Spain: PM 'is behaving like Galtieri
Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo accused Spain’s prime minister of behaving like Argentine dictator General Galtieri as Spanish officials again blocked the border. Fabian Picardo said Mariano Rajoy was fuelling the crisis to distract from his domestic troubles - just as the military junta in Buenos Aires did by ordering the invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982. The minister said, ‘What is happening in the background is that the Spanish government has been engulfed in allegations of corruption which affect Mr Rajoy himself.’ Mr Rajoy had to deny accepting illegal payments from a political slush fund while the country’s economy is a disaster area. Mr Picardo said a British prime minister facing the same allegations as Mr Rajoy ‘wouldn’t last five minutes and yet in Spain Mr Rajoy remains comfortable in his post trying to create diversions like this one’. The director general for foreign affairs at Spain’s foreign ministry, upped the rhetoric further by telling Channel 4 News, ‘We are confident that in the end that we will have Gibraltar as part of Spain.’
Pray: against cross border reckless reactions and for positive negotiation asking God to reveal and remove any hidden ungodly agendas. (Ps.37:1)
Spain and France bust people-smuggling ring
Scores of people have been arrested in Spain and France in a crackdown on a gang smuggling Chinese nationals into Europe and the United States. Spanish police said on Saturday that 51 people had been arrested in Spain, with another 24 arrests were reported in France, following a two-year joint investigation. The bosses of the operation were arrested in Barcelona. The Spanish interior ministry said the gang charged up to $66,700 to transport mainly Chinese and Malaysian nationals to the US, Britain, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Turkey. Some of the people trafficked ended up in the sex trade, the ministry said. The gang's main European hub was Barcelona airport. It allegedly used the city as a stopping-off point for Chinese while false documents were prepared. A total of 81 false passports from South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Japan were recovered in raids, as well as fake immigration stamps, Chinese and European currencies, and weapons including a handgun.
Pray: for the continued success of the authorities in bringing those to justice who organize such crimes. (Ps.11:7)
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/08/201381013145843784.html
Spain and France bust people-smuggling ring
Scores of people have been arrested in Spain and France in a crackdown on a gang smuggling Chinese nationals into Europe and the United States. Spanish police said on Saturday that 51 people had been arrested in Spain, with another 24 arrests were reported in France, following a two-year joint investigation. The bosses of the operation were arrested in Barcelona. The Spanish interior ministry said the gang charged up to $66,700 to transport mainly Chinese and Malaysian nationals to the US, Britain, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Turkey. Some of the people trafficked ended up in the sex trade, the ministry said. The gang's main European hub was Barcelona airport. It allegedly used the city as a stopping-off point for Chinese while false documents were prepared. A total of 81 false passports from South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Japan were recovered in raids, as well as fake immigration stamps, Chinese and European currencies, and weapons including a handgun.
Pray: for the continued success of the authorities in bringing those to justice who organize such crimes. (Ps.11:7)
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/08/201381013145843784.html
NIGERIA: Progress against Boko Haram
Abba Moro, Nigeria's interior minister, said the army is making progress in the war against Boko Haram despite the killing of 44 people in a mosque on Sunday. He dismissed the attack as ‘desperate’ and ‘isolated’ telling the BBC ‘The security agencies of Nigeria have been able to push the Boko Haram sect from their major strongholds.’ Thousands of extra soldiers have been sent to the north-eastern states since a state of emergency was announced in May. On Monday 32 militants, 2 soldiers and a policeman were killed in clashes with Boko Haram in Borno state when troops successfully repelled terrorists who attacked a military base. We are asked to continue to pray that Boko Haram’s plans to establish an Islamic caliphate in the country will fail. More than 2,000 people have died since terrorists commenced killings and bombings mostly in the northern part of the country. See also: http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/nigeria-clashes-between-boko-haram-and-army-35-killed_867088.html
Pray: God will continue to strengthen the resolve and abilities of Nigeria’s government and army in its fight against terror. (Ps.37:10-11)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23689074
Israel: Negotiations
Peace efforts restarted after three years when Israel began to release 26 Palestinian prisoners. However diplomacy was overshadowed by Israeli proposals to buils 3,000+ new settler units, 900 in East Jerusalem. A senior PLO official said the proposed Jewish settler homes could ‘collapse’ the talks. A spokeswoman for Israel’s interior ministry said more approvals were needed and it could be years before building began. Israel's ‘Peace Now’ organisation disputed this, believing that construction could begin within weeks. A spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu said Palestinians shouldn’t be surprised - Israel had rejected Mr Abbas's demand for a freeze on settlement building as a precondition for talks. Abdullah Abdullah, a member of the legislative council and a supporter of Mr Abbas said Palestinians would not stay in the talks if Israel continued with the settlement surge. ‘We have other options.’ he said. US Secretary of State John Kerry hopes to achieve a peace deal within nine months.
