School of Prayer for the Nations - 9 Jun - 6 July 2019

www.allnations.ac.uk/courses/short-courses/school-prayer-nations

United Prayer Rising Europe – 8-11 July 2019

www.uprisingeurope.org

North East Asia Prayer Conference – 22 July 2019

www.ipcprayer.org

Chinese Homecoming Gathering: Hong Kong – 24-27 July 2019

http://www.asiagathering.hk/

March for Jesus: Munich – 28 July 2019
www.europeablaze.tv

Highway 19 Prayer Summit: Tbilisi Georgia – 16-19 August 2019
https://forms.gle/eDw2JxLFTz9bqoZ1A

South East Asia Prayer Council Conference – 8-11 October 2019

https://www.seaprayer2019singapore.org/

Go 2020 Prayer Gatherings - 1^stMay 2020

https://www.go2020.world

One God - One Day - One Africa – 31st May 2020

www.1gda.org

God has awakened His Bride in Australia. Even the pundits are calling Christian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's re-election a miracle. Mr. Morrison himself called it a "miracle" given the polls against him.

The Living God answered many prayers!

The Godly roots planted in that unique nation will still require constant prayer, fasting and repentance, but an awakening has happened that can now inspire Christians in other nations. The centuries old prophecy for that nation to be a light to others, as the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit, has been strengthened.

Warwick Marsh, leader of  Australia's National Day of Prayer - a dear friend of mine, standing each year for our National Day of Repentance - called for 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting nationwide for the 2019 federal elections. After the victory Warwick said:

'Scott Morrison is not the answer for Australia. Jesus is the answer. The fact that Scott Morrison is our continuing re-elected Prime Minister only means we have three years to see Revival and transformation come to our nation without overt persecution. God has given us a window of opportunity....we need to keep on praying for the salvation of souls and renewal in the church... it is very humbling indeed and a great privilege to be part of true Christ centric national Christian unified prayer and fasting that results in a miracle victory. Having said that, the victory has come through the grace of God and through the blood of Jesus. 'Not of works lest any man boast.' This victory is a victory for God and God alone....Your prayers are shifting this nation towards righteousness.'

And Hilary Moroney-Egerson, key intercessor/prayer warrior in Canberra's House of Prayer for All Nations, had this insight, including how repentance was stage one:

What a Glorious Victory - Look what God did! Let us Raise a Hallelujah!!!!

However my heart has been burdened today for the Get Up youth and many others standing against God's Truth & Righteousness, weeping that they will Repent before Almighty God and NOT Rage against Him - so that the spirit of death will not be able to take them out in suicide, drug overdoses, alcoholism.

Let us PRAY Today that just as the Charge at Beersheba was the beginning of the Victory, our prayers can continue, just as the strategic troops went to dismantle all the mines in the wells before they detonated. If they hadn't done this, all the troops and horses could well have died from lack of water -

Let us PRAY for a radical harvest of souls from this young generation - that they would hunger and thirst after Righteousness and Truth and seek after God and be found by Him Jer 29:11-13, to come to the revelation of HOPE in His Saving Grace alone, for them and our nation, and the preciousness of every human life......instead of struggling  feeling lost, angry, betrayed.

Let us Raise a Hallelujah and lift those of the losing side before the Throne of Grace the God's Victory will be fully won - Be Blessed by these words below and let's keep on Praying & Worshipping our God and Praying for the New Governent Leaders

The Canberra Declaration/Warwick Marsh/Margaret Court evening zoom call 21 days has gone through 3 clear phases ...

1. Repentance, travail, and a cry for forgiveness for the sins of Australia

2. A militant powerful declaration that the Lord Reigns over Australia and the election

3. A celebration of the Lord and a change of prayer tone to declare of the Gospel of Jesus and revival/transformation

-- this is God's endgame; not the election which is a temporary situation; but the Gospel being made clear to the nation

-- Recognising our sin, the need for repentance, and His grace and forgiveness through Jesus and the cross

My feeling is that similar things happened in all the prayer groups/initiatives to one level or another.

The evening zoom group started in unity and become very much one (i.e. same heart).

There have been thousands praying across Australia in this season, in fact this election has brought the largest united prayer effort ever in this nation. 

