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Fifty-eight people have died and dozens have suffered in a chemical attack in Syria. Assad denied using any such weapons. Putin insisted Russia was not in the vicinity. Observers in Syria point the finger at it being a Syrian strike. Syria first used chemicals in 2013. It prompted purposeful discussion that came to nothing. Tuesday’s attack provoked President Trump to react within 48 hours - a major shift in America’s foreign policy. On Thursday night the USA launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian airbase where the warplanes that carried out the chemical attacks were based. The UK knew in advance of the airstrike but was not involved. Russia knew in advance and were seen moving vehicles out of the area. They are calling the strike a violation of international law. Since the USA gave Russia and the UK warnings that a strike would happen and where it would happen, it was not a surprise military action. Whether it will be interpreted as an outright military act or a political strike, we should indeed pray into this fluid and tense situation.
Lithuania has been investing in defence, introducing conscription, and rebuilding a standing army in preparation for the worst. It may have started well before the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency, but has now become a matter of urgency, with the country preparing to erect a six-foot razor-wired fence between them and Russia. The country fears Russian aggression, two years after Putin invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. With a US president who has sowed doubt in the country's NATO commitments, Lithuanians are concerned that they could see an echoing of the events of January 1991 when, in the course of three days, the Soviet Union tried to take back control of the country just one year after it declared independence. Meanwhile, across the border, President Putin has reinforced the garrison and sent missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. In response, Lithuania will build its fence. In 2002, President George Bush said: "Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America," but Lithuanians are unsure if that will remain true after Donald Trump. See also: http://prayercast.com/lithuania.html
New satellite images of the two most notorious North Korean prison camps show undeniable proof that the government, while persistently denying the existence of such camps, continues to upgrade the torturous facilities that appear to be ‘very much in working order.’ A new report from Amnesty International showed images of the two camps that differed from those released by the UN in 2014. In one camp there are six additional guard posts, while the old guard posts have also been maintained. These changes ‘strongly suggest that Camp 25 remains an active detention facility.’ The images also revealed ongoing agricultural activities from 2014 to 2016, with people working the land. In the past it was recorded that prisoners worked for 12 to 15 hours per day, receiving very little food. They suffered malnutrition, lost their teeth, their gums turned black and their bones became weak.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have fled fires: 32,000 acres have been burnt, along with hundreds of homes and businesses. November has been very dry, with strong winds. Forest fires of similar magnitude, or worse, have recently been raging every year throughout the Mediterranean basin. Professor Carmel (of environmental, water and agricultural engineering) said, ‘Climate change is causing things we haven’t seen before.’ Russian, Palestinian and American first-responders are helping Israeli fire-fighters. In the USA many months of drought brought weeks of wildfires in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, destroying hundreds of homes and sending thousands through ‘hell-like’ escapes. 4,000 firefighters were deployed to extinguish dozens of large fires all burning at the same time. Yesterday, winds of 70 mph intensified multiple fires in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and fires are spreading into communities and knocking down power lines. See also http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.755665
Yaser, Saheb and Mohammed Reza were arrested at a house church in May and charged with ‘action against national security’. They were released on bail after weeks in detention. Their pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani, and his wife Fatemeh (Tina) Pasandideh were also arrested but not detained. However, Yousef was later charged for the same crime. All four were summoned to the revolutionary court in Rasht in October, but the judge didn’t issue a verdict. The second hearing is on 14 December. In addition, Yaser, Saheb and Mohammed face charges related to consumption of alcohol (they drank wine during a communion service). Drinking alcohol is not illegal for Christians, but is prohibited for Muslims. The charges against Christian converts reflect the view that a Muslim cannot change religion. After a court hearing on 10 September, they were each sentenced to eighty lashes, but they are appealing this verdict. The appeal hearing is scheduled for 9 February 2017.
Marco Chacon read, ‘bucket of losers trending online’, and freaked out. It came from a story he had posted on his website about a ‘secret transcript’ of Hillary Clinton’s speech given to Goldman Sachs, which claimed Clinton called Bernie Sanders’ supporters a ‘bucket of losers.’ Once posted, the story went viral and was picked up on Fox News - the scoop of a lifetime - but Chacon had made the whole thing up. Chacon said, ‘This is ridiculous, things had gone way too far.’ Fox News issued an apology for reporting it. Chacon’s story is an example of fake news making real news headlines. Lies and fabrications of mainstream media are not ‘sloppy journalism’: they are intended to mislead. As intercessors we usually have the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other hand (or watch the news on TV). We need to be aware of the risk of clever fake news.
In the ongoing instability in Iraq, Christians are not necessarily safe even if they escape areas held by IS. Esam (an Iraqi Christian) said that friends of his who escaped Mosul after being forcibly converted to Islam have been ‘baptised back to Christianity’. Other aspects of their lives will take far longer to repair. Iraqi Christians who end up returning to Iraq know they return to a country whose sectarian fault-lines have been activated to lethal levels. Aid workers have warned that extensive reconciliation work is vital if Iraq’s many different faith and ethnic communities are to cohere again, especially as levels of trauma among all sectors of the population are thought to be extremely high. The ordeal at the hands of IS members in Mosul has been horrific. Iraqi Christians tell of crucifixions, torture and sex slavery. Esam concludes, ‘What happened is not easy, but in the end we must forgive.’
The UN has reported that 75,000 thousand children are at risk of dying of hunger and fourteen million people are in need of humanitarian aid in north-east Nigeria, as it deals with the aftermath of Boko Haram violence. Pray that they will receive all the aid they need to recover and resettle. A trauma care centre is being constructed by Open Doors in northern Nigeria to support Christians who have suffered religiously-motivated violence or abuse at the hands of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen. Pray for Open Doors and other organisations to receive adequate funding so that they can fulfil their objectives. Violence continues with a recent spate of attacks on five Christian villages in the Kauru local government area. Most of the fatalities were women, children and the elderly, who could not escape the Fulani herdsmen’s gunfire. 120 houses, including eight house-churches, were burnt down.
Hinduism has roughly 1 billion followers, 94% in India. Hinduism is growing slowly, but is still winning followers from those searching for life’s answers in religion. There are approximately 140,000 Protestant missionaries across the nations, but only 2% serve Hindu people. Despite this, Hindus from all castes are coming to Christ after hearing Bible stories they were able to relate to. In one instance an entire village turned to Christ after hearing His Word preached in their language! Pray for the Bible translators researching people groups and their languages to produce accessible Bibles. Leaving Hinduism means persecution, even to death. New believers are considered threats to Hindu society and are relentlessly pursued, violently attacked, or shunned from the community. Doubt and fear follow them because they accepted Jesus into their lives and became outcasts in their world. Pray for the new house church movement, welcoming recent converts.