A meeting between China’s defence minister Wei Fenghe and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin took place during an Asian security summit in Singapore. The hour-long meeting took double the time allotted. The USA is concerned about China’s increasingly unsafe, aggressive, unprofessional military behaviour, which indicates an attempt to change the status quo. A Chinese fighter plane dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane over the South China Sea, and Chinese warplanes harassed Canada’s aircraft monitoring North Korean sanction evasions. ‘If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost,’ said Fenghe. The Chinese minister also pledged, ‘Beijing will smash to smithereens any Taiwan independence plot and resolutely uphold the unification of the motherland. Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. Using Taiwan to contain China will never prevail.’