Loan sharks profit from soaring prices
29 Jun 2023
Loan sharks say business has never been so good, but there are huge risks attached to this type of borrowing. One loan shark calls himself an ‘enforcer’- referring to what happens if payments are missed. ‘The car is damaged, house windows and doors are pulled out, and even people get badly beaten.’ He says beatings are rare but admits to breaking legs, smashing teeth or eye sockets, leaving people hospitalised. Nearly all his customers are regulars, paying off debts within two or three months - then they are back a few weeks later. With high inflation demand has soared. He now hears from single mums and families needing smaller amounts of £500 to £1,000 to pay for gas or electricity or for groceries. Interest rates up to 50%, or ‘double bubble’ terms, where the original loan is doubled each month, are often applied. Most clients would accept any terms, out of desperation. Borrowers are usually lower-waged, full-time workers.
Russia: after the revolt, rebuild or ruin?
29 Jun 2023
The revolt lasted a day but the jealousy, rivalry and ambition that gave rise to it continues. Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin is a criminal who owes his enormous wealth to Putin. His rivals are the military and security elite ruling Russia, while Putin’s ambition is reimposing Russian influence across the globe. Senior Ukrainians are doing their best to manage the summer offensive but believe some Western allies and media supporters have become over-excited about their army and its NATO equipment. Other Ukrainian officials admit they fear a public collapse of Putin's regime might lead to worse danger as his would-be successors jockey for power in a state with the world's biggest arsenal of nuclear weapons. In the uncertainty about what is happening and what it means, we can be certain that God invites us to shape history through prayer and fasting. See also
France is mobilising a police force of 40,000 across the country, including 5,000 in Paris, to stem riots triggered by the killing of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager, by a police officer at a traffic stop. The officer was placed under formal investigation for voluntary homicide on 29 June. The announcement came as Paris witnessed a second night of violent protests, with rioters setting cars and public buildings ablaze over the shooting of Nahel during a traffic stop. Police arrested 150 people overnight. Clashes first erupted on 27 June in Nanterre, a town with long-simmering tensions between locals and officials. The government initially deployed 2,000 police to maintain law and order. ‘The last few hours have been marked by scenes of violence against police stations, schools and town halls, and thus institutions of the Republic and these scenes are wholly unjustifiable’, said President Macron.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) recruit, train and use children as fighters. It is a war crime and a human rights abuse to use children in armed conflicts. Israel is experiencing increased terrorist aggression in the West Bank, and Palestinian children are being killed. On Monday Ahmed Saqer died during a Palestinian and IDF gunbattle. Palestinian media said he was throwing rocks. Palestinian terror groups described Ahmed as a ‘fighter’. Could he have been throwing deadly munitions not rocks? On his TikTok account is a video of him posing next to a PIL flag. Another video showed a dozen pipe bombs inside his home. Regardless of what he was throwing, it was a difficult situation for Israeli forces to deal with. On Tuesday, two Palestinian teens died when an explosive device they were carrying detonated. A third person was critically wounded. There are many more incidents of children dying in battles.
Nine women and seventeen children are taking the Australian government to court, arguing that Australia has ‘effective control’ of their detention and the power to set them free from Syria’s Roj refugee camp. These Australian wives, widows, and children of slain or jailed IS members claim a legal right to return to Australia. Most are in squalid and violent detention camps, some held for four years. Children have untreated shrapnel wounds, malnourishment, and serious mental illnesses. Some were born in the camp and know no life outside it. Save the Children Australia say that legal action was a last resort, but they were left with no choice but to take Australia’s government to court. Pray that the US-backed Kurdish SDF army and the refugee camp officials will actively cooperate in the release of these Australians as they did for other countries, including Denmark, USA, Germany, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Nicaragua: Brazil lobbies for bishop’s release
29 Jun 2023
Brazilian president Lula wants his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega, to free Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who was sent to prison for over 26 years for refusing to leave Nicaragua after Ortega expelled him with 222 other political prisoners to America. He had been locked up for sermons unflattering to the government. Because he refused to leave, he was sent to a maximum-security cell. President Lula said, ‘There is no reason for the bishop to be prevented from exercising his function in the Church. The only thing the Church wants is for Nicaragua to free him.’ While Brazil and Nicaragua have good relations, ties between the Vatican and the Central American state have been severely strained following a crackdown on anti-government protests in 2018, when the Church acted as a mediator between them. Lula said that Ortega should recognise that a mistake had been made.
Myanmar: army cuts off aid to cyclone survivors
29 Jun 2023
Millions who survived Myanmar's strongest cyclones are struggling to rebuild their lives. Aid trickled in until 8 June, when Myanmar's army rulers banned transport for aid groups operating in the area, making it impossible for them to deliver aid. ‘The move has turned an extreme weather event into a man-made catastrophe.’ said Human Rights Watch. Cyclone Mocha hit in May, killing hundreds. Families are reeling from dwindling aid a month after their homes were destroyed. ‘There isn't enough water or food and finding them has become much harder with the monsoon under way’, says Aye Phyu. ‘It's been raining all week. We struggle every day. The children are studying in a school with no roof. When the storm hit all the houses collapsed. There is nowhere to stay.’ Only a fraction of homes have been repaired after the storm destroyed over 2,000 villages and 280,000 homes in Rakhine state, where 78% live below the poverty line.
Syria: poor man’s cocaine
29 Jun 2023
Built on the ashes of ten years of war, an illegal drug industry run by associates and relatives of President Bashar al-Assad has grown into a multibillion-dollar operation, eclipsing Syria’s legal exports and turning the country into the world’s newest narcostate. Its flagship product, captagon, is an addictive, inexpensive amphetamine, popular in Saudi Arabia and now being found in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Syria’s operations include workshops manufacturing the pills, packing plants to conceal them for export and smuggling networks to spirit them abroad. The production and distribution is overseen by the Fourth Armoured Division of the Syrian Army, commanded by Maher al-Assad, the president’s brother. Hezbollah's fighters have played a key role in helping the Syrian government turn the tide in the civil war and have long been accused of involvement in drug trafficking. The UK and US have imposed sanctions on those responsible for the captagon trade, which could be worth $57 billion. See