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Open Doors latest report brings much sobering reading, but also a few positive glimmers.
In Brief:
North Korea (1) tops the World Watch List for the 18th year in a row. Despite its ranking in the top slot it did free three Korean-American Christians from a North Korean prison.
Persecution of Christians is getting worse. Five years ago only one country – North Korea – was ranked in the ‘extreme’ category for its level of persecution of Christians. This year, 11 countries score enough to fit that category.
China (27) has risen 16 places in the list after new Regulations for Religious Affairs came into force in February 2018.
In Myanmar (18) tens of thousands of members of the Karen tribe – a majority-Christian ethnic tribe – have been killed and least 120,000 displaced.
India (10) has entered the top ten for the first time. The BJP-led government continues to promote an extremist militant Hindu agenda.
In Turkey (26) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been stirring up ultra-nationalistic sentiment for some time and this has caused added difficulties for Christians in Turkey, especially Evangelicals.
As radical Islam has been forced out of the Middle East, it has spread into sub-Saharan Africa. Almost 30 violent Islamic extremist groups are known to be active in the region.
Islamic militants also have also gained strength in failed states like Somalia (3), Libya (4) and Yemen (8), where they continue to recruit, and capture pockets of territory.
The two places where Christians suffer the most violence are Nigeria (12) and Pakistan (5).
THE WORLD WATCH LIST: THREE MAIN TRENDS
Three major trends have shaped persecution against Christians this year:
Authoritarian states are clamping down and using legal regulations to control religion.
Ultra-nationalists are depicting Christians as ‘alien’ or ‘western’ and trying to drive them out.
Radical Islam has moved from the Middle East to sub-Saharan Africa.
GOOD NEWS
It’s not all bad news! There is light in the darkness, and the courageous faith of Christians is evident, even in the harshest conditions.
Worldwide: Above all, the World Watch List shows that the church is active and alive. Persecution is rising – but that only happens where the church is actively sharing the gospel and living it out.
Read the full report and download resources from the Open Doors Website Here: https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/trends/
Pray: Lets continue to be in prayer for the estimated 245 million people worldwide who are persecuted for their Christian faith.
Pray: For those who are in prison, detention or separation from their families, due to their faith.
Pray: For the estimated 11 people a day who are martyred for being a Christian – and for their families and loved ones. (Rev 2:10)
Pray: For strength and encouragement for the Church of Christ – that it will continue to grow and flourish despite the persecution.
Even though it appears that denuclearization talks with North Korea are going nowhere, Kim Jong-un still claims to have a special relationship with Donald Trump who says that there are a "lot of things going on" with North Korea. Yet, Kim calls on the U.S. to "act wisely" through the end of the year, blaming U.S. policymakers for their hostility to North Korea. And, to make matters worse, the North shot off two missiles on the last day of October.
In the meantime U.S. and U.N. sanctions continue to hurt the North, including its fishing and coal industries even as coal smuggling into China continues at full speed and the military sells coal in order to purchase uniforms.
The North continues to send workers into China by taking advantage of loop-holes in the sanctions. A recent report to the U.N. shows the ongoing impact of sanctions on the most vulnerable in North Korea, especially women and children, pointing out that nearly 4,000 civilians have perished as a result. The report was produced by Peace Now and delivered by our Ignis partner, Joy Yoon, who, along with her husband, Dr. Steve Yoon, have been treating children in North Korea over the past ten years. Here is an interview with Dr. Yoon about North Korean children.
Meanwhile, the elderly in the North are turning increasingly to begging to survive and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization is predicting that the food situation will worsen. As is widely known, the North has been manufacturing and selling drugs to generate funds. The consumption of "ice" in North Korea has become a massive problem as a defector recently shared.
On the technology front, North Korean smart phones are having an increasing impact, changing society and helping merchants to cut down on their costs. The manufacture of smart phones and other high tech devices depends on rare earths which are largely controlled by China. They are strengthening their position by preparing to tap North Korea's extensive reserves in exchange for providing solar power technology. The North is also reforming its education system to put science and technology at its center.
