Displaying items by tag: USA

From business and strategic perspectives, Joe Biden's recent visits to Vietnam and India will likely be seen as bolstering ties with countries that can help Washington to counter China’s growing might. But for rights advocates, Biden's travels are a huge disappointment, given his administration's vow to prioritise human rights when taking office in 2021. Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the government's Hindu majoritarian ideology is reflected in bias in the justice system, and authorities have intensified efforts to silence activists and journalists through politically motivated charges. Meanwhile, Vietnam is holding at least 159 political prisoners - people imprisoned for peacefully exercising basic civil and political rights - and at least 22 others were in detention pending eventual trial before a court controlled by the ruling Communist Party. In the first eight months of 2023 alone, HRW said, courts have sentenced at least fifteen people to long prison terms in violation of their rights to a fair trial. Reporters asked Biden in Vietnam if he was putting US strategic interests above rights and replied: ‘I’ve raised it (human rights) with every person I met with’.

But HRW said talking in private was not enough.

President Biden's son, Hunter, has been criminally charged with three counts of lying when buying a firearm, after a proposed plea deal collapsed. This is the first time the child of a sitting president has been criminally prosecuted. All three counts relate to Mr Biden allegedly lying on forms while buying a firearm when he was a drug user. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, the justice department said in a statement. The younger Mr Biden's legal woes have become a political lightning rod as his father seeks re-election. Earlier this week, Republicans in the House of Representatives announced an impeachment inquiry into President Biden: among the accusations being levelled against him are that he lied about his involvement in his son's business dealings while serving as vice-president. Two Internal Revenue Service investigators have also claimed that the justice department stymied their investigation into Hunter Biden's tax return.

Firearms are the most common cause of death for people under 17, outranking traffic accidents. Gun-related deaths amongst youths have doubled in ten years. Pew Research found gun deaths among under-18's in the USA rose by 50% between 2019-2021. It is not just the physical wounds that need treating. Experts who work with gunshot victims say that children who have been shot are much more likely to be shot again because they go back to the same places and the same people. That child not only gets traumatised physically, but also mentally. Young victims need help getting back on the right track - that means enrolling in school, finding new friends, and getting a job - to break the cycle of violence. Dr Katie Donnelly has launched a youth violence intervention programme. Instead of treating gun-shot wounds as isolated incidents, it takes that horrific moment in a young person's life and turns it into a starting point for change.

Kim Jong Un will visit Vladimir Putin in September; the USA is concerned they will discuss North Korea providing Moscow with weapons to use in Ukraine. An arms deal makes transactional sense. Moscow needs ammunition and artillery shells. Pyongyang has plenty of both. Sanction-starved North Korea needs money and food after three years of border closures. Also, the breakdown of talks with the USA has left North Korea more isolated than ever. The US has warned of an arms deal between the two countries for some time: now, a leader-level meeting between Kim and Putin catapults this into the next realm. Russia’s desperate situation means Mr Kim will be able to extract a high price. On 4 September, South Korea's intelligence service briefed that Russia's defence minister has suggested that Russia, China and North Korea hold joint naval drills, like those carried out by the USA, South Korea and Japan, which Kim Jong Un so detests.

A handful of twenty-somethings went outside the four walls of their church to share the Gospel on the streets every Sunday night for five years. On fire with Holy Spirit power, they led their peers to Jesus - even changing the spiritual atmosphere of the area. They knew there was more for them than saving souls, and their actions led to planting a church for the new Christians led by Ivan, the son of the pastor who encouraged their outreach. He organised the United Church to disciple, train, and send followers of Jesus to proclaim His salvation. The church then birthed Jesus March, a ministry of United Revival Ministries, both under its auspices. The ministry has hosted 125 prayer and worship events, connected with 200 churches, commissioned 6,500 evangelists, and introduced thousands of people to Jesus since its formation five years ago. By 2024 United Revival will have brought Jesus March and evangelism training, worship, and prayer to nine American cities.

An increasing number of American Protestant church goers believe that financial prosperity is part of God's plan for them and that giving more money to their church and charities will result in blessings from God. Lifeway Research found that 52% of churchgoers say their church teaches that God will bless them if they donate more. Additionally, 76% believe God wants them to prosper financially, and they must do something for God to receive those material blessings. Such churchgoers are reflecting the heretical belief that material blessings are earned from God. Lifeway Research also noted that Covid and financial struggles due to inflation may have contributed to their changed beliefs. The prosperity gospel, or ‘the Word of Faith Movement’, teaches that believers can use God for material gain, particularly among younger and less educated churchgoers.

A new drive to uphold the right to pray and express religious beliefs in public settings has been launched. First Liberty Institute Texas announced the ‘Restoring Faith in America’ campaign seeks to defend the right to display the Ten Commandments, nativity scenes and other faith affirmations, as well as to protect the right to pray openly. Christian football coach Joe Kennedy was sacked from Bremerton High School for praying on the field after games. A lawsuit was filed against the school district: the Supreme Court ruled in Joe’s favour, and he was reinstated. His attorney for the case is encouraging Americans to ‘take a knee’ with Coach Kennedy as he returns to the field in September, supporting public affirmations of faith.

Wildfires have devastated communities on Maui and Hawaii. The historic town of Lahaina has burned to the ground. Pastor Milhoan from South Maui said, ‘I’ve been deployed to Iraq twice. Maui looks like a war zone, a smouldering mess.’ Over 110 Maui residents are dead. Only 25% of the fire zone has been searched; ruins are marked with an orange X after initial searches and HR if human remains were found. People with missing relatives give DNA samples to help identify victims. Red Cross, churches, mission agencies, hotels and holiday lets are housing residents and distributing food, clothing medicine, etc. But a different horror is emerging - looting vacant homes and bodies of the dead. Enomoto had to use violence to stop someone he found looting the charred body of an elderly woman. There was gold and jewellery everywhere. Pray for the looting to stop as fire zones are searched.

Georgia prosecutors have charged Donald Trump and 18 others with attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss. Trump is facing thirteen new charges, including racketeering. Racketeering is organised crime where someone makes money through illegal activities. Penalties are prison terms - five to twenty years, or £197,000 fines - which can help persuade subordinates to cut deals with the prosecution in exchange for lesser sentences. Organised criminal activity is prosecuted under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act; this includes convicting mafia bosses. When the court proceedings take place, they will dominate the next presidential election - making it a campaign unlike any other.

Generation Z grew up with iPads and iPhones. They are connected to technology. American Survey Centre calls 1/3rd of this age group 'religious nones' (no religious affiliation). A summer camp leader says, ‘It’s essential we preach and teach the Bible, sharing the love of God to them when they're young - before the world has a chance to beat them up, chew them up and spit them out.’ This year, 3,000+ campers accepted Jesus as their personal saviour at Crossroads Summer Camp. The camp leader attributed this surge in salvations to the goodness of God compared to what the world has to offer. The Crossroads leader said,‘I think they've seen the materialism of our world. The ideologies that are being shoved down their throats. They're all empty. When they feel the presence of God, when they taste and see that the Lord is good, nothing else will satisfy them.’