One of America's leading evangelicals, James Dobson, claims to know the person who ‘fairly recently’ led presidential candidate Donald Trump to accept a relationship with Jesus Christ. This week Dobson called Trump a ‘baby Christian’ and said, ‘We all need to be praying for him.’ Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and one of the most prominent social conservatives in the United States, gave his account at a meeting Trump had in New York on Tuesday with hundreds of evangelicals. Dobson was part of a small group that met privately with Trump later on Tuesday and said that if he has had a religious rebirth he is still learning the ropes: ‘He refers a lot to religion, and not much to faith and belief.’ This claim has been compared to how former US President George W Bush captured vigorous support from evangelical voters by his claim of having been born again.

On Wednesday, Europe’s third busiest airport, Ataturk, was attacked by three suicide bombers, leaving 41 dead and 239 wounded. They were in the arrivals hall when Turkish security officials stopped them. When they began shooting AK-47 rifles, the officers returned fire. A police officer wrestled one to the ground before he blew himself up in a bombing coordinated with two other suspects. The gunmen appeared to be trying to reach the area where the planes are. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was due to land there when the attack occurred. Rama is overseeing a crackdown on a small but devoted group following IS. A hundred or so Albanians have travelled to the Middle East to join IS. Airports are tantalising targets as they are designed to allow international access, with open planning that has many people in a confined space. An attack creates headlines and fear into people globally. President Erdogan proclaimed the attack ‘will not divide or split our country.’

On 4 December we highlighted the plight of Maryam Naghash Zargaran, a Christian believer from a Muslim background who had been in Evin prison for three years and urgently needed medical treatment which the prosecutor refused to grant. However, following a hunger strike to protest against the lack of medical care, Maryam left prison on 6 June to receive treatment on a bond of 350 million toman. On 19 June the court ordered Maryam to return to prison. She was still not well enough and her family applied for an extension. However, the prosecutor’s office refused to extend her leave and threatened to retain the money submitted as a bond. Last Tuesday she was back in Evin Prison. She’s suffering from many health issues, to the concern of family members and fellow-prisoners. Pray for the continuation of her medical treatment by the prison authorities and a speedy return to health. Pray also for the spiritual and political climate inside Iran.

Taliban bombers attacked a police convoy of buses outside Kabul, killing more than thirty and wounding fifty. The convoy was carrying graduates from a ceremony on the city's western outskirts. All but two of the dead were police cadets. The cadets were returning to Kabul from a training centre and were about to go on leave. According to the district’s governor, a suicide bomber struck first, followed by a second car bomb explosion detonated between two buses in the convoy. At the time of writing, officials are still trying to confirm the precise number of dead, but witness and sources describe a scene of carnage. In a similar attack last week, fourteen were killed, including some Nepali security guards working for the Canadian embassy.

Parts of West Virginia are facing a prolonged clean-up effort after widespread flooding killed 23, left thousands homeless, and prompted Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to declare a federal disaster. The inundation swamped entire areas of the state, washing out roads, flooding and destroying structures and cutting off power to thousands. More than 1,200 homes were severely damaged or destroyed in the state. In a single county, Roane, 500 homes were lost to the deluge. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is accepting applications from residents in the three hardest hit counties and climatologist Kevin Law said that this is the third-deadliest flooding event on record for the state and the worst since a 1985 flood that killed 38.

When Christian football star Tim Tebow was interviewed on the Larry King Now show, he said that he goes through high and low points in his faith just like everybody else, but he believes in exercising faith so that it may grow stronger. ‘I really believe faith is like a muscle, and the more you work it, the stronger it grows. Sometimes you might strain that muscle too and take a step back, and you have to get it stronger again,’ he said. ‘I think that happens in every journey. You're not always strong, you're not always in the right position. You take highs and lows in that just like in anything else. I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds my future.’

Rapidly growing slums, with millions of people living in extreme poverty and struggling for survival, are a huge problem for South Asia's major cities. Up to 25% of the population of urban areas live in slums. Thousands arrive daily from rural areas in search of jobs and a better life, only to become trapped in desperation and hopelessness. Open sewage, polluted water, lack of health care, illiteracy, superstition, and diseases are some of the threats all around them. Some resort to begging, scavenging or prostitution to be able to eat. Gospel for Asia's ministry to the slums began in 1999. They bring hope by living out His sacrificial love and sharing the love of Christ. They conduct free medical clinics, teach basic hygiene, provide literacy classes for adults, tutor classes for children, and hold weekly Sunday schools. They have planted hundreds of churches, and thousands of unreached people have heard the Gospel.

In the light of today’s dramatic events, with the UK voting to leave the EU and David Cameron saying that he will step down, it’s important to remember that God has a spiritual purpose for the United Kingdom and Europe. It’s time to pray for our political leaders to get up and go forward graciously, doing the job they were chosen to do, and for God to give us His peace and stability. We can declare that Jesus is Lord over the decision to leave, and ask for God's guidance for all leaders. Pray for much wisdom for our Parliament and Government as they respond to the result; for reconciliation for those on opposing sides of the debate; and for relationships not to be damaged. Pray for our leaders in government, banking and commerce to unite for national economic and political stability both in the short term and long term. Pray also that we will value the contribution that each of us has to make in the public square, and for a greater recognition of the hard work that our public servants do in a difficult and challenging role. See also http://www.worldprayer.org.uk/images/PDF/EVC-web.pdf

Tom Mair, 52 years old, was charged with murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon. Jo was killed because of her ‘very strong political views’, her husband Brendan said. He also said she had become increasingly worried about the ‘coarsening’ language of political debates in the UK and globally. He added that the outpouring of public support and the establishment a £1m charitable fund had been sources of comfort to him and their two children.

While the EU referendum has dominated the news, the Bishop of Durham urges us to remember it is also Refugee Week, which for nearly twenty years has been celebrating the contribution of refugees to the UK. Pray that refugee charities will not suffer from compassion fatigue. Pray for the local welcome groups that have been springing up to continue and thrive. Pray for the local councils working to resettle Syrian refugees in their areas and for churches and other NGOs who welcome the refugees when they arrive. Thank God for the growing network of civic welcome in Britain which has been mirrored by extraordinary voluntary efforts in Calais and beyond, exemplified by three women who turned Help Refugees from a hashtag to a £2million operation feeding 20,000 people a day. Pray for the exciting new initiatives taking shape, including community sponsorship of refugees.