At the same time, construction on tourist attractions forge ahead with completion of the new Wonsan beach resort expected by the spring of next year. Kim Jong-un, in a recent inspection of a new spa being built, expressed his "great satisfaction" with its "socialist architecture" even as he belittled the Diamond Mountain resort built by South Korea, calling for the old buildings to be demolished to make way for new ones. Moon Jae-in of South Korea has agreed to talks about the future of the resort.
Remembering Our Brothers in Prison
We continue to pray for six South Koreans held in the North as well as Daily NK journalist, Choi Song Min (alias). Here's information on the pastors and others who have been detained and released. Please remember them in your prayers.
Ben Torrey - Director
The Fourth River Project, Inc.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius says Russia represents the biggest obstacle to the peace process in Ukraine, as it misleadingly represents itself as a “neutral party” in the conflict. “Perhaps the greatest obstacle in this [Ukrainian peace] process is that Russia is positioning itself as a neutral party while it is an active participant of the conflict, although officially they are not being treated as such,” Linkevicius said on November 5 in an interview in Prague with Current Time TV, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.
Linkevicius said Moscow tells separatists in Ukraine that "you need to reach agreement, and we will help, while exactly the opposite is happening on the ground.” Ukrainian armed forces have been fighting Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014.
Moscow has repeatedly denied that it has provided weapons, training, and personnel to support the separatists. However, independent observers, journalists, and official monitors, have gathered a substantial body of evidence to the contrary.
NATO and European Union member Lithuania, which has an ethnic Ukrainian population of some 44,000 people, has expressed strong support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia and has sent military equipment to back Kyiv’s efforts in the war.
Four-party talks -- with Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany, and known as the Normandy format -- have sought to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
"These Normandy [format] talks and a search for a compromise are on everyone's lips. I understand that it is very difficult to do all that, but I felt current [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr Zelenskiy's] sincere intention to resolve this issue. It is hard to say, though, how successful he will be,” Linkevicius said.
Washington Ally
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko on November 1 said the timing of a four-way summit aimed at resolving the conflict depends upon Russia. Prystayko's statement came after he voiced hope on October 29 that Zelenskiy would meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, soon for peace talks under the Normandy format.
Putin on October 30 said he was ready to have a meeting with the leaders of Ukraine, France, and Germany. But he added that such a meeting "needs to be well prepared and produce specific results that will help the settlement."
Lithuania remains a close ally of Washington and is temporarily hosting some 500 U.S. soldiers in the Baltic nation to help bolster NATO's eastern flank near Russia's borders. Russia has accused NATO of destabilizing Europe by moving troops closer to its borders.
Pray: for a resolution to this long-running dispute to be achieved diplomatically.
Pray: for an end to the bloodshed.
Pray: for wisdom, honesty and openness to compromise - for those involved in the summits and negotiations.
Pray: that Russia will be transparent in accounting for its involvement in the conflict.
Two western hostages held for more than three years by Taliban forces in Afghanistan were freed today in south-eastern Zabul province in exchange for three Taliban commanders held by the Kabul government, an Afghan official tells NPR's Diaa Hadid. The official requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the news media.
The Taliban has issued a statement saying they released 10 Afghan soldiers along with the two hostages. The group called the prisoner exchange "a step forward in good-will and confidence building measures" that could help the peace process.
Kevin King, an American, and Timothy Weeks, an Australian, were abducted at gunpoint from a car in 2016 just outside the walls of the American University of Afghanistan, in Kabul. Both worked as teachers at the university.
Last week Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said his government would release three prominent Taliban figures in a deal securing the freedom of King and Weeks.
In an address broadcast on state television, Ghani said he had granted the "conditional release" of three members of the Haqqani network, which is linked to the Taliban.