The big deal now is how to continue this with a view to the ecclesia rising up to her fullness in Christ and seeing Australia come into a full awakening and national transformation!! 

As part of this we must better engage the under 35 NextGen in prayer and spiritual leadership.

'For the LORD will not abandon His people, now will He forsake His inheritance.  For judgment will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.' Psalm 94: 14-15

Thanks to repentance, thanks to prayer and fasting, thanks to a call for nation-wide unity among Christians, God heard those cries and acted.

The southern Cross shines bright in Australia; His anchor still holds!

In Jesus' Holy Name,

Pastor Jeffrey Daly

Founder/Director

National Day of Repentance

More at: http://www.repentday.com

..Commits To NATO Membership

Ukraine's president said he is ready to negotiate with Russia to end the war in eastern Ukraine, but he also reaffirmed his country’s course toward NATO membership -- a move strongly opposed by Moscow.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy made the comments on June 4 during a visit to Brussels, where he met withtop European Union and NATO officials as part of his first foreign trip as president.

Fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine has killed some 13,000 people since April 2014, shortly after Russia seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Cease-fire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords in September 2014 and February 2015 have contributed to a decrease in fighting in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk but have failed to hold.

"We are ready to hold negotiations with Russia [and] to implement the Minsk agreements. But first we must be capable to protect ourselves and get stronger economically, politically, and militarily," Zelenskiy said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters.

Zelenskiy also said that Ukraine's "strategic course to achieve full-fledged membership in the EU and NATO" remained unchanged.

Moscow has made explicit its opposition to NATO’s further expansion, especially as regards to Ukraine and Georgia. Tbilisi is also seeking to become a member of the Western military alliance.

Calling Ukraine a "highly valued partner," Stoltenberg expressed NATO's support for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying: "Allies do not, and will not, recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea."

The NATO chief also called on Ukraine to implement reforms on fighting corruption and strengthening the rule of law.

"These reforms are essential to ensure security and prosperity for all Ukrainians and to bring Ukraine closer to NATO," he said.

Zelenskiy is scheduled to attend a session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission later in the day. The commission is the key format for cooperation between Kyiv and NATO.

A comedian-actor with no political experience, Zelenskiy was inaugurated on May 20 after defeating incumbent Petro Poroshenko by a large margin.

In addition to the conflict in the east and Russia's occupation of Crimea, Ukraine faces entrenched corruption and major economic hurdles.

With reporting by Reuters, TASS, Interfax, and Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels

More at: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-s-president-says-he-s-open-to-peace-talks-with-russia-commits-to-nato-membership/29981348.html

Pray: For peace and stability to be restored in this region.
Pray: For wisdom, strength and statesmanship for President Zelenskiy despite his lack of experience.
Pray: For an end to the aggression and threats being made directly and indirectly by Russia.
Pray: That efforts to tackle corruption in the Ukraine will succeed.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is prepared to talk to Iran but that there was always a chance of U.S. military action against Tehran.

"So Iran is a place that was extremely hostile when I first came into office," Trump who is on a state visit to Britain, told ITV television on June 5. "They were a terrorist nation number one in the world at that time and probably maybe are today."

Asked if he thought military action might be needed, he said: "There's always a chance. Do I want to? No. I'd rather not. But there's always a chance."

He said, when asked, that he was prepared to talk to Iranian President Rohani: "Yeah of course. I would much rather talk."

Trump's comments come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf.

Washington a year ago withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran that curbed the country's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

Trump argued that the terms on the accord were not tough enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and did not address the country's missile program or its support for militants in the region.

Since then, Washington has re-imposed sanctions, stepped up its rhetoric, and beefed up its military presence in the Middle East, citing " imminent threats" from Iran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on June 5 that Tehran would not be "deceived" by Trump’s offer of negotiations and would not give up its missile program.

"This political trick will not deceive Iranian officials and the Iranian nation," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast on Iranian television.

Pray: for an end to the escalating tensions.

Pray: that Iran does not develop nuclear capability and adheres to its previous agreement.
Pray: that peace prevails and for a negotiated resolution to the crisis to be achieved.

More at: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-says-prepared-to-talk-to-iran-but-there-s-always-a-chance-of-military-action/29982687.htm

The UN nuclear monitoring agency says Iran continues to comply with a landmark 2015 nuclear deal, although its stockpiles of low-enriched uranium and heavy water are growing.

