On January 5th Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina banned a political opponent’s demonstration and hundreds of activists were arrested. The opposition leader Khaleda Zia was confined to her office. This prompted opposition groups to indefinitely blockade roads, rail and river transport and call for early elections. Since then violence has escalated. Busses and trains firebombed. Over Fifty-four people have died. The 4,000 factories that employ four million people in the garment industry. (80% of exports) have closed. The tourist industry is dead with hotels empty. The trickledown effect has resulted in shortages of everyday commodities and lost jobs. People are afraid to venture out of their homes. Each political side is blaming the other for the escalating violence and resulting economic disaster. The ones suffering the most are those who have lost jobs and see bleak futures in this standoff. See also: 

An imprisoned Iranian convert to Christianity, Ebrahim Firouzi, who completed his sentence on 20th  January 2015, continues to be held in a prison in Karaj, according to reports. Ebrahim Firouzi was sentenced to 1 year in prison and 2 years of exile after being convicted on charges of carrying out propaganda against the state, evangelism and launching a Christian website. Apparently Firouzi will be facing additional charges from the Revolutionary Courts, but further legal action has yet to be announced.

The Archbishop of Sydney says the situation of children in detention 'should concern every Australian' and has supported calls for an overhaul of the current system. A recently released politically controversial Human Rights Commission Report says ‘current detention law, policy and practice does not address the particular vulnerabilities of asylum seeker children nor does it afford them special assistance and protection. Mandatory detention does not consider the individual circumstances of children nor does it address the best interests of the child as a primary consideration. ‘The Archbishop said, ‘Governments must undertake necessary checks and the children and their parents quickly removed from detention. It only causes further heartache for families to be separated from each other at a time when they need each other the most.’

South Africa’s parliament erupted in violence last Thursday when opposition MPs were forced from the chamber by armed police after they challenged President Jacob Zuma over a corruption scandal. As parliamentarians threw punches, hats, leather cushions and desks, the live television signal to the chamber was cut and phone signals were jammed. Several MPs were taken to hospital with minor injuries, and remaining opposition parties walked out, leaving Mr Zuma to make a speech to ANC MPs alone. Twenty years after South Africa escaped apartheid and became a democracy, commentators said use of the security forces to address political rows was a concerning development. ‘This is now a police state,’ said Bantu Holomisa, an opposition leader. The protest was led by Julius Malema, once a staunch ally of the beleaguered president but now his strongest challenger over £12.9 million of taxpayer money spent on his private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu Natal

Recently Prayer-Alert reported Houthi rebels had taken control of Yemen’s capital and waves of Al-Qaeda and jihadi activists roamed the country. This week the UN said that Yemen is ‘collapsing.’ Countries have closed their embassies there and a UN resolution called for the Houthis to ‘immediately and unconditionally’ withdraw from government institutions and release President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi from house arrest. The UN also declared a ‘readiness to take further steps’ if the Houthis do not comply. The Gulf Cooperation Council, (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) want resolutions to be enforced militarily or through sanctions. The Houthis are purportedly backed by Iran. Meanwhile Yemenis are more concerned about everyday life, rather than who comes to power. Millions live in poverty with no access to basic needs. (Deficient electricity - many without generators and lack of adequate clean water).

In January Prayer Alert reported that ‘militias, tribes and militant groups vying for control were causing Egyptian Coptic Christians to bear the brunt of instability and there was serious concern that IS could take control of the country, with the potential for war in the region. This week Egypt has started bombing IS targets in Libya after 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians were beheaded in Libya by IS. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called for a UN resolution for international intervention against IS in Libya. The BBC reported a potential 1,700 different armed groups in Libya, with money and a lust for power the common denominator. Pray against IS recruiting Libyan rebels with guns looking for respect and territory gains. Also the Islamic State's ambitions in Libya are a direct threat to Europe’s southern cities with terrorist infiltration through illegal trafficking via the ‘strategic gateway’ to Italy. See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/11418962/Islamic-States-ambitions-in-Libya-are-a-direct-threat-to-Europe.html

Following a spate of violent anti-Semitic attacks in Europe Benjamin Netanyahu addressed all Jews wherever they are through the Israeli cabinet, and subsequently through the media, saying ‘Israel is the home of every Jew and Israel is waiting for you with open arms.’ However former president Shimon Peres addressing an event in New York rejected the ‘aliyah-to-Israel’ call saying, I would like every Jew who wants to come to Israel to please come, but don’t come because of a political position, come because you want to live in Israel. Israel must remain a land of hope and not a land of fear. Jews can live all over the world. Just keep your children Jewish.’ Mike Huckabee, a likely 2016 Republican candidate for president, said terrorism is global and the one place that Jews can be protected is in Israel. See also 

Authorities in 203 countries are considering examining HSBC's actions in helping 100,000+ wealthy individuals avoid paying tax. In the UK the Public Accounts Committee plans to investigate HSBC's former Head. There have been calls for action in the US, Belgium, France, Argentina and Switzerland.  An American Senate member has asked the Government to reveal what it knew about the scandal. In Belgium a judge may issue international arrest warrants for directors of the Swiss division of HSBC. France has launched an investigation and its Prime Minister has promised more action both at home and at a European level. Swiss politicians are asking for regulatory investigation. HSBC faces criminal investigations in many countries but not in the UK where it is based. People use legal off-shore accounts to hide cash from tax authorities but deliberately hiding money to evade tax is illegal.

A strip of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, called the Rafah buffer, is five km long and its demolition is one of several measures undertaken by the Egyptian government to counter insurgency in North Sinai and destroy all the underground smuggling tunnels from Egypt to Gaza. Egyptian armed forces discovered and blew up a 1,200-metre long tunnel containing weapons and explosives in January. Last year Egyptian military operations destroyed 1,500 smuggling tunnels, however recent satellite photos revealed hundreds more tunnels inside mosques in Rafa, inside bedrooms and inside stores. Consequently Egypt has decided to destroy the city of Rafah and build a new ‘Rafah city’.  Hundreds of family homes have been demolished and 1,220 houses are marked for demolition in the area

After Jordanian pilot, Muath al-Kasasbeh, was captured by IS and then burned to death in a cage, Jordan pledged to go after Islamic State until the terror group is ‘eliminated and completely wiped out.’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) which reportedly stopped its participating in US led air-strikes after the Jordanian pilots capture has now resumed its participation and is reported to have said, ‘The UAE holds a ‘deep belief in the need for Arab collective cooperation to eliminate terrorism, through actions and words, and bolster the security, stability and moderation of the nation through the collective encountering of these terrorist gangs and their misleading ideology and brutal practices’. On Tuesday Jordan deployed ‘thousands’ of troops at its border with Iraq to prevent the infiltration of ISIS fighters into Jordan and as a show of force, according to the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. See also