"We have decided to release these three Taliban prisoners who were arrested outside of Afghanistan," Ghani said, in order "to facilitate direct peace negotiations," The Associated Press reported.
The Taliban figures that were released are Anas Haqqani, Haji Mali Khan and Hafiz Rashid.
Anas Haqqani is the younger brother of the Taliban's deputy leader. He is also the son of the founder of the Haqqani Network, a Sunni Islamist militant organization that's responsible for some of the highest-profile attacks in the Afghan war, including assaults on the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel and the Indian Embassy in Kabul.
He has been in Afghan custody since 2014, when he was arrested in Bahrain, the AP reports.
A Taliban official said the three prisoners were flown to Qatar Tuesday, where the Taliban maintains a political office. The release of King and Weeks was apparently held up until the Taliban confirmed its prisoners had been turned over to its representatives in Qatar.
"Today, the United States welcomes the release of Professors Kevin King and Timothy Weeks," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement hours after the release. "Both men were successfully recovered this morning, are in the care of the U.S. military, and will soon be reunited with their loved ones."
While saying that the U.S. "condemns the taking of innocent civilians as hostages," Pompeo also added that the U.S. "welcomes" the Taliban's goodwill gesture.
The American University of Afghanistan said in a statement last week that it was "encouraged to hear reports of the possible release of our two colleagues .... While AUAF is not part of these discussions, we continue to urge the immediate and safe return of our faculty members who have been held in captivity, away from their friends and families, for more than three years."
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass also said last week the U.S. "strongly supported" the release of the three Haqqani commanders, according to Afghan news site TOLOnews.
"This is the latest in a series of courageous steps that President Ghani and the Afghan government have taken to respond to the Afghan people's overwhelming desire for peace," Bass told TOLOnews.
The Taliban released two videos of the hostages in 2017, including one that showed the captives looking sickly, though they appeared healthier in the later video, the AP reports.
A separate attack by the Taliban on the American University in 2016 killed at least seven students and six guards.
President Trump has made a priority of getting American hostages released, and has secured the freedom of about 10 hostages held abroad.
More: https://whro.org/news/5171-taliban-release-american-and-australian-hostages-in-exchange-for-3-militants Written by Laurel Wamsley
Pray: for these continued efforts to warm relations between the parties in Afghanistan and abroad to lead to positive and constructive peace talks.
Pray: for the people of Afghanistan who yearn for a peaceful and safe country.
Videos reveal crackdown regime tried to hide from world… One video filmed through a doorway appears to show a woman looking at a teenage boy lying in a pool of blood on a pavement, as a riot policeman swings a baton at people running past him.
Another from the southern city of Shiraz shows a crowd trying to help a motionless man on the ground, as other people retreat along a smoke-filled street amid the sounds of shouting, screaming and gunfire.
In a third. taken from inside a moving car in the capital, Tehran, a woman can be heard screaming as plainclothes security personnel or militiamen detain a man.
It was the fear of such footage reaching the outside world that prompted the authorities in Iran to shut down access to the internet for more than eight days earlier this month, as protests against a sharp rise in the price of petrol spread across the country.
Now the internet has been partially restored, videos have been appearing on social media that paint a picture of a government crackdown more brutal and bloodier than many had feared. The identities and stories of the protesters who lost their lives have also emerged.
The Iranian authorities have not released any official figures about casualties, but Amnesty International has received what it considers credible reports that at least 143 protesters were killed after the protests erupted on 15 November.
The human rights group says the deaths resulted almost entirely from the intentional use of firearms by the security forces - though one man was reported to have died after inhaling tear gas and another after being beaten. Amnesty believes the death toll is significantly higher, and activists and official sources inside Iran have told BBC Persian that it exceeds 200.
However, the videos filmed by Iranians on their smartphones - many of them graphic and difficult to watch - have cast doubt on the government's claims. The footage appears to show security personnel and members of the paramilitary Basij force, which is frequently used to help suppress dissent, beating up unarmed protesters in the streets and firing live round into crowds at close range.