The finding by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is included in its latest quarterly report distributed to member states.

In its report on May 31, the agency said the IAEA found Iran had stayed within key limitations spelled out in the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

The 2015 deal between Iran and world powers offered Tehran economic incentives -- mainly sanctions relief -- in return for curbing its nuclear program.

However, it has been complicated by Washington's withdrawal last year coupled with reinstated and increased U.S. sanctions.

Earlier this month, Iran announced it would increase its enrichment of uranium beyond levels allowed under the JCPOA if it could not find a way within 60 days to shield itself from U.S. sanctions on its economy and oil industry.

A week ago, Iran said it had increased its capacity to enrich uranium, though only of the lower-enriched uranium allowed under the agreement.

The fresh IAEA quarterly report, however, found Iran continued to comply with the JCPOA and said its inspectors had been given unfettered access to Iranian nuclear facilities.

"Timely and proactive cooperation by Iran in providing such access facilitates implementation of the additional protocol and enhances confidence," the report stated, referring to the procedure detailing safeguards and tools for verification.

According to the IAEA report, Iran's heavy water stockpile rose from 124.8 tons in February to 125.2 tons as of May 26. That’s still below the 130-ton limit.

Its stock of low-enriched uranium was 174.1 kilograms as of May 20, up from 163.8 kilograms in February, the IAEA found. The limit set out by the JCPOA is 202.8 kilograms.

It added that Iran had not enriched any uranium above the level allowed by the JCPOA.

"All centrifuges and associated infrastructure in storage have remained under continuous agency monitoring," the IAEA said.

Trump last year pulled out of the deal which he criticized for neither addressing the Islamic republic's nuclear and missile programs, nor its actions in regional hot spots ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the wars in Syria and Yemen.

In recent weeks, tensions have risen in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a key petroleum shipping route at the mouth of the Persian Gulf that Iran has threatened to block.

Earlier this month, Washington announced the deployment of an aircraft carrier battle group and a bomber task force to the Gulf to counter what U.S. officials called "clear indications" of threats from Iran to U.S. interests or its allies in the region.

Amid the deployment, attacks were carried out against oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

The United States and many Arab countries blamed Iran and its proxies for those attacks and others on oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia.

Tehran has denied any involvement in the incidents.

Pray: that amidst threats and rhetoric, an end to this standoff can be achieved.

Pray: that the alleged attacks on oil tankers by Iran will stop.

Pray: with thanks that there is apparently still a degree of compliance by Iran with previous agreements, that the compliance will continue.

Pray: that talks will resume with respect and mutual understanding by all parties.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa

More at: https://www.rferl.org/a/iaea-report-says-iran-continues-to-comply-with-nuclear-deal/29974795.html

Iran (MNN) — Tensions surround Iran’s current political affairs, and a spirit of fear grips people on the streets. Muhammed*, the leader of a Persian house church, says many Iranians live in constant trepidation.

“Iranians are glued to their TVs or their mobile phones, waiting for the next news update… waiting for Tomahawk missiles to rain down,” Muhammed says.“They don’t know what’s going to happen. People are really under a lot of weight and a lot of stress… pray that they don’t get so distracted that they lose sight of God.”

Headlines are “prayer prompts” - Scroll through ‘world news’ on your smartphone and you’ll likely see at least one headline focused on Iran. For example, Iranian authorities warn they’ll have to break the limits set by a 2015 nuclear deal in fewer than 10 days, BBC News reports. This development comes on the heels of multiple tanker attacks in key shipping lanes near Iran.

Over the weekend, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo how the United States would respond to Iranian aggression. While underscoring the administration’s desire to avoid war, Pompeo stated, “We’re going to guarantee freedom of navigation throughout the Strait [of Hormuz] …[the] United States [will take] all actions necessary, diplomatic and otherwise, that achieve that outcome.”

Headlines like these point to a larger spiritual reality. “I want people to be excited that we’re seeing the biggest revival happening in the Middle East since the Islamic conquest,” Muhammed says.“When they watch the news, they probably will see the name of Iran at least once a day. Well, that would be an awesome reminder to pray for the believers inside of Iran because God is doing something very special.”

What’s God doing in Iran?

