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The leader of North Africa's al-Qaida branch has offered training and weapons to Nigeria's Muslims to fight the Christians following sectarian violence. Abdelmalek Droukdel, leader of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, has accused Nigerian Christians of killing hundreds of Muslims in a ‘Crusader war’ and promises to train Muslim youths and supply them with weapons and equipment. He exhorted Nigerians to ‘push your sons into the fields of Jihad to become the fighting vanguard in defence of the Muslims blood and honour.’ Violence between Christians and Muslims in central Nigeria left 326 people dead late last month.
Pray: for law and order to be restored, that Christians will not retaliate with further violence but will show Christ-like love.(Ps.17:7) More: http://ausprayernet.org.au/newsletter/DisplayNewsletter.php?e_id=00000001889#st4
Rev Zang Tengong said a religious war is under way for the soul of Nigeria and believes the central city of Jos is the frontline against Islam’s expansion southwards. ‘I know what Jesus says but Islam is a demonic religion and these people are very dangerous - this is a religious war, we will fight to the last drop of blood.’ Like many other Christian leaders across this city he is convinced the church is confronting Jihad; an echo of 19th-century campaign of Islamic conquest and conversion by Usman Dan Fodio. Nelson Ananze of Community Action for Popular Participation said, ‘A great divide is between indigenous people who claim it’s their land, and those they call settlers.’ Muslims are not given business contracts or indigene forms (entitlement to schooling and state jobs).
Pray: for God to intervene in ethnicity struggles, political power rivalry and religious tension in what was once a laid back cosmopolitan city. (Ps.3:8) More: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89243
Nearly half Niger’s population does not have enough to eat and the government says it is facing a grain shortfall of 692,501 tons, following another severe drought across the Sahel. The government says it needs 3.8 million tons of cereals to feed six million people spread across 6,981 villages, equating to 49.4 percent of the affected zones. Boukanda, a village with a population of 1,000 about 50km west of the capital Niamey, is typical of many insecure villages which have been largely abandoned by their younger residents. The able-bodied and young people of the village preferred to leave for big cities or abroad. Only a few ‘wealthier’ families pound sorghum instead of millet, the main staple of the village. These people still have small supplies but they will not last long. Boukanda village chief Seyni Seydou said the rains ended just when the plants needed water, and grasshoppers and other insects finished off the crops.
Pray: for the people of Niger as they face hunger and drought. Pray that the rains will come and supplies of cereals reach those in need. (Rev.7:16-17)
Niger could have a staggering eight million people starving and around one million children critically malnourished because of repeated drought and irregular rainfall that caused a poor harvest. Reports say many families are abandoning their villages and heading to Niamey city in a desperate search of food. Animals are beginning to die, malnutrition is on the increase and water is increasingly scarce. Many schools are being abandoned and the majority of Niger’s farmers fear they will not have seeds to plant for the next harvest in October. Imported Nigerian food is available but is too expensive for most families. Christian Aid has released £100,000 emergency funds to three partner organisations working in the region to provide food for the most vulnerable women and children, give support to cereal banks and food distribution and set up cash-for-work programmes to enable families to buy cereals and grains in the markets.
