Canon Andrew White, affectionately known as 'the Vicar of Baghdad', says Iraq is in total chaos. 500,000 fled Mosul and the emergency has stepped up dialogue between the US and Iran (see item below). Iraq was already coping with large-scale displacement and pressing humanitarian needs resulting from Syria’s civil war sending tens of thousands to seek shelter in Iraq, including Iraqi refugees who fled there after the US-led invasion. Please pray for the refugee agencies already in Iraq to be equipped and able to meet the needs of those who are in despair and have lost everything. Pray for the Red Cross who are there now distributing food, water, shelter and healthcare; for ASUDA providing safe shelters in northern Iraq for women at risk of violence, especially those threatened with ‘honour killing’; for REACH  helping communities in northern Iraq engage with the local civil authorities; and for Christian Aid supporting communities badly affected by conflict. William Hague stated the Iraqi government carries the 'heavy responsibility of bringing the situation under control.' See also: http://www.christiantoday.com/article canon.andrew.white.things.have.moved.from.terrible.to.desperate.in.iraq/38148.htm

Sunni Islamist militants have attacked Iraq's main oil refinery, causing damage to the site. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pledged his majority Shi'ite country would do whatever is necessary to protect Shi'ite holy sites in Iraq from ‘terrorists.’ US officials are in direct talks with Iran – uniting against a common enemy. Meanwhile, President Obama considers a range of possibilities, including assistance to Iraqi security forces and carrying out airstrikes, while stressing the need for political unity. Iran recently sent 500 soldiers to aid Iraqi law enforcement officers, but have said that the Iraqi government did not ask for their assistance. The USA has sent 500+ Marines to the Persian Gulf, and increased security at their embassy in Baghdad. Many believe a successful outcome in Iraq is not contingent upon the intervention of any country. There’s a need for Iraq to take steps on the political front to be more inclusive and govern in a non-sectarian manner.

Israeli seminary students Naftali Frankel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrah disappeared last Thursday as they hitchhiked towards Hebron. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Hamas is behind the kidnapping. On Monday Israeli security forces rounded up 40 members of Hamas. Palestinians threw rocks when Israeli soldiers entered the al-Jalazoun refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Israeli troops responded with gunfire, killing a 20-year-old Palestinian and wounding another. The Israelis also launched pre-dawn raids on the West Bank city of Hebron. Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, chief of Israel's Armed Forces, said, ‘We have a goal, and that is to find these three boys and bring them home, and to hit Hamas as hard as possible,’ Al Jazeera reported that two  groups - ’Islamic State’ and the ‘Brigade of the Free Men of Hebron,’ have claimed responsibility for the kidnappings.

On Tuesday 17th June a suicide bomber in a tricycle taxi detonated explosives as people watched Brazil's match against Mexico in Yobe State. A hospital worker said truckloads of injured young men and children were being treated in overcrowded wards. The injuries were ‘horrific’ and more than 20 were seriously injured (Nigeria’s Daily Post newspaper reported scores feared killed). Boko Haram describes football as un-Islamic. Open-air viewing centres where fans watch live football are popular throughout Nigeria. However, authorities warned some states to avoid public World Cup screenings, fearing militant attacks. The state of Adamawa ordered all venues planning to show live football coverage to close, after receiving intelligence of planned bomb attacks. On 1st June 14 people were killed after a bomb blast at a bar screening a televised football match.

A new report from the Association of Victims of Abduction and Forced Disappearance (AVAFD) states that more than 550 Egyptian Christian women and girls have been kidnapped since 2011. The kidnapped women are then forced to adopt Islam and marry their captors. They reported that the women’s ages ranged from 14 to 40. Many are raped; many are not even sought by police. Authorities instead claim the women left their families by choice. AVAFD founder, Ebram Louis said kidnappings have increased in Egypt since Hosni Mubarak fell from power. ‘Before the revolution, five or six girls would disappear each month. Now the average is 15.’ Often before the girls are forced into marriages, the traditional cross which the Coptic minority tattoos on their wrists is erased with acid, according to Terrasanta, a Catholic news service. Some maintain there are Islamic cells dedicated exclusively to the abduction of Coptic Christian girls and young women. See also: http://blog.godreports.com/2014/06/over-550-christian-girls-kidnapped-in-egypt-since-2011/