Sources inside Iran have told BBC Persian that the number of detainees is in the thousands. Despite the assertion by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the protesters had "roots outside of the country", the Ministry of Intelligence told parliament that most of those held were unemployed youths from poor families.
Journalists based in Iran were limited in their ability to report on the protests or were too afraid to do so, and those based elsewhere were hampered by the internet shutdown. But BBC Persian, which is banned from Iran, was able to get in touch by telephone and other means with citizen journalists, activists and other trusted sources on the ground. Their videos showed the protesters targeting symbols of the government, the clerical establishment and the security forces, as well as banks and petrol stations.
The epicentres of the protests were predominantly Kurdish towns on the western border with Iraq, as well as areas on the outskirts of major cities like Tehran, Karaj and Shiraz. All are places with among the highest levels of unemployment in the country.
“The price of petrol is rising, we are poorer,” protesters in Shiraz chanted in one video.
“The supreme leader lives like a God. We, the people live like beggars,” said people in Malard, near Tehran in another.
“No to Gaza, no to Lebanon. We sacrifice our lives for Iran” was a chant heard in Isfahan.
Clearly, there is disquiet about Iran’s activities in the Middle East. The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has spent billions of dollars arming, training and paying militias in the region, saying that if the force does not fight Iran’s enemies beyond its borders then it will have to face them on the streets of Tehran.
But the protesters in the streets believe the money should have been invested in their country and their future.
US sanctions reinstated by President Donald Trump last year when he abandoned a nuclear deal with Iran have targeted the country’s oil and banking sectors. The sanctions, combined with corruption and mismanagement, have pushed the Iranian economy to the brink of collapse. But the crisis has not persuaded the government to change its policies.
Victims’ stories
State media and newspapers close to the security forces depicted the protesters as hooligans, who they said were seeking to loot and vandalise public property.
But the stories BBC Persian has heard from the families of those killed paint a different picture.
Fatima, a 40-year-old mother of two, was one of the demonstrators killed near Tehran.
Her family said she went out to protest against unemployment and inflation.
Another victim was Armin Qaderi, a 10-year-old boy, from Kermanshah. He died after going out to buy bread, according to his family.
Many families told BBC Persian that their relatives went out to express their anger at the economic crisis but that the authorities answered them with bullets.
More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-50562584
Pray: for the government of Iran to review its international policies and to listen to the concerns of its people.
Pray: for the heavy-handed violence and indiscriminate shooting of peaceful protestors by Government forces to stop.
Pray: for millions of Iranians whose livelihoods have been adversely affected by the economic sanctions and corruption that a positive breakthrough will happen soon.
Pray: that the voice of the Iranian people will be heard and these protests will not be in vain.
Egyptian TV News Report Alleges Turkey Supplying Weapons to Nigeria's Boko Haram.
Raymond Ibrahim, a Shillman Fellow in Journalism at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and an expert on the Middle East and Islam, appeared on Thursday's afternoon's edition of CBN's Newswatch to talk more about Turkey's alleged ties to Islamic terrorism. Newswatch is seen weekdays on the CBN News Channel. For a programming schedule, click here.
Turkey is clearly a terrorist state with a broad reach, according to an Egyptian television news program. Ten.tv reports Turkey is supplying weapons to Boko Haram in Nigeria. Ten.tv host Nasha't al-Deyhi reported on a leak confirming an intercepted phone call from a few years back – confirming the action.
He reported in part: "Today's leak confirms without a doubt that Erdogan, his state, his government, and his party are transferring weapons from Turkey to – this is a shock, to where you may ask – to Nigeria; and to whom? – to the Boko Haram organization."
Raymond Ibrahim is the Shillman Fellow in Journalism at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an expert on the Middle East and Islam. During an interview Thursday on CBN's Newswatch, Ibrahim said he's not surprised by the Ten.tv report.
