Displaying items by tag: tensions

Many participating groups in 2019’s Eurovision Song Contest are already in Tel Aviv, with more arriving daily. The finale will be on 18 May, in the same week as Palestinians commemorate Nakba. This was 71 years ago, when 700,000 people left their homes at the time when Israel was born. Activists say the venue for the competition was built on land of a former Arab village which emptied in 1948. As anxiety mounts, the foreign ministry spokesman, Emmanuel Nahshon, said, ‘This is going to be a huge party with thousands of people participating, but we will remain extremely vigilant in order to make sure that no-one comes here to disturb and destroy,’ The event, watched by a global TV audience, will also become a focus for protests against the country’s treatment of Palestinians. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to hold Eurovision in Jerusalem, to add weight to Israel’s campaign for global recognition of the holy city as Israel’s capital.

Ever since the 1947 partition when Britain dismantled its Indian empire, India and Pakistan have been arch-rivals. The animosity, rooted in religion, is characterised by conflict over the state of Kashmir. Currently they are on the brink of major confrontation. Pakistan’s president Imran Khan has announced that Islamabad will release IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan, who was captured after an aerial combat that resulted from Indian bombing of alleged ‘terror’ targets inside Pakistan. Mr Khan urged the need for ‘better sense to prevail’, stating the need for the two nuclear-armed countries to remain cool-headed and work together against terrorism in disputed Kashmir. Pray that this latest altercation will prompt the international community to step in and bring the two historically opposing forces into agreement for a more peaceful co-existence.

NATO has launched its biggest military exercises since the end of the Cold War, amid rising tensions with Russia. About 50,000 soldiers from 31 countries are taking part in a mock battle in Norway, against an invading force named Trident Juncture 18. The battle is scheduled to run until 7 November. NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said the drills would send a clear message to ‘any potential adversary’. Washington is contributing the biggest contingent of troops to the exercises, which are taking place just weeks after Russia staged its own largest-ever military drills.

Ecclesiastes 9:17,18 says, ‘The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.’ Tensions around Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are dangerous. No one is backing down in their war of words. Yesterday Trump implied in a tweet that he had North Korea to back down over its threat to Guam. It is a dangerous misperception that could cause the crisis to escalate. Trump could miss the best chance he will have to halt the missile tests that threaten the American homeland. Anxious about annual US-South Korea military exercises that begin next week, Pyongyang has presented the US with clear choices: reduce tensions or face a destabilising missile strike to the waters around Guam. Kim Jong-un is waiting to see what the ‘foolish Yankees’ do next. Pray for God's protection over Korea, Japan, Guam, and the USA.

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in Tehran on 7 June, killing at least 13 people. IS claimed responsibility, and threatened more attacks against Iran’s majority Shi'ite population. Iran's Revolutionary Guards blame their regional rival Saudi Arabia. Sunni Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the attacks, but the assault further fuels tensions between Riyadh and Tehran as they vie for control of the Gulf and influence in the wider Islamic world. The attack happened one week after the meeting between Donald Trump and the Saudi leaders (who support terrorists). Trump said that he prayed for the attack victims but added, ‘States that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.’