Liberia has closed most of her land borders after Ebola spread to Sierra Leone's capital Freetown and Lagos in Nigeria. This marks an alarming new front in the fight against a disease which up to now was confined to remote villages and rural outposts where 129 people have died. It spreads via bodily fluids and 56% of those affected die. The first confirmed case of Ebola in Freetown died Saturday after her parents forcibly took her from hospital. The World Health Organisation urges people showing signs of Ebola to go immediately to health centres. WHO said,‘We must stop the message that there is no treatment. The faster patients seek treatment in secure health centres the more likely they are to recover and avoid contaminating family members.’ Christian charity Samaritan’s Purse is leading an awareness campaign to encourage people to seek treatment. More than 430,000 people have been reached by their effort. See also:
Middle East: Why can’t they discuss ceasefire?
31 Jul 2014BBC analysts believe Hamas’s isolation after losing the support of former allies Syria and Iran and the Egyptian authorities crack down on smuggling tunnels has brought about attacking Israel as a way to obtain concessions in any eventual ceasefire. Meanwhile Qatar and Turkey, both supporters of Hamas, are participating in ceasefire negotiations. Israel does not trust them. Israel says even if it adopts a ceasefire it will continue searching out and destroying recent tunnels Hamas has built to bypass Israel's border defences (Security wall and Iron Dome) which up to now have mostly succeeded in preventing attacks within Israel proper. The current modern tunnel system is the first time that Israeli forces have faced a weapon against which they have no previous experience. Hamas has learned from Hezbollah how to improve its use of tunnels. Tunnels are now sophisticated, with water, sewage, and lighting allowing for month-long stays. See
The UN accused Israel of attacking a UN-run school housing refugees in Gaza despite warnings that civilians were there. The Israeli military said in a statement that its ‘initial inquiry suggests that militants fired mortars earlier that morning from the vicinity of UNRWA school in Jebalia’ and soldiers responded by firing towards the origin of fire’. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using schools and civilian areas as bases to launch attacks. Last week, another UN-run school was hit. But the Israeli military denied any killings, saying a single ‘errant’ shell had landed in an empty courtyard. The UN on Tuesday revealed that a cache of rockets had been found at one of its schools in Gaza - the third case of its kind and the UN condemned it as a ‘yet another flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises.’ Israel stepped up the intensity of its strikes saying it had hit a number of tunnelsl. See also
Afghanistan: The war widows
24 Jul 2014Marzia grew up under the Taliban and was not allowed to go to school. She was a carpet weaver. Her husband, also an illiterate weaver, joined the army but was killed in 2010. They had two children. ‘For the 40-day mourning period I stayed with my in-laws then I moved to my parents' house. I can’t live on my own, I don't have a job. People think when a woman becomes a widow she becomes loose and immoral. They think we are like a pot with no lid, uncovered and ready to do anything. I can’t remarry because my in-laws might take my children away. My son is six. I've admitted him to school. I want him to fulfil his father's dreams. Whenever he went on duty he said, ‘If anything happens to me, don't let my son be illiterate. I want him to become an engineer or a doctor.’
Christians in north-eastern Nigeria are mourning an evangelical pastor and at least 150 others. Attacks began on July 14 when Boko Haram attacked Dille village, killing Pastor Taiwo Dokun of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and 44 other villagers. The whereabouts of the late pastor's wife and their three children remained unknown. The family could have been abducted by the insurgents who took away many of the residents of the town. The pastor’s family members have not called any one' a church member told reporters, without revealing his name. The pastor’s residence was completely razed by the insurgents. Other homes and shops were also torched, forcing villagers to flee the area into nearby hills. Soon after the violence spread to other areas in and more than 100 people were killed. Militants were seen hoisting their black and white flag over the north-eastern town of Damboa. Hundreds are fleeing Askira Uba after receiving letters from Boko Haram threatening to attack and take over their villages. Nine villages are on the run.
The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia has urged the government and opposition to revise immigration policy, particularly offshore detention. A motion moved by the Synod recognises ‘the moral complexities of the task’ but says asylum seekers should not be called ‘illegal’, should not be detained for more than three months and women and children should not be placed in detention facilities. The Synod urged the Government to work with regional neighbours and the UNHCR to develop a compassionate and workable regional response to refugees and asylum seekers and to develop immigration policies that are more just and compassionate. The Rev Peter Lin, whose parish includes the largest number of asylum seekers in Sydney said, ‘We come into contact with frightened, traumatised yet relieved people. Whatever we think about how they arrived, they are among us, hurting, vulnerable and powerless in many ways.'
Iraq: Christians told ‘convert or die’
24 Jul 2014By 1 pm last Friday almost every Christian in Mosul had heard the message that they had until noon on Saturday to leave the city. Men, women and children piled into neighbours’ cars. Some begged for rides to the city limits and hoped to get taxis to the nearest Christian villages. They took nothing more than the clothes on their backs. The order from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) came after Christians decided not to attend a meeting that ISIS had arranged for Thursday night to discuss their status. They were too afraid to go. Since Saddam Hussein was ousted, Mosul's Christians have one of the oldest communities of its kind in the world, has seen their numbers dwindle from over 30,000 to just a few thousand. However, once ISIS swept into the city in early June there were reports that the remaining Christians had fled. Friday's edict was probably the real end. While a few may still find a way to stay in secret, the community will be gone.
International: Protests supporting Gaza
24 Jul 2014Hundreds of thousands of people marched, waved flags, raised placards and wore PLO t-shirts to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians last weekend. From Australia to France, from India to England, thousands rallied to support Palestinians and protest against Israeli military action in Gaza in marches and sit-ins. In Aberdeen and Glasgow demonstrations and marches were organised by Scottish Friends of Palestine, the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War Coalition. In England Stop the War Coalition organised campaigns or transport to campaigns in Batley, Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton, Bradford, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cardiff, Coventry, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Frome, High Wycombe, Keighley, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford and Rochdale. The demonstrations in High Wycombe illustrate the speed and strength of these campaigns - their protest was Buckinghamshire's largest ever peace protest. Within 24 hours of going live their Facebook page grew to 1100 followers. See also http://stopwar.org.uk/events/coaches/coaches-to-london-19-july-national-gaza-demonstration and http://www.mix96.co.uk/news/local/1345018/peaceful-protest-in-wycombe-over-gaza-airstrikes/