A sudden increase in violence against the Christian community by Buddhists in Sri Lanka has been reported. Barnabas Fund received news last week of ten anti-Christian incidents in different parts of the country during March. The most violent of them was an attack on Pastor Pradeep Kumara’s house that was used for worship meetings. A mob forced open the gate, broke into the premises and damaged the property while the family were out. Police were called but they could not control the mob. The attack went on for three and a half hours; the assailants desisted once they had forced Pradeep's wife to promise there would be no more worship meetings at the house. The pastor has faced intense opposition to his ministry.

Pray: that the threats and violent acts against Christians would not stop God’s purposes for the region. May the church grow in unity, faith and perseverance. (Pr.2:12)

More: http://barnabasfund.org/Ten-anti-Christian-incidents-in-Sri-Lanka-in-March.html

A senior pastor and his wife were ambushed and brutally beaten by a large mob, in one of several recent attacks on Christians in southern Sri Lanka. Release partners report that the Assemblies of God pastor and his wife were travelling back by motorbike from a friend's home in Matara district when they were set upon by about 40 men. The attackers beat and threatened to kill the couple unless they ceased their ministry in the Deniyaya area. The mob then dragged the couple back to the home they had just visited – interrogating the pastor's friends with threats and beating him again. Eventually, the pastor and his wife managed to escape and summon police protection. Despite their injuries, they decided not to go to hospital for fear of further attack. The mob is also reported to have threatened two Methodist church workers in Deniyaya on the same day, demanding that they too leave the area.

Pray: for God's peace to fill Christians in Sri Lanka. Pray specifically for Christians targeted in recent attacks. Pray that their ministries will grow and that their witness will draw many to Christ. (Ps.7:9)

More: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Jul-11/180164-iran-warns-media-against-reporting-impact-of-sanctions.ashx#axzz20JGhQ1kh

Minorities in Sri Lanka are being threatened by aggressive Sinhalese Buddhist movements asserting supremacy over and leading hate campaigns against ‘ Christian and Muslim extremist groups.’ They claim minority groups pose a threat to the Sinhalese Buddhist majority. The nationalists are inciting violence - almost every week a church, mosque or Muslim business is attacked by extremists. Attacks on Muslims (10% of the population) have attracted some international media coverage but the persecution of Christians (7% of the population) has received little attention. The campaign is becoming increasingly violent. 20+ mosques and 30+ churches have been attacked and 18 churches have been forced to close. Nationalists vowed to shut down the rest. (Traditional ethical and moral Buddhist teachings are governed by avoiding any actions which are likely to be harmful to self or others). Pray that Sri Lankan Christians will powerfully demonstrate the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the wisdom of Biblical teaching at this time.

Pray: for the government to take a stand against violent incidents towards minority groups. (1Tim2:1-2)

More: http://www.barnabasfund.org/Editorial-Buddhist-nationalism-posing-major-threat-to-Christians-in-Sri-Lanka.html

South Sudan will come into existence on Saturday. An ongoing conflict with the North combined with numerous warlords pursuing their own agendas bring challenges. The country's problems of rampant corruption and a low productivity remain unresolved. The ministries are predominantly led by men who have much more experience cleaning weapons than heading efficient administrations. There is a shortage of teachers and schools, doctors and hospitals, bridges and roads. The United Nations is expected to help the country get established, but its soldiers and vehicles are routinely blocked from entering contested regions. The head of the UN peacekeeping mission is an American, who has been there since 2004 based in a mobile office unit at the airport. Six warlords, veterans of the liberation war, are stirring up fresh conflicts. The government in Khartoum is doing nothing that might contribute to stabilizing the South.

Pray: for God to fulfil the dreams of the South Sudanese Christians as they begin to develop their country. (Pr.16:3)

More: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,772691,00.html

Torrential rains in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, cutting off roads and destroying homes and crops have killed 700+ people and affected eight million. The UN is ready to provide humanitarian relief. Sea surges are expected in Thailand from 28 - 30 October which could threaten to break through flood barriers. A landslide alert has also been issued for four Thai provinces. In Laos, 892 homes have been washed away and 2,500 livestock perished. In Cambodia and Vietnam access is difficult to affected zones. Heavy monsoon rains have been drenching the area since mid July. About 8.2 million people in 60 of Thailand's 77 provinces are affected by flooding, and 10 million residents in Bangkok are experiencing more surges of floodwater. Also in Central America the death toll from rains and mudslides has risen to at least 80, with El Salvador suffering 32 fatalities. The poor weather continues with international highways washed out and thousands of families homeless in a region that the UN classified as one of the most affected by climate change.