"The tape was made in 2014 or 15 and it was reported widely in certain areas, in the US and the west not so much and not much came out of it," Ibrahim said. "The reason I think is that (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan didn't have his fingers so much in Islamist politics outside of his own nation."
"But now that we've seen Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS Islamic state caliph that was killed recently, and he was found just three miles from the Turkish border, which is, in fact, the last bastion of jihadi-so-called 'freedom fighters' attacking the Syrian government," he told CBN News.
"It has brought it up again, he (Erdogan) is supporting ISIS," Ibrahim noted. "Now we're remembering and that was I think the point of the Egyptian show, we're bringing back to see that there's some continuity here. He's involved with some of the worst Islamic terror groups. If you remember, Boko Haram, whose name loosely means 'western education is forbidden', (Haram) was basically doing what ISIS was doing and is notorious for – years before ISIS was doing it.
"One of the things international observers have been noticing, especially increasingly, is that their armaments, their weapons are very sophisticated," he continued. "It's even spilled into the Fulani tribesmen in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. For example, in Burkina Faso, also in western Africa the attacks on Christians have become horrific in just the last few months."
As CBN News reported, a senior State Department official said last week that Turkey is backing forces in Syria who have the same radical ideology as ISIS.
"The problem is that the people doing the fighting are these ill-disciplined Arab militias, some of whom we've worked within the past when we were arming the opposition, but many of whom are (a) ill-disciplined, and (b) relatively radical, and their ideology is essentially Islamic ideology," the official said.
A fragile government in northern Syria called the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAA) released a statement on Tuesday saying that Erdogan seeks to subjugate them through radical Islam.
"Erdogan plans to turn our free, democratic region back into turmoil under radical Islamic occupation," the government said.
Critics of Erdogan's invasion say he is trying to revive the Ottoman Empire and establish a new caliphate. "Their open intention is to restore the original caliphate which was disbanded in 1924," said Dalton Thomas of Frontier Alliance International.
Recently Turkey's defense minister posted a map to his social media that shows portions of Greece, Syria, and Iraq as part of a greater Turkey.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar posted a message alongside the map: "We have no eyes on anyone's soil. We will only take what's ours."
The map reflects the 1920 Ottoman National Pact that includes lands Turkey believes it deserved at the end of World War I.
Pray: that Turkey stops arming Boko Haram and other radical Islamic groups.
Pray: for the divine protection of Christians in the most vulnerable regions of Nigeria.
Pray: that any subversive intentions by Turkey’s government will be brought into the light.
Pray: that Nigeria and neighbouring governments will successfully redouble their efforts to disarm Boko Haram, the Fulani Herdsmen and the other Islamic terrorist groups.
Many geopolitical media watchers and prayer warriors believe the growing wave of anti-government protests ravaging the streets of Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Colombia hasn’t been seen since the old Cold War which is why the increase in protests and tensions might be called Cold War 2.0 in Latin America.
This time, at least as yet, there aren’t armed proxy groups in play but Moscow has weaponized social unrest to sabotage Western power in the region.
Earlier this decade we saw similar issues on Russia’s strategic periphery, notably in Ukraine in the wake of the 2014 Maidan protests and the 2005 Orange Revolution. These protests aren’t necessarily armed Marxists but anti-government protesters armed with anti-U.S. rhetoric.
Much the same approach is evident in Moscow’s support for Nicholas Maduro’s failing regime in Venezuela and with the help of Cuban operatives. Russia has become increasingly adept at using social media to disperse disinformation on the Internet.
Pray: for God to prevent cold wars through economic trade, cyber or arms race. (Psalm 2: 1,2a,4)
Pray: for peaceful and democratic routes to be brokered for the unrest in these Latin American countries.
Pray: that super-powers stop interfering with these vulnerable countries for their own gain.
Pray: for the Christian Church in Latin America, that it will continue to flourish and grow despite the economic and political tensions.
Global Outreach Day is a Global Missions Network that calls the Church worldwide to focus on praying and sharing the Gospel with the un-churched in the month of May each year.