On June 18th officials from the Ministry of Planning and Housing sent bulldozers that destroyed a church-building belonging to the St John Episcopal Church of Sudan, in the Haj Yousif area. A Catholic church-building in the area was also demolished the same day. This happened days after they confiscated three Catholic schools. ‘The government wants to remove all churches from Khartoum,’ a source said.’Tell all churches to stand in prayer for the church in Sudan.' Clergymen said persecution was intensifying following the secession of South Sudan in July 2011, with officials targeting churches they claim to be associated with now unwelcome, largely Christian, South Sudanese in the Islamic-ruled country.  A Full Gospel Church was destroyed in the same area two months ago, on the pretext that it belonged to South Sudanese and since they had presumably left, the buildings were no longer needed.

Last Wednesday Boko Haram entered a village saying they had come to preach then fired on the crowd that gathered, killing 45. It follows a similar attack on Attagara village the previous day when gunmen in military uniforms convinced residents they had come to provide protection, gathering people in the centre of the village to kill them. A survivor said ‘they fired continuously for a very long time until all that had gathered were dead’. A local MP said it was impossible to count the dead because survivors fled into nearby hills but he estimated 200. (See last week's PA STOP PRESS) These attacks
happened near the mountains, close to the border with Cameroon where Boko Haram operates. Also please pray for Christian negotiator Stephen Davis, a former canon at Coventry Cathedral, who has been having talks with a senior commander of the group holding the 200 Chibok girls. See: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2645234/Australiandesperately-trying-free-kidnapped-Nigerian-schoolgirls.html

In the Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers march through the night hunting for women who are hiding in the bushes. 2,000 young soldiers fire gunshots in the air. The commander orders, ‘Go and rape women.’ The soldiers obey. Research from the American Journal of Public Health says that ‘in DRC 1,152 women are raped every day - 48 women every hour). Despite conflict officially ending in 2003 fighting has never stopped, claiming more than five million lives. Throughout this time, sexual violence has continued as a weapon. A total of 12% of the female population of the DRC have been raped at least once. DRC’s reputation is ‘the most dangerous in the world for women’. War Child UK, a charity working to reduce rape in the Congo, says sexual violence rises in conflict because men lose their role in society, are mentally scarred, and commit crimes with little consequence. Pray for the 4-day conference ‘End Sexual Violence in Conflict’ being held this week in London.

Musalaha’s Israeli-Palestinian Children’s Summer Camps provide a framework for Israeli and Palestinian children to meet together in a fun and friendly atmosphere. They have the opportunity to build relationships with children from the other side, whom they would otherwise not have the chance to meet, and learn to counter many of the stereotypes they have learned. The children learn about the reconciliation process as they build relationships with each other. This is done through sitting together at meal times, playing water games, engaging in activities and studying the Bible together. They walk away from these camps having learnt new phrases and songs in Hebrew and Arabic; having shared cabins, they potentially become agents of change at a young age after having made new friends. Sudanese refugee children also participate as the children learn to be around other groups of people who are living in both Israeli and Palestinian societies.

While its popularity is renowned across the world, its notoriety goes deeper than you may expect. It’s an industry that engages almost every country on the planet; captivating countless numbers of male and female clientele alike and making more money annually than Nike, Starbucks and Google put together. Sadly, this industry isn’t football - it's human trafficking. The World Cup brings a mass influx of tourists and traffickers are preparing for a month of the highest demand they’ll encounter. In business when demand increases, so does the supply - and unfortunately sex-tourism is no different. 20% of Brazil’s population live below the poverty line, with one of the largest disparities in the world between rich and poor. The economic imbalance is increasing and the poor are vulnerable to exploitation and violation. 120 years after slavery was abolished in Brazil an estimated 40,000 people are still trapped by it. 12-year-old children are sold for a night for less than the price of a cup of coffee.