Pray: for God to come alongside all who call out to him, to strengthen rescue workers and inspire governments as they work to prevent humanitarian disasters. (Ps.72:12,13)

More: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/10/worst-flooding-in-decades-swamps-thailand/100168/

47 were killed in tribal violence in South Sudan on Monday, the latest in a cycle of attacks that have displaced 60,000 people. A local leader and member of parliament said a youth militia from the Murle tribe attacked Duk Padyet killing young children, women and old people from the Lou Nuer tribe. ‘They did not take cattle. They were only coming for annihilation. I'm appealing for quick measures to be taken by government of the state and national government to protect the old men and women who are there,’ he said. The government and United Nations peacekeeper forces say they are struggling to protect communities in a vast area the size of Bangladesh with barely any road access. Christian Aid has begun assisting civilians displaced by inter-communal violence in South Sudan. The government in Juba has declared Jonglei a ’humanitarian disaster area’ and has appealed for international assistance to help end the crisis. See http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16096

Pray: for sustained development of the nation and peaceful co-existence between different ethnic and faith communities. (Ps.147:14)

More: http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE80G1L220120117

More than 50% of South Sudan is facing food shortages due to continuing conflict with Sudan. There are fears the situation in the South is worsening because of clashes along the contested border regions, inter-communal violence and the closure of oil production in a row over transit fees with Khartoum. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18082150 In the Nuba mountains where 90% of the population is Christian there is indiscriminate bombing by the Sudanese government due to the area being held by the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army. Consequently health workers and aid agencies are prevented from delivering vital supplies to over a million who have fled the fighting in South Sudan. There are fears that outbreaks of infectious diseases could prove devastating to children weakened by hunger and upheaval.

Pray: for the UN to implement unhindered humanitarian access to all affected areas and for missionaries to experience God’s enabling in every situation.(Ps.140:1-4)

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/20/conflict-nuba-mountains-epidemics

Christian Aid is providing relief to some of the tens of thousands of civilians displaced by fighting in South Sudan. It has called for a ‘swift end’ to the escalating inter-trible violence in the Pipor area of Jonglei state. The fighting between the Lou Nuer and Murle ethnic groups was sparked by recent cattle raids and child abductions. Christian Aid said inter-ethnic conflict in South Sudan was being fuelled by decades of underdevelopment and the proliferation of small arms in the newly independent country's largest state. The South Sudanese government has declared Jonglei a ‘human disaster area’ and has appealed for international assistance to bring the crisis to an end. Christian Aid said the emergency in Jonglei was creating a humanitarian challenge for the country. The UN estimates that more than 60,000 people have been displaced by the latest round of fighting.

Pray: for international support to help end the conflict between the ethnic groups and to promote co-operation with one another to improve conditions for their people. (Heb:12:14-15)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.aid.calls.for.end.to.violence.in.south.sudan/29185.htm

South Sudan was founded on Christians praying for freedom from Muslim-governed North Sudan. Like the children of Israel many have forgotten the Lord since independence. The Dinka tribes are mainly Christian. Many roam the bush without the necessities of life. Thousands of Nuer people are also sleeping out in the open with little access to food or toilets. Nuer men say they are being approached by Dinka security forces who, in the Dinka language, ask questions. Those unable to respond in the Dinka language are executed. The present conflict is marked by ethnic violence between Kiir's Dinka tribe and Machar's Nuer community. Nuers worship a spirit of the sky. Over 1,000 people have been killed since December and 200,000 driven from their homes. see also France24.com

The head of the World Council of Churches has used a visit to South Korea to appeal to the country’s Christians to be peacemakers. The Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit challenged Christians to believe God’s promise of peace in Psalm 85 ‘God will speak peace to his people’ despite the divide between South and North Korea for the last 60 years. ‘Peace is something radical, something that has to be told and has to be believed, so that it may become possible,’ he said. ‘The Korean people have been longing for a final peace to be settled, a peace that can bring life together, make life together in peace on this peninsula possible again.' He reflected on the global need for peacemakers in light of the fighting in Syria, and recently between Israel and Palestine. ‘We live in a time when life is threatened, when injustices in the world are a reality, even a threatening reality,’ he said.

Pray: for the promises of God’s peace to be manifest through His people, (Ps.85:8)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.in.korea.hear.call.to.be.peacemakers/31545.htm