This coming year, May 2020 the vision is to mobilise 100 million people in united prayer.
We are calling this initiative Go2020!
Already, Christians in 250,000 churches across 140 nations are part of this global outreach strategy to pray and witness towards the fulfilment of God's great commission.
GO 2020 - Year of the Upper Room – Preparing Hearts Prayer Guide
We in the IPC are helping to coordinate the international prayer mobilization for the GO 2020 initiative - with the aim of helping the various partnering prayer for mission projects to flow together.
The ‘Preparing Hearts’ prayer guide is a resource to help that process of integrated praying. It runs from 1st January to 9th February 2020. We trust that it will help up to 100 million people to focus their prayers on the harvest in a user-friendly way as we seek to see 1 billion saved for Christ in May 2020.
It is the first of nine 40-day prayer guides through the coming year that will focus on Go 2020 and other prayer initiatives for the unreached of our world.
To download the first Year of the Upper Room Prayer Guide - Click this Link
More info and sign up for GO2020 at: www.go2020.world/prayer
Australia Calls the World to Pray for the Nations
Australia Christian prayer leaders invite their brothers and sisters in Christ, prayer groups, prayer networks and churches to join with them all over the world to pray at sunrise on New Year's Day 2020 at a public location such as a hill, lookout or landmark in your city or town.
This year our focus is to pray for the nations. Over the last two years we had registrations from 50 different countries including USA, South Africa, Namibia, Pakistan, Japan, United Kingdom, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Zealand, and Australia.
Warwick Marsh, coordinator for Australia’s National Day of Prayer & Fasting said, “David said in Psalm 108:2, “I will wake the dawn with my song.” During this time of prayer, we want to focus on giving great praise to God. We also want to pray for revival and transformation, that God will bring healing to each of our nations: 2 Chronicles 7:14. Let us all pray for a great harvest of souls for the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Marsh continued, “In declaring Jesus Christ as Lord at this worldwide Sunrise Prayer Relay we are circling the globe with prayer, praise and worship and surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ for the glory of God. Psalms 113:3 says, “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.” This year we want to challenge people to pray for the nations. Use the prayer resources on the website and social media and register your location at: www.sunriseprayerrelay.org
Our prayer is that with your help, this worldwide Prayer and Praise Relay will go viral.”
Pat Steele, a prayer & evangelist leader in Wollongong Australia, said, “We encourage you to pray the Lord's Prayer together aloud as the sun rises and make a declaration that Jesus Christ is Lord of your life, your family, your region and your nation. Let’s also join to pray for the nations.
At your location we encourage you to include praise and worship, prayers, and scripture readings. We suggest 30 minutes, but you can pray for longer. You could even take communion, shine a torch, or light a candle. What you do for your sunrise celebration is up to you.”
Share photos and videos from your location on social media.
Use the hashtag: #sunriseprayerrelay
Website: www.sunriseprayerelay.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sunriseprayerrelay
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sunriseprayerrelay
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSTHRAixKOQ
Contact: Warwick Marsh 61 418 225212 or Pat Steele by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Finishing the Task Conference 3-5 December 2019
http://finishingthetask.org/
Sunrise Prayer Relay 1st Jan 2020
40 Days of Prayer for 2020 – Preparing Hearts
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EksUzKPVPfkKg8Ki2bLnDaeaCqFa3UZC/view
5 Days of Prayer for the Khawlan People of Saudi Arabia and Yemen – 14th-18th Feb 2020
https://www.pray-ap.info/focus.html
Seek God for the City Feb 26–Apr 5, 2020
https://waymakers.org/pray/seek-god/
Go 2020 – Reaching 1 Billion for Christ - May 2020
One God - One Day - One Africa – 31st May 2020
UPRising Events Calendar
UPRising Australia - July 14-18, 2020 - Sydney, Australia
UPRising New England - November 19-21, 2020 - New England, USA