Muhammed also urges caution when analyzing mainstream news reports about Iran. It’s not “a crazy, radical country,” he says. “That would be probably five-to-ten percent of the population. 90% of the population doesn’t believe in Islam but they believe in God still.

“It’s a beautiful time inside of Iran.”

Christ appears often to Iranians in dreams and visions, Muhammed says, and the “secret Church” is growing as Muslims come to faith in Jesus. “Iran is the fastest growing church in the world right now, faster than China…

“We have this ‘extra moment’ [when] the Gospel can move so powerfully, but the enemy, of course, isn’t going to let that happen. He’s like a roaring lion, looking for a way to slow this down… through political issues, the economic issues, through social issues.”

These spiritual realities make your prayers essential. Muhammed points to Daniel 10 as an example – “through [Daniel’s] prayer and fasting, he (the angel) conquers the Prince of Persia and gets the message [to Daniel] that God has sent him.”

Praise God for the mighty ways He’s moving in the Muslim world.

Ask Him to strengthen and encourage believers in Iran.

Use this Prayercast video to pray specifically for Iran, or use the “Love Muslims” series to pray strategically for the Muslim world.

“The biggest thing that people outside of Iran can do is pray for us.”

By Katey Hearth

More at: https://www.mnnonline.org/news/the-real-story-in-iran-isnt-political-its-spiritual/?ct=t(MNN_Daily_E_news_Blast4_8_2015

Senior Afghan politicians and the Taliban said they made progress during peace talks in Russia, although they did not make any significant breakthrough.

The May 28-30 talks in Moscow came amid international efforts to end the nearly 18-year war in Afghanistan.

In a May 30 joint statement, the sides said they held "productive and constructive" talks focusing on a possible cease-fire, the "strengthening of the Islamic system," and "women's rights."

"Both sides have had tremendous progress, but some issues require further discussions," the statement read.

Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban's negotiating team, said that "spectacular progress" was made on issues including the withdrawal of international forces and a future political settlement.

However, Ata Mohammad Noor, a powerful regional leader, expressed some disappointment.

"Our expectations were higher," Noor said. "Our main message was on the cease-fire; a cease-fire could be the beginning of peace."

The sides met in Moscow on May 28 for a ceremony during which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.

The three-day meeting was the second hosted by Russia in recent months.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy seeking a peace deal with the Taliban, has held several rounds of talks with the militants in Qatar.

The sides have made progress, but the Taliban has so far rejected direct negotiations with Kabul.

Khalilzad has welcomed Russia’s peace efforts, although some U.S. officials have said Moscow was promoting itself as a power broker to challenge the U.S.-backed peace process with the Taliban.

The Taliban, which continues to stage daily attacks across Afghanistan, now effectively controls or influences about half of the country.

Pray: that all sides will be able to sit around a negotiating table.

Pray: for an end to the daily attacks by the Taliban.

Pray: for all those who are working towards brokering lasting peace in the country.

Pray: for a peace deal to be agreed and for lasting stability and prosperity to return to Afghanistan.

More at:https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-politicians-taliban-cite-tremendous-progress-during-moscow-peace-talks/29972871.html

The United States has agreed to station "about 1,000" more military personnel in Poland as the government of the East European country seeks to counter what it perceives as a growing Russian threat.

However, the joint U.S.-Poland declaration signed by President Donald Trump on June 12 stopped short of calling it a permanent presence, potentially easing Kremlin concerns about a larger U.S. military presence near its western border.

Trump earlier in the day said the increase in U.S. forces in Poland could come at the expense of Germany -- whom he criticized for underspending on NATO defense and overspending on Russian gas.

"We would be taking them out of Germany or we would be moving them from another location. It would be no additional troops to Europe," Trump said shortly before reaching the agreement.

The United States has 52,000 troops based in Germany, Trump said. The Pentagon told RFE/RL that the sourcing of the military personnel and other details of the agreement "are still being worked out."

About 4,500 U.S. troops have been stationed in Poland on a rotational basis for the past few years in response to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and Moscow's continued military support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

NATO separately placed about 1,200 troops in Poland in 2017 as part of its efforts to beef up deterrence against Russia in Eastern Europe and recently agreed to invest $269 million to support U.S. forces in the country.

