ of children. The new law decrees it illegal for anyone to organise a beauty pageant for under 16-year-olds, with a penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine equivalent to £25,000. French Senator Chantal Jouanno, who authored the report ‘Against Hyper-Sexualisation: A New Fight For Equality’, proposed an amendment to an equality bill introduced by women’s minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem. Senator Jouanno said: ‘Let’s not let our daughters think from such a young age that they will be judged according to their appearance. Let’s not let commercial interest impact on social interest’. The amendment received 196 votes for and 146 against. But an amendment pushing for better regulation of child models was rejected. Senator Jouanno was said to be particularly concerned about a Vogue magazine shoot in 2010 which featured provocative pictures of a ten-year-old girl.
Pray: that this move will lead to children being freed from sexualisation. (1Pet.3:3-4)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/france-bans-childrens-beauty-contests-to-curb-sexualisation/
France bans children’s beauty contests to curb sexualisation
France has banned child beauty pageants in a bid to curb the ‘hyper-sexualisation’ of children. The new law decrees it illegal for anyone to organise a beauty pageant for under 16-year-olds, with a penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine equivalent to £25,000. French Senator Chantal Jouanno, who authored the report ‘Against Hyper-Sexualisation: A New Fight For Equality’, proposed an amendment to an equality bill introduced by women’s minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem. Senator Jouanno said: ‘Let’s not let our daughters think from such a young age that they will be judged according to their appearance. Let’s not let commercial interest impact on social interest’. The amendment received 196 votes for and 146 against. But an amendment pushing for better regulation of child models was rejected. Senator Jouanno was said to be particularly concerned about a Vogue magazine shoot in 2010 which featured provocative pictures of a ten-year-old girl.
Pray: that this move will lead to children being freed from sexualisation. (1Pet.3:3-4)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/france-bans-childrens-beauty-contests-to-curb-sexualisation/
NIGERIA: At least 160 dead this week in terrorist related violence
NIGERIA: At least 160 dead this week in terrorist related violence At least 160 people have died in terrorist related violence this week in Nigeria's Yobe and Borno States. According to a news release from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), on the evening of 18 Sept, Boko Haram members armed with Kalashnikovs, rocket launchers and homemade bombs are reported to have stormed Yadi Buni Town in Yobe State. They set fire to the local government headquarters and the home of the divisional police head, whose wife was burned to death inside the building. The son of the Yobe Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) youth leader is also said to have been killed, while one soldier and nine sect members died in an ensuing shootout. On 17 Sept, 143 commuters were killed and several abducted when well armed Boko Haram gunmen ambushed vehicles along the busy Maiduguri to Damaturu Express Way in the early evening. Travellers were reportedly asked to produce their ID cards, then lined up and shot.
Pray: that ways will be found to bring about an end to the hostilities and peace to this troubled nation. (Ps.7:9)
Pakistan: Church blast kills dozens
A twin-suicide bombing outside a church in Peshawar in Pakistan has killed at least 80 people, in one of the worst attacks on Christians in the country. Two bombers blew themselves up as worshippers were coming out of the city's historic All Saints church after attending Sunday Mass, police say. Relatives of the victims gathered at the scene to protest against the government's failure to protect them. Militants linked to Pakistani Taliban have said they carried out the bombing. The group, Jandullah, said it was in retaliation for US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal northwest. Sunday's twin attacks targeted Peshawar's historic All Saints Church as hundreds of worshippers were attending Mass. Witnesses said they heard two blasts, the second more powerful than the first. More than 120 people were wounded in the bombings. It is the latest in a series of attacks on Pakistani Christians, who represent about 1.6% of the country's largely Muslim population.
Pray: against the evil that controls the minds of those who carry out these bombings. (Pr.14:32)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24193734
Kenya: Al-Shabab: A war of vengeance?
