On Wednesday Somalia's presidential elections took place, with over twenty candidates to choose from. In a surprise result, former prime minister Hassan Sheikh Mohamud decisively defeated the incumbent president. It is the first time since the 1991 overthrow of President Said Barre that a new leader has been chosen inside the country; the UN sees this as a sign of improving security. The election, in Mogadishu airport (considered the safest place in the city), went ahead under close security against the militant group al-Shabaab, which had recently carried out several attacks in the capital. Mr Mohamud is a professor and activist who has worked for several peace and development organisations including Unicef. It remains to be seen if his election will make any difference for the small, secret community of Somali Christians. They face extreme persecution from their communities and tribes. If their faith is discovered, followers of Christ could be murdered on the spot. Al-Shabaab has stated publicly that it 'wants Somalia free of all Christians'. According to Open Doors, the country is tdhe second-most dangerous in the world for Christians. See:

Syria's justice ministry has rejected a report by Amnesty International that alleged as many as 13,000 people have been executed at a government prison. The ministry said the claims were ‘completely untrue and intended to harm Syria's reputation’. Amnesty said mass hangings took place every week at Saydnaya prison between September 2011 and December 2015, and that the executions had been authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government. 84 people, including former guards, detainees, and prison officials, were interviewed for the report. In a statement carried by the official Sana news agency, the justice ministry dismissed the claims as ‘baseless’ and said that all executions in Syria followed due process. Last year UN human rights experts said witness accounts and other evidence strongly suggested that tens of thousands of people were being detained, and that ‘deaths on a massive scale’ were occurring in custody.

The Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, has said the problem of water supply and sanitation illustrates why South Africa ‘is one of the most unequal countries in the world.’ He also described drought as one of the biggest risks facing South Africa’s businesses, causing food shortages, price increases and the loss of jobs for casual workers. He was speaking at the launch in London of an international church initiative to raise awareness and activism about challenges such as flooding, drought, rising tides, or access to fresh water and sanitation. The archbishop said a water crisis back home, with only three months’ supply left because of diminished rainfall, had concentrated his mind on how precious water is and on how devastating the effects of scarcity can be. He added, ‘Many of the threats to water are coming from companies who pollute rivers with industrial pollution. The shareholders of mining companies make a profit, but the local communities are left with water degradation. As a Church we stand firmly against fracking, since for short-term profit there is a danger of water systems being polluted for decades. Large corporate farms are also responsible, as artificial fertilisers and pesticides pollute the rivers,’ he said.

John Glenn gained heroic stature when he became the first American to orbit the earth, in February 1962. But far from his ego being rocket-boosted by such an achievement, the pioneering astronaut was humbled by the experience, and his faith in the Creator or the universe increased. Space travel at the time was inherently risky, and he said he prayed every day. Glenn, who later became the oldest human in space (at the age of 77), served as a US senator, and was a man of deep Christian faith. When he died in December, aged 95, he left the bounds of earth once more and reached heaven rather than just the heavens.

Among all homeless families in the USA, over three-quarters are headed by single women with children; about 30 percent of children in the foster care system would be discharged if their parents were properly housed. CityHouse in Delray Beach, Florida, is now providing transitional housing and support for those who would otherwise be homeless and at risk of having their children placed in foster care. Families at the Avenue Church had been providing shelter for such children. ‘We would take that child till the mum or dad got better. But what we discovered was that it was really the mum that needed care as well,’ explained Casey Cleveland, lead pastor at the church. In 2013 a small apartment building was secured with enough units to house five single mothers and their children, and CityHouse was established. The mothers must demonstrate a willingness to make a positive change in their lives, pay a small amount of rent, and attend weekly Bible studies on the property.

In Luke 15: 11-24, Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son who rejected his father and left home. But his father waited for him and welcomed him home with a party! Many of us know prodigals. Let’s commit to pray for them to come home; that they might ‘come to their senses’ and realise their loving heavenly Father is waiting to welcome them back.

(written by Jane Holloway, World Prayer Centre)

In a keenly-awaited white paper, Brexit secretary David Davis today set out the Government’s negotiating strategy for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Launching the 77-page document in a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Davis said the paper confirmed the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘an independent and truly global United Kingdom’. Confirming that the UK’s strategy would be guided by the twelve principles set out by Mrs May in her Lancaster House speech last month, Mr Davis said the Government was aiming for ‘a new, positive and constructive partnership between Britain and the European Union that works in our mutual interest’. The white paper was published a day after MPs voted overwhelmingly to permit Mrs May to press ahead with starting withdrawal negotiations under Article 50 of the EU treaties.

Police Scotland has been called ‘an organisation in crisis’ after it emerged the force will face a £200 million funding gap by 2020-21. Auditor-general Caroline Gardner gave this figure, which she said was a conservative estimate, to MSPs during a scathing assessment of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). Her evidence led to a call for the SPA, Chief Constable Phil Gormley, and the Scottish government to appear before the committee to explain the “financial mess”. Ms Gardner said there was ‘weak financial leadership’ in both Police Scotland and the SPA, the organisation which manages the £1.1 billion policing budget. She also said there may yet be wider financial implications as a result of the decision to scrap the controversial i6 computer system last year. SNP MSP Alex Neil, a former health secretary, told the committee the performance of the two organisations was ‘totally unacceptable’.

Ex-UKIP chief Nigel Farage has accused London mayor Sadiq Khan of hypocrisy for attacking US President Trump’s travel ban while inviting ambassadors from countries which refuse entry to Israeli citizens. At a meeting in City Hall on Tuesday night, Khan condemned Trump’s so-called ‘Muslim ban’ for being a ‘cruel, prejudiced and counterproductive’ policy. Also present at the reception were diplomatic representatives from eleven of the sixteen countries which do not allow entry to Israelis. Farage took to Twitter to call the London mayor a hypocrite. However, LSE professor and Middle East expert Fawaz A Gerges told the Independent that the two situations are totally different. ‘Trump’s ban is a Muslim ban, based on religious discrimination and racial discrimination. The relationship between Israel and its Arab neighbours is one of war since 1947 - for the last 70 years. By trying to force comparison, it just flies in the face of reality, it’s apples and oranges, sky and sea,’ he said. ‘What Trump has done has undermined America as a moral voice in the world.’

An estimated 620,000 people in the UK have a faulty gene that puts them at risk of developing coronary heart disease or sudden death, and most are unaware, a charity has warned. The British Heart Foundation said the figure was 100,000 more than had been thought and could be even higher. It said there was now a better grasp of the prevalence of inherited conditions. A child of someone with an inherited heart condition can have a 50% chance of inheriting it themselves. Each week in the UK, around twelve seemingly healthy people aged 35 or under are victims of sudden cardiac death with no explanation, largely due to undiagnosed heart conditions. Former England and Nottinghamshire cricketer James Taylor had to retire last year, at the age of 26, after he was diagnosed with the serious heart condition arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.