An award-winning professor and author of four books on North Korea says that not only is North Korea’s current instability, violent attitude and weaponry, including missiles a threat to Asia, United States, key regions in the Middle East and Africa, but there is also the threat that North Korea’s collapse could unleash a variety of their military systems into the black market for sale to Iran and Syria. He, and others, believe that the two ways to contain this threat are tactical and strategic. A tactical approach would be an increased ballistic missile defence system providing a realistic umbrella against nuclear attack. The strategic way means going after banks and front companies globally where Pyongyang launders the dirty money it uses (much of it gained from military proliferation). It is important to note that when it comes to targeting North Korea’s dirty money there are mafia-like illicit financial networks in Singapore, Malaysia, Africa and China.

A non-Christian journalist called the Christians of Australia to ‘open your eyes to what is happening around you and prepare for persecution in the dark days ahead’. He calls for strong Church leaders to arise. He said that ‘whilst I am not a Christian I stand amazed that Christian bishops and ministers are not warning Christians of what is already breaking over their heads.’  He comments on Queensland's Education Department warning schools against letting students speak about Jesus in the playground; two Christian preachers summoned to Tasmania's Anti-Discrimination Tribunal for preaching their faith’s stand on traditional marriage;  Sydney University's Student Union threatening to deregister their Evangelical Union unless it stopped members declaring their faith in Christ; Coopers Brewery being bullied into taking down a video of a Christian MP debating same-sex marriage; and IBM, PwC and Sydney University being lobbied to punish staff belonging to Christian groups opposed to same-sex marriage. And the list goes on.

President Nicolás Maduro won a controversial election for a new Constituent Assembly with the power to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution,  allowing him to replace the current National Assembly with an assembly of 545 members nominated by his administration. The impoverished nation - wracked by an economic crisis, hyperinflation, food shortages, medicine shortages, starvation, skyrocketing infant mortality, civil unrest and street violence - has endured months of anti-government protests with many violent deaths. Maduro said his new Assembly ‘would bring peace to a polarised country, with all branches of the government falling under the political movement.’ Two of Australia’s major trade unions pledged support for the socialist dictator of Venezuela and his Bolivarian Revolution Socialist Government while America has imposed sanctions and the international community are discussing ways to stabilise the country after allegations of election ballot fraud. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/02/venezuela-voting-fraud-corruption-allegations-protests.

Churches must be officially registered with the authorities. A recently passed new law  guaranteed religious freedom, but vague legislation banning religious activity that could ‘harm social order and/or national unity’ appears to give authorities freedom to crack down on religious freedom where it is deemed to be against the interests of the state. Vietnam’s communist government considers Christianity an opponent to the one-party state. Christians are facing harassment and violence. Gangs of nationalist youths have terrorised a Christian community in Song Ngoc, attacking a church and homes and targeting Christian business owners. Weeks of intimidation and low-level violence carried out in an orchestrated manner is being ignored by police. Church leaders helping impoverished local fishermen in a legal case following a marine pollution disaster have appealed to the authorities. Pray for church leaders to have strength as they stand against the government for the rights of poor fishermen.

Metal detectors placed outside a holy site in East Jerusalem brought long-existing tensions to a boiling point. Viewed as an Israeli attempt to assert control over the site, Palestinians responded with protests, boycotts, and even deadly clashes. This all came after the killing of two Israeli policeman by Israeli-Arab gunmen. Israel's compliance in removing the detectors will not bring lasting peace. There is no end in sight to the conflict. Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, and Iran continue to threaten their existence. Every human attempt at reconciliation in the region has failed. Yet God is moving on both sides of this conflict. He loves Israeli Jews and Arabs and is actively drawing them to Himself. The number of Messianic Jews is rising dramatically, and the Christian Church in Israel is largely Arab. The peace and reconciliation Jesus offers transcends any man-made division. Peace in Israel rests in Him alone.

Copenhagen Police have extended a stop-and-search zone in an attempt to curb gang-related crime, after a series of shooting incidents in the city. The ordinances allow police to stop anyone within a predetermined area and search them for weapons without having probable cause. An organised crime group known as ‘Loyal to Familia’ is partly responsible for the gangland conflict behind the shootings. Loyal to Familia has spread across Denmark from its base in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen and now appears to have set its sights on Sweden. Swedish police said the gang is trying to build a presence in Malmö and Helsingborg. The gang became active in 2013 and has been involved in many conflicts with rival groups as it expands its territory. See https://www.thelocal.dk/20170731/danish-street-gang-expanding-into-sweden-police.

The number of unaccompanied child migrants living in ‘dirty’ Greek detention centres has increased ‘alarmingly’, said Human Rights Watch. 117 were in police cells or custody centres in Greece at the end of July, compared to just two last November. Under Greek law the authorities should separate vulnerable minors into safe accommodation, where they are appointed guardians who represent them in legal proceedings. However, when there’s no room in safe shelters the authorities lock them in dirty, crowded police cells and immigration detention facilities, sometimes with unrelated adults, instead of being cared for.

Alcohol deaths are at their highest level since the peak of the recession. Health boards that have slashed funding for problem drinking are the worst hit. Six of the seven Scottish health boards cut spending on Alcohol and Drug Partnerships by around £700,000 last year, causing a surge in the number of people dying as a result of alcohol abuse. NHS Lanarkshire, which cut funding by 10% in 2016/17 experienced a 14% year-on-year increase in alcohol-related deaths, the highest number in the region for a decade. The statistics, produced by the National Records of Scotland, exclude suicides and accidental deaths where alcohol may have played a part. Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said, ‘I will be refreshing our Alcohol Strategy later this year’ and promised to consider taking steps to tackle alcohol-related harm.

Adult mental health hospitals in Northern Ireland currently have a target of discharging patients within 7 days of their being declared medically fit. However, one mental health patient spent 1,235 days stranded in an acute unit awaiting discharge in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust. Over the past two years, 16 patients waited more than 100 days for discharge and five were delayed for more than a year. Discharged mental health patients are often placed in supported accommodation and a lack of these facilities can lead to delays. A spokesperson said, ‘Trust policy ensures community-based care and treatment is put in place as soon as possible for patients who can be safely discharged. But they can only be safely discharged when appropriate accommodation is available’.

British MPs from all parties called for the Labour leader to state his current position with regard to supporting Venezuela’s leadership. International censure of Venezuela’s Mr Maduro grew following two opposition leaders being seized from their homes in the middle of the night after the sham election. (see this week’s Prayer-Alert Venezuela article, below). Mr Corbyn has previously praised Venezuela as a ‘better way of doing things’ under Mr Maduro’s predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chávez, and welcomed Chávez to London in 2006. Mr Maduro has described Mr Corbyn as a ‘friend of Venezuela’. The Labour leader lauded Mr Maduro’s regime in June 2015, saying that its achievements in housing, health, education and jobs were ‘a cause for celebration’.  However, Venezuela has failed its citizens. There are food shortages, hyperinflation, citizens locked up, disappeared or murdered and there is a flow of cocaine from the country to Britain.