Displaying items by tag: Global

Thursday, 02 March 2023 20:06

G20 deadlock

Finance ministers of the world's largest economies failed to agree on a closing statement after China refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine or accept parts of G20’s statement deploring Russia's aggression ‘in the strongest terms’. Moscow said ‘anti-Russian’ countries had ‘destabilised’ the G20 after China’s plan was viewed as pro-Russian. President Zelenskiy will meet China’s president to discuss China’s cease-fire proposal, saying a meeting would be ‘important for world security.’ China's 12-point ‘political settlement’ plan does not require Russia to leave Ukraine and was met with scepticism from Ukraine’s allies. Emmanuel Macron called on Beijing to ‘help us pressure Russia’ to end the war as peace was only possible if ‘Russian aggression stopped, troops withdraw and territorial sovereignty of Ukraine and its people is respected’. Joe Biden said, ‘China as a peacemaker in Ukraine is not rational. Putin's applauding it, so how could it be any good? I've seen nothing in the plan that would benefit anyone other than Russia, if China's plan were followed.’ See also

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 02 March 2023 19:56

Global: lightning strikes causing fires

Researchers, including those from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, say that lightning-ignited wildfires produce large emissions of carbon, nitrogen oxides and other gases, playing a key role in the climate crisis. Previous studies already found that the global occurrence of lightning flashes may increase due to global heating over land and in the oceanic region of south-eastern Asia. A warming planet could lead to more ‘hot lightning’ strikes in many parts of the world. Hot lightning bolts are much more likely to spark wildfires and the climate crisis could lead to more wildfire-inducing ‘hot lightning’. Lightning strikes of all kinds could increase by 30% by 2100, researchers say,and a new model suggests major ice sheet collapse will happen before the Paris Climate Agreement temperatures are reached.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 16 February 2023 22:33

Global: scammers profit from Turkey-Syria earthquake

Scammers are using Turkey and Syria’s earthquakes to trick people into donating to fake causes. These scams claim to raise money for survivors, but instead they channel donations away from real charities into their own PayPal accounts. One of over a hundred recently created fundraisers for Turkey is TurkeyRelief, which joined Twitter and touts for donations. Its PayPal account has received US$900, but that includes $500 from the page’s creator, who donated to their own cause to make them appear authentic. On TikTok Live, content creators make money by receiving digital gifts. TikTok livestreams show photos with sound effects and ask for donations. One video shows a distressed child running from an explosion. Their plea for TikTok gifts is ‘Please help achieve this goal’. But the photo of the child is not from Turkey. The same image was on Twitter in 2018 with the caption ‘Stop African Genocide’.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 16 February 2023 22:13

Antarctic survey: glacier meltdown

Antarctic glaciers may be more sensitive to sea temperature changes than was thought. A  programme put sensors and an underwater robot beneath the Thwaites glacier, one of the worlds fastest-changing glaciers, the size of Britain. If it melted completely, it would raise global sea levels half a metre. The joint survey, part of the largest investigations ever undertaken anywhere on the White Continent , suggests even low amounts of melting can push a glacier further towards vanishing. Thwaites has been nicknamed Doomsday Glacier. From 6 to 20 November 2022, COP27 held high-level and side events, key negotiations, and press conferences, hosting more than a hundred heads of state, over 35,000 participants and numerous pavilions showcasing climate action around the world and across different sectors. Pray that new discoveries around earth science will be a strong wake-up call to all those participants.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 16 February 2023 22:10

Call for investment in world’s poorest people

The president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development has called for global leaders to invest more in rural communities and small-scale farmers, who produce one-third of the world’s food. The representatives of 177 states were asked, ‘Think how much more rural people could contribute to global food security, peace and stability if they had the resources to improve their farms and prosper, not just survive.’ Barbados’s prime minister said, ‘It is time for the world to recognise that we need to invest right now in securing food and nutrition for citizens across the planet, especially poor people, and invest in smallholder agriculture and diversified local production. Investing in food systems transformation will end the world’s hunger and nutrition crisis.’ Climate change, conflict and global inflation are creating a food crisis of epic proportions, as progress in achieving Zero Hunger moves backwards. Over one in ten people are hungry, and over 3 billion cannot afford a healthy diet.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 05 January 2023 21:28

World: watch and pray for 2023 elections

Proverbs 29:2 says, ‘When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.’ As 2023 unfolds forty different nations will be nominating new leaders or restoring 2022 leaders. We can pray for voters to make wise choices. Where there has been bribery and corruption previously, pray for honest and fair elections in 2023 to ensure that integrity and policymaking is for the good of all. Pray for leaders and their advisors to be level-headed as they handle the strains of public office. Ask God to raise up people who will make good and just decisions, and for Christians in leadership to bring salt and light into all they do and say. Where there is unrest, ask God to raise up peacemakers. Where there is Christian persecution, pray for freedom from coercion and harassment. For a list of countries and their election dates, go to Elections 2023.

Published in Worldwide
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Thursday, 17 November 2022 21:53

Bible translation accelerating

It has been another year of remarkable progress in Bible translation activity. Many areas of the work have seen significant acceleration. We see the favour and hand of God on translation projects and teams, enabling them to help create a world where everyone can know Jesus through the Bible. The number of language programmes that Bible translation teams are working on has seen its biggest leap on record, with new programmes starting at a rate of one per day. Also, Bibles and New Testaments have been launched at a rate of almost one per week. There is so much to be thankful for and be encouraged by. More people have God’s word in their language. More languages have a Bible than ever before. More languages have a New Testament than ever before. All this means that God’s word is available to millions of people in their own languages for the first time.

Published in Praise Reports
Thursday, 17 November 2022 21:50

Tearfund: helping the needy

Tearfund works tirelessly to help communities escape the very worst effects of poverty and disaster. They believe that the same people facing these troubles also have the best ideas about the ways they can overcome them. So Tearfund listens and then helps people to utilise their resourcefulness and determination to overcome their circumstances. When disaster strikes, Tearfund and its local partners are usually already present, hard at work in those very places. They have been responding to emergencies since 1968, working alongside local churches and Christian organisations wherever possible. They know the people, they know the problems and so often they can see simple, inexpensive solutions.

Published in Praise Reports
Thursday, 17 November 2022 21:13

Global: G20 summit

World leaders met for the annual G20 on 15-16 November, intending to discuss global economic plans. On the second day Volodymyr Zelenskiy presented proposals for a ‘Ukrainian formula for peace’ which was followed up on his telegram channel. He said, ‘Ukraine has always been a leader in peacekeeping efforts, and the world has seen it. If Russia says it supposedly wants to end this war, let it prove it with actions. We will not allow Russia to wait, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilisation. There will be no Minsk-3, which Russia will violate immediately after the agreement. There is a Ukrainian formula for peace for Ukraine, Europe and the world, and a set of solutions, when implemented, really guarantee peace. Ukraine offers the leading states of the world to be co-creators of peace together with us.’

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 10 November 2022 21:36

Global: ‘highway to climate hell’

UN chief António Guterres warned the COP27 summit that humanity must cooperate or perish. He warned world leaders, ‘We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/science-environment-63330171 Rishi Sunak said the war in Ukraine and rising energy prices globally are no reason to go slow on climate change. They are reasons to act faster. Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron also urged world leaders to deliver climate justice. The UN said progress on cutting global warming emissions has been ‘woefully inadequate’ since COP26 last year. The planet has warmed 1.1C since pre-industrial times. Scientists say rises must only be 1.5C by 2100 to avoid the worst effects. Continuing current policies would cause a higher rise of 2.8C.

Published in Worldwide