A gun battle inside a shopping centre in the Kenyan capital Nairobi has left at least 68 people dead and more than 150 wounded. Twenty-four hours later, an operation to secure the Westgate centre, one of the city's most exclusive shopping malls, was ongoing. The Somali group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, demanding that Kenya pull troops back from its neighbouring country, where al-Shabab is fighting against the government. Its full name is Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahideen - or the Movement of Jihadi Youth. It was formed in 2006 as an off-shoot of the Islamic Courts Union, a religious alliance which controlled large parts of Somalia, before being driven out. With as many as 9,000 fighters, al-Shabab has since fought a succession of foreign forces in Somalia from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. The attack in Nairobi
Pray: for all those who have lost loved ones and friends in this atrocious incident. (Pr.28:5)
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2013/09/20139236528364142.html
Philippines: The nightmare continues
A humanitarian crisis has been officially declared by the Philippine government in Zamboanga City, Mindanao, in the south of the country, after displaced civilians caught in the crossfire ballooned to 115,000 who are now housed in temporary evacuation centres in the city. Around 300 rebels, part of a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), arrived by boat in the city early in the morning of September 9th, and had wanted to raise their flag above Zamboanga's city hall, military officials said. They then took siege of the city and held more than 170 hostages, most of whom have since been released. The Philippine soldiers and rebels, who are engaged in this standoff, have seen that the violent crossfire has already killed more than 70 rebels and 15 government troops in the ongoing battle. (See Prayer Alert 37-2013)
Pray: for a breakthrough that will bring a resolution to this conflict. (Ps.55:9)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24222760)
Syria: ‘No military solution' to conflict, say church leaders
Church leaders from Syria, Russia, the United States and Europe have said that a political solution is the only way to secure peace in Syria. They are urging ‘public outcry’ against the ongoing civil war that has killed at least 100,000 people and forced two million to flee from their homes. The comments follow a meeting at the Ecumenical Institute in Geneva, Switzerland with Kofi Annan, the former United Nations general secretary, and Lakhdar Brahimi, UN-Arab League joint representative for Syria. The meeting was organised by the World Council of Churches to discuss the role of churches in moving Syria towards a peace agreement. Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary, said peace efforts ‘must not fail now when thousands of people have already died’. He said the international community and all parties to the conflict in Syria had to take responsibility to make peace talks successful and that churches must support the process.
Pray: that the current moves to bring peace to this horrific conflict will be successful. (Ps.37:37)
Egypt: Army storms Islamist-held town
Troops last week stormed a central Egyptian town held for over a month by hardline supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi who had launched a campaign against Christian residents, officials said. Soldiers and police entered the town of Delga in the central Minya province just after dawn, searching homes and arresting several Islamists, a security official said. All 32 entrances to the village were shut and a daytime curfew imposed as authorities recaptured the town of 120,000 people, held for 31 days by Morsi loyalists, according to the official MENA news agency. Officials said Islamists controlling the town were behind several attacks on churches around the Minya province. The raid on the town comes amid a massive crackdown on Islamists following the military's ouster of president Morsi on July 3, which plunged the country deeper into turmoil. In mid-August police and soldiers broke up two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo in an operation that killed hundreds.
Pray: for the ongoing situation in Egypt and that the authorities will find ways of bringing a meaningful peace. (Ps.122:7)
Pakistan earthquake: Hundreds dead in Balochistan
A powerful earthquake has killed at least 250 people in Pakistan's remote south-west province of Balochistan. The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on Tuesday afternoon at a depth of 20km (13 miles) north-east of Awaran. Many houses were flattened and thousands of people have spent the night in the open. After the quake, a small island appeared off the coast near the port of Gwadar. The new island is reported to be about 200m (656ft) long, 100m (328ft) wide and 20m (65m) high. The region is prone to earthquakes. The latest quake was so powerful it was felt as far away as Karachi, Hyderabad, and India's capital, Delhi. Entire villages are reported to have been flattened in the impoverished and sparsely-populated district of Awaran. Balochistan government spokesman Jan Buledi said most of the fatalities were in Awaran town and the surrounding villages, and he warned that the death toll could rise. At least 340 people have been injured.
Pray: for all those who have been affected by this earthquake and that relief will reach them quickly.
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