The name Yazidis means ‘worshippers of god’, which is how Yazidis describe themselves. They call themselves Daasin, the name originates from the Ancient Church of the East.  Many Daasin beliefs are rooted in Christianity. They revere the Bible (and the Koran). Their tradition is oral. Children are baptised with consecrated water by a priest. At weddings he breaks bread and gives one half to the bride and the other to the groom. The bride then visits Christian churches. They practise sacrifice of animals and circumcision as the ancients did. Their supreme being is Yasdan, the Creator of the world. A great spirit emanates from Yasdan to execute divine will. Yazidism is monotheistic. Over the centuries they have never abandoned their faith or their sense of identity. They are a reserved people with deep roots in their communities. If they are driven from Iraq and Syria they will probably settle in southeast Turkey.

The situation for Christians in Iraq has deteriorated badly. Sinjar, (Northwest of Mosul) is a city of mixed minorities; 30,000+ of these are scattered around and on the mountains. Telkeif, Batnai,Tel Esquff, (Bishops Hill) Bartella, Qara-quash, Al Gure,  Ba'ashiqa and Bahzani cities are mainly populated by Christians. The IS has attacked their churches – raising IS flags on them and calling upon their god inside them. Pastor Farouk, (Senior Minister/ Baghdad) called for fasting and prayers. John Robb, (International Prayer Council) said, ‘I believe it's a spiritual warfare more than a ground battle. During my personal prayer and the intercessory group's prayers, I found it's the old days monster, the old serpent, filled with hate and poison. I trust the Almighty for a Divine intervention, we need an urgent move of the Holy Spirit to turn the scales and balance of the situation on the ground. Your prayers and intercessors will make a big difference'.  See urgent aid appeal at 

Christians make up 4% the population in Pakistan and are targets in the rapidly increasing violence against minorities. Pakistan's blasphemy laws are frequently misused to settle personal scores. ‘It's not safe for Christians in this country.’ said the bishop emeritus of Peshawar. ‘Everyone is ignoring the growing danger to Christians in Muslim-majority countries.’ Increasing persecution is causing panic. 16,000+ Christians have fled to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. In an attempt to end this mass exodus authorities illegally removed 1000+ Pakistani Christians from their flights in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. Sri Lanka detains them as refugees. Pakistan has moved to number 8 on Open Doors World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians in the world. Pray and ask God to soften the hearts of extremists, convict them of their sins against humanity and to provide protection over Christians in Pakistan

For the families of the missing girls kidnapped more than a hundred days ago, another trauma has emerged. Eleven of the grieving parents have died, many after heart attacks and stress-related illnesses. President Goodluck Jonathan pledged to secure the girls release during his first meeting with parents recently. Parents pulled out of previous meetings believing they were being used for political reasons. Despite the support of the USA, France and the UK the whereabouts of the girls is still unknown. President Jonathan reassured parents, appealing for patience, understanding and cooperation. ‘Anyone who says we are aloof and not doing what we are supposed to do to get the girls out is not being truthful. Our commitment is to get the girls out and to rout Boko Haram completely from Nigeria.’ Please pray for security in the area; there are concerns of a humanitarian disaster as Christians flee Boko Haram. See: 

An evangelist reports, ‘1,536 adults and 1,808 children attended activities during our Botswana & Namibia outreach, where we explained the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people living in remote areas and small villages. A hundred Bibles and a few thousand tracts were distributed, as well as different topics from Jericho Walls International Prayer Network on prayer and Bibles studies. We worked with nearby churches in these remote areas. Using guides and translators is always key to the age old problem of follow-up programmes to isolated groups.’ Pray for the reached communities and the participating churches to experience God’s blessings and be greatly encouraged as they grow in God’s Kingdom.

Hamas had been digging tunnels in Gaza for decades. The Lebanese Shiite organization has used tunnels and underground bunkers since the IDF withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Now there’s concern that Hezbollah has expanded its network of tunnels inside south Lebanon, to enable offensive infiltration into Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu said the Hamas cross-border tunnel network had the  ‘catastrophic’ potential of gunmen emerging into southern Israel near army positions, kibbutzim and settlements. Israeli communities on the Lebanese border have in the past reported hearing muffled sounds underground, which they believe indicate Hezbollah tunne-digging. Now, such reports are gaining new resonance and the Israeli security establishment is taking their concerns seriously. An article published on Hezbollah’s website cited that ‘security elements’ spoke of booby-trapped tunnels prepared over the past two years inside southern Lebanon, allowing fighters to move easily from place to place during battle. Last month, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that the exchange of knowledge between Hamas and Hezbollah on Israel is ongoing.

At the time of preparing this article the latest Gaza ceasefire enters its second day. There is tentative relief to millions on both sides and Palestinian and Israeli teams prepare for tough talks in Cairo. Riyad al-Maliki, Palestinian foreign minister, said he expected the ceasefire to expand beyond 72 hours. The small teams of delegates bring conflicting demands. Palestinians want open border crossings. (Not only Israel has closed borders. The Egyptian regime is hostile to Hamas and suspicious of political Islam. Only 140 injured Gazans have gone to Egyptian hospitals since 8 July. See:  Meanwhile Israel wants Gaza fully demilitarised. The US is also due to participate in the Cairo talks. ‘We are determining at what level and in what capacity and when,’ said the US State Department spokesperson in Washington. Riyad al-Maliki complained to The Hague of war crimes committed by Israel. Israel said it did its utmost to avoid civilian casualties, accusing Hamas of putting people in harm's way by launching rockets from densely populated districts.

Lagos has eight suspected cases of Ebola with one case confirmed, all came into contact with Nigeria's first victim who died. On Tuesday the World Bank pledged $200 million towards containing the virus. A doctor in Lagos is the second case in the sprawling city. The doctor attended to a man working for Liberia's finance ministry who contracted the virus from his sister before travelling to Lagos for a meeting of West African officials. Seventy people who came into contact with the deceased are being monitored. Three show signs of the disease. World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, himself an expert on infectious diseases, was deeply saddened at the breakdown of already weak health systems in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The funding will provide medical supplies, pay healthcare staff and manage priorities to try to contain the epidemic and prevent future outbreaks. Reports from Liberia say corpses are being dumped or abandoned and bodies of victims rot in the streets or in their homes. See also 

A member of the new Libyan parliament, Mustafa Abushagor, due to take office in August, was kidnapped on Tuesday by unknown assailants. Libya has failed to control ex-rebel militias who refuse to disband and who are threatening the unity of the country. Recent hostilities increase worries that Libya could become a failed state and return to war. Recently two brigades of former rebels have pounded each other's positions with Grad rockets, artillery fire and cannons. On Tuesday they agreed to a brief cease-fire to allow emergency services to fight millions of litres of blazing fuel in storage tanks. The US, Britain, Turkey and the Philippines have pulled out diplomatic staff, while France and Spain have evacuated more nationals and some diplomats. Canada is temporarily pulling out diplomats. ‘Libya's political leadership haven’t resolved differences that were there at the end of the revolution. See: 

US officials say Russia tested a new ground-launched cruise missile, breaking the 1987 intermediate range nuclear forces treaty. A Washington official said the United States is prepared to engage in ‘senior-level bilateral dialogue immediately’ with Russia to ensure Moscow's return to compliancy. The accusation comes as tensions between Russia and the West continue to grow over the crisis in Ukraine and the EU and USA announce new sanctions against Russia that aim to strangle Russia's oil industry and government-owned banks. It is now clear that the west has fundamentally changed its strategy in dealing with Russia. See also