The 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act pledges the alliance to carry out its collective defense without the "additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces." However, the pledge only applied to the "current and foreseeable security environment" at the time.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the June 12 U.S.-Polish agreement was "fully in line with NATO's international commitments."

"When the world changes, we have to adapt to make sure that we can continue to protect all allies," Stoltenberg said in the statement, possibly hinting at Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Poland last year proposed spending as much as $2 billion to host a permanent U.S. armored division, which consists of between 10,000 and 15,000 troops, to strengthen its defense against Russia.

Russia, which occupied part of Poland under the tsars, "is again showing its imperial face" by its actions in Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda said at the joint press conference with Trump.

According to the agreement, the U.S. military will expand its "enduring presence" in Poland by about 1,000 personnel "in the near-term." Poland will finance that expanded presence as well as additional military infrastructure, including a U.S. divisional headquarters.

Russia could seek to build up its military presence in the exclave of Kaliningrad in response, former U.S. Army Europe commander Lieutenant General Ben Hodges told RFE/RL. He said the Kremlin could also put more pressure on Belarus to allow its troops into that country. Both Kaliningrad and Belarus border Poland.

Though the U.S. agreement fell far short of Poland's initial request, it is something that "could be scaled" up in the future should developments in Eastern Europe demand it, Eugene Chausovsky, a Eurasia analyst at Stratfor, told RFE/RL.

"This is something that the Polish government can claim as a victory of sorts," he said of the deal.

Poland helped win over Trump's support for the increased military presence by agreeing to purchase U.S. fighter jets as well as liquefied natural gas, Chausovsky said.

Trump confirmed during the joint press conference that Poland will buy nearly three dozen F-35 fighter jets -- worth in excess of $2.5 billion -- as well as an additional $8 billion of liquefied natural gas.

Poland is seeking to wean itself off Russian energy, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of its gas imports. Duda will travel to Houston with Energy Secretary Rick Perry to meet executives of U.S. energy companies during his six-day visit to the United States.

Washington and Warsaw are seeking to halt Russia's plans to build an $11 billion gas pipeline to Germany. The pipeline would make Germany a "hostage of Russia" while also supporting the Russian economy, Trump said.

"We are protecting Germany from Russia, and Russia is getting billions and billions of dollars of money from Germany," Trump said ahead of his meeting with Duda.

He highlighted that Germany was only spending about 1 percent of gross domestic product on defense, below the 2 percent threshold set by NATO members in 2014.

Hodges said moving troops from Germany to Poland would be taken as a sign that the United States was punishing Berlin for its failure to meet defense spending limits.

However, he said, maligning Berlin was not in Washington's interest.

"We have to make sure that we treat Germany as our most important ally. Spending is such a small component of the relationship. You can't put a price tag on" all that Germany does for the United States, said Hodges, who is now with the Center for European Policy Analysis.

Article by Todd Prince

More at: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-agrees-to-station-about-1-000-more-military-personnel-in-poland/29996114.html

Big Win for Hindu Nationalists

Narendra Modi was recently sworn in for a second term as India’s Prime Minister. His party, the BJP, won a resounding victory in parliamentary elections.

As Indian pundits – a word that is, by the way, of Indian origin – will tell you, if Modi and the BJP were the obvious winners, their political rivals, the Congress Party, were the big losers. But there’s another potential loser in these elections, one that should especially concern American Christians, and that’s Indian Christians.

To understand why, you need to understand Hindutva, which is the BJP’s governing ideology. It literally means “Hinduness,” and defines what it means to be an Indian in religious—to be specific, Hindu—terms. Hindutva regards Christianity and Islam as foreign religions, and therefore any Indian who claims to be a Christian or a Muslim is less than truly Indian. According to this ideology, Hinduism is central to what it means to be an Indian.

While most of the world mistakenly sees India as a land of Gandhi, gurus, and nonviolence, there’s nothing peaceful or tolerant about Hindutva. For instance, the man who assassinated Gandhi was an adherent of Hindutva who felt Gandhi had betrayed the Hindu community.

In the run-up to the election, one BJP candidate called Gandhi’s assassin “a patriot.” Though Modi denounced the comments, they are consistent with the principles of Hindutva. More concerning are the many examples of Hindutva-inspired persecution of Christians in India, especially in the five years since the BJP first came to power.