Pray: for positive perseverance and cooperative clarifications by all involved in these negotiations. (Jer.30:10)
Egypt: Islamists take revenge on Egyptian Christians
Anti-Christian violence swept Egypt Wednesday in the bloodiest day yet of Egypt's revolution. World Watch Monitor reported, ‘Islamist protesters took out their anger Wednesday on government and dozens of]Christian buildings and homes.’ The Bible Society of Egypt reported 15 churches and three Christian schools being attacked, and two Christian bookshops completely destroyed by fire. Attacks by Islamist protestors recently forced Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II to cancel speaking engagements and prompted 16 human-rights groups to voice concern. On June 30th the President of Cairo’s Evangelical Theological Seminary said, ‘Previous regimes pushed the Church to give them support, by controlling Christians and calling them not to oppose standing regimes. This minimized the effectiveness of Christians, separating them from the rest of society and depriving them of the liberty to act independently according to their faith and conscience. Now we have learned our lesson and refuse to be a tool in the hand of any regime.’
Pray: for the Lord to protect Egypt, ask Him to give Church leaders special wisdom and unity, may they positively engage in this season of change and transformation. Pray against corruption, injustice and division that could damage communities. Pray for Egyptians across the country who are caught in a climate of fear and uncertainty. (Ps.1:6)
Iran: Three Iranian-Azeri Christians fate unknown
As pressure increases on Christian communities three Christian converts Farshid Modares-Aval, Mohammad-Reza Pirri and Yashar Farzin-No were arrested on July 20 when authorities searched their homes and seized a number of their personal belongings. They are in Tabriz prison. Security and judicial authorities have not provided any reason for their arrest or given any information regarding their health. Usually when families of detainees go to the authorities about the plight of loved ones they hear promises for early release if they keep silent and don’t publicize the case. Eventually when nothing happens families tell their stories to the media. According to reports received the three men have been beaten during interrogation. Mohammad-Reza Pirri’s brutal beating put him in the prison hospital for four days. Iranian law enforcement has always tried to relate house churches to foreign governments as political groups intending to overthrow the Islamic regime.
Pray: for God to hold these men, their families and all illegally held detainees in His hands, ask Him to strengthen and encourage them as they experience suppression and persecution. (Ps.32:7-8)
Somalia: British aid stolen by Islamist militants
The UK Department for International Development revealed on Sunday that members of the Shebab Islamist group have stolen £480,000 worth of British government-funded humanitarian materials and supplies in Somalia between November 2011 and February 2012. The theft that was revealed in the fine print of annual accounts is likely to fuel concerns about how Britain is spending its foreign aid at a time of budget cuts at home. The loss was out of more than £80 million of aid allocated for Somalia in 2012-2013. Britain’s aid budget is protected from the government’s austerity programme and has recently reached the U.N. target of 0.7% of gross national income. A spokesman for DFID said there were always risks working in unstable countries such as Somalia but it was doing everything it could to stop such thefts from occurring.
Pray: for flawless systems of aid distribution to be implemented. Pray for authorities to successfully tackle the root causes of poverty and instability in Somalia. (Ps.140:12)
USA: Mental Illness and the Church
Suicide kills more people in the United States every year than homicide, hypertension or motor vehicle crashes. Yet it's seldom discussed in the Church. Southern Baptists Dr. Frank Page and his wife hope to build on the growing national awareness of mental health issues. At the Southern Baptist annual convention in Houston this week the denomination have been working to promote awareness of mental health issues and begin to remove some of the stigma attached as they encourage churches to more pro-actively minister to those who are suffering. Page says, ‘These are legitimate, serious issues that people struggle with and the church needs to be the place where we say ‘we understand’. The local Church can help through support groups, counseling or simply awareness of what the community has to offer. It's an enormous challenge but with more than 36,000 people taking their own lives each year it could meet an enormous need.’
Pray: for the success of this initiative, may the North American Church save many in every sense of the word. (Is.25:4)
More: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2013/June/Removing-the-Stigma-Mental-Illness-in-the-Church/
Korea: Prayer for peace and reunification
August 15 is Korea's Liberation Day when liberation in 1945 from Japanese colonial domination is celebrated. This was soon tragically followed by the division of the Peninsula by the western powers. In 1989, the WCC agreed that WCC member Churches throughout the world would be asked to pray on a Sunday near August 15 for the Peace and Reunification of Korea. Therefore each year since then Christians of the NCCK and the KCF, (Korean Christian Federation of North Korea), have been preparing a common prayer for use on one of the Sundays around the 15th. Korean Christians are grateful each year for the prayer support and solidarity of Christian partners throughout the world. Again this year they want to share this joint prayer for peace and reunification in the Korean peninsula. You can read and pray the prayer by clicking the more link.
Pray: that we live no more with confrontation and conflict between North and South Korea. Make them recover their national community with love. (Ps.120:5-7)