Pray: that Christian Aid’s resources would be enlarged, for lives to be saved and livelihoods rebuilt. (1Pe.4:10)
More:http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/west-africa-food-crisis/index.aspx
Christians in this vast, drought-prone country on the edge of the Sahara desert, were among those facing starvation after aid groups described the food situation in Niger as ‘extremely desperate’. Save the Children warned that up to 380,000 children under five are at risk of death by starvation. Christian aid and advocacy group Barnabas Fund told Worthy News that Christians are ‘particularly vulnerable during this time of crisis,’ as they comprise just 0.3 per cent of the predominantly Muslim population of over 15 million people. Aid workers in Islamic countries such as Niger have complained that government aid is often not reaching minority Christians. Barnabas Fund told Worthy News in a statement that it is already providing close to 700 Christian families each with ‘a 100 kilogram sack of either maize or millet and a 500 kilogram bag of rice.’ (See Prayer Alert 1310) Pray: that God would have mercy bringing rain to this parched land and aid from those who have plenty. (Ps.33:18-20) More: http://www.worthynews.com/8490-news-alert-niger-christians-starving-group-says
Hopes are fading of finding survivors beneath collapsed buildings in the aftermath of Tuesday's earthquake in the New Zealand city of Christchurch Ninety-eight bodies have now been recovered and taken to a temporary mortuary. Prime Minister John Key said that number could rise substantially. Police have said 226 people are missing - up to 120 of them at one site alone. Superintendent Dave Cliff said 16 to 22 people were presumed to have died in the cathedral, which was devastated in the quake. The earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 5km (3.1 miles) early in the afternoon on Tuesday, when the South Island city was at its busiest. It was Christchurch's second major tremor in five months, and New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster for 80 years Pray:for God's voice to speak through His people at this time giving hope and comfort and demonstrating Christ’s compassion in thoughts, words and deeds. (Ps.116:8)
Five years after abolishing Hinduism as the state religion, Nepal is working on a new criminal code forbidding a person from one faith to ‘convert a person or abet him to change his religion.’ The proposed code also says no one will be allowed to do anything or behave in any way that could cause a person from a caste, community or creed to lose faith in his/her traditional religion or convert to a different religion. The proposal also prohibits conversion ‘by offering inducements or without inducement,’ and preaching ‘a different religion or faith with any other intent.’ Offenders could be imprisoned for a maximum of five years and fined up to US$685. If the offender is a foreigner they would be deported within seven days of completing the sentence. Last weekend Nepal failed to complete a new constitution for religious freedom due to a protracted battle for political power. Pray: for Nepal’s Christian community, which has no representation in the Council of Ministers or in Parliament, to know God's provision. (Ps.1:6) More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/nepal/article_113290.html
World AIDS day was observed on December 1st. Though Nepal was hailed by the UN as achieving a significant decline in new HIV infection rates, they are now witnessing a new alarming trend with housewives accounting for nearly half of the fresh infections. The rocketing increase of housewives contracting HIV/AIDS is linked to the growing migration of Nepali men abroad for jobs, especially to India, from where they bring the disease back home to remote areas where people find it easier to go to India across the border for jobs, business, education and even entertainment. Nepal’s HIV/AIDS efforts are heavily dependent on international assistance. This situation leads to babies needlessly being born infected when they could easily have been HIV-free if their mothers were granted greater access to testing and treatment. Pray: for streams of Godly education to support all initiatives intended to halt the spread of aids. (Job27:11) More: http://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/programs/health/newlife.html?gclid=CITticvB3KUCFYIe4Qod13_80A
Hindu extremists in Nepal have threatened to attack Christians and Muslims unless they leave the country. Members of the Nepal Defence Army (NDA) made threatening phone calls to several senior church figures and issued leaflets threatening violence against both Christians and Muslims. In one call, extremists threatened to bomb a cathedral in Kathmandu – the target of a violent attack by the NDA in 2009. In another call, the group insisted that Nepal is a Hindu nation where Christians and Muslims are 'not welcome'. The threats have prompted a police investigation and forced churches to hire security guards. The NDA has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Christians, church organisations and mosques in recent years. It has taken advantage of political instability since the end of Nepal's civil war to pursue its armed struggle to create a Hindu state.
Pray: for God's perfect peace and protection over Christians in Nepal. Pray particularly for wisdom for church leaders. Pray that moderate Christians, Muslims and Hindus in Nepal will commit to working together to build the future of their nation. (Is.26:3)
Al Shabaab, an Islamic militant group alleged three agencies were propagating Christianity and halted their work. ‘Now that they have suspended their work, it is the local people who will suffer,’ said the Pastor now in exile, of a small Christian community in Somalia. On 8 August, the Islamic group demanded that World Vision, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and Diakonia, a Swedish agency, immediately cease operations in Somalia. Pray: for God to protect and keep in His perfect peace the groups in Nairobi and elsewhere who bring emotional, physical, and spiritual sustenance where militant Islam threatens. (Ps.26:1, 12) More: http://www.eni.ch/