In the weeks before the election, there were reports of “food deprivation, beatings, and jail” directed at Christian converts in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

As Open Doors put it, “because radical Hindu nationalists view followers of Jesus as alien to the nation, all Christians in India are suffering persecution. Driven by a desire to cleanse their country from Islam and Christianity, nationalists do not shy away from using extensive violence to achieve their goals.”

Part of their campaign to cleanse India of Christians involves anti-conversion laws. At least six Indian states effectively prohibit conversions to Christianity. I say “effectively,” because Hindu nationalists there have found a way around the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Indian constitution. Any conversion that results from “force, allurement or fraudulent means” is illegal. Given the vagueness of these terms, Indian law empowers ideologically-driven local officials to view all conversions as guilty until proven innocent.

For all these reasons and more, India currently ranks tenth on Open Doors World Watch List—which is eleven spots higher than when the BJP first assumed power.

All of this may come as a surprise given what we often hear or read about India in mainstream media outlets. For example, a recent discussion of the Indian election on a New York Times podcast explained the threat to Indian Muslims, but made no mention of the persecution of Indian Christians.

To be fair, India does have the second-largest Muslim population in the world, and the most visible religious conflict there falls along Hindu-Muslim lines. Still, there are more than 30 million Christians in India, and there’s some reason to believe that this number may be significantly understated. Muslims aren’t the only targets of Hindu extremism. Indian Christians are rightly concerned about what Modi’s triumph means for them.

We should be concerned as well. After all, contrary to Hindutva ideology, Christianity is no European import. It existed in India before Paul reached Rome. Some churches in southern India even worship in an offshoot of Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.

We must pray for our Indian brethren, asking God to preserve the faith in a subcontinent where it is every bit as native as that which seeks to drive it out.

Reported by JOHN STONESTREET WITH ROBERTO RIVERA

More at: http://www.breakpoint.org/

At least 30 people have been killed in a triple suicide bombing outside a video hall in north-eastern Nigeria, emergency service officials say.

Another 40 were injured in the attack in Konduga village in Borno State, the officials said.

There are conflicting report about whether the blast occurred while people were watching football or a film.

Militant Islamist group Boko Haram is being blamed for the attack. There was no immediate comment from the group.

Formed in Borno State, the group has waged a brutal insurgency across the north-east for a decade.

Ali Hassan, leader of a self-defence group in Konduga, told AFP news agency that the owner of the hall had prevented one bomber from entering.

"There was a heated argument between the operator and the bomber who blew himself up," he said.

Two other attackers who were nearby then set off their devices.

The number of deaths was so high because emergency services arrived late to the site of the blast and were not adequately equipped to deal with such a large number of wounded people, Usman Kachalla, head of operations at the State Emergency Management Agency (Sema) told AFP.

Video halls are common across northern Nigeria. They are usually rudimentary buildings where people pay a small fee to watch football matches or films.

Boko Haram has targeted them on several occasions, saying they are unIslamic.

Konduga has been targeted before. In July 2018, eight people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a mosque.

At least 27,000 lives have been lost and about two million people forced to flee their homes in the conflict with Boko Haram.

This latest attack comes at the end of a bloody weekend in northern Nigeria. There is rising concern of insecurity in other parts of the country.

On Friday night an armed gang killed at least 34 people in the north-western state of Zamfara, which has been at the centre of a wave of attacks by bandits since the beginning of the year.

The Boko Haram insurgency has been terrorising people in the north-east for the past decade, and has been the main area of focus for Nigeria's armed forces.

But the triple suicide bombings in Borno on Sunday reflect just how complex the security challenges are.

The government has said that Boko Haram and the rival Islamic State of West Africa Province(Iswap) group are on their last legs. But both the military and population of the north-east continue to suffer regular attacks.

Although Boko Haram has lost a lot of the territory it held in the north-east in the last four years, it is still attacking soft targets in mosques, markets and public gatherings.

Combine this with the ongoing banditry attacks in the north-west, and kidnappings across the country's highways, and the scale of the security challenge is daunting.

Analysis by Mayeni Jones | BBC

More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48660150

Pray: That the Boko Haram group is dis-armed and those responsible for these heinous attacks are brought to justice.

Pray: That the Nigerian government and the state government and military step up their negotiations and intervention to return the affected states to safety and stability.

Pray: for all those affected by these and other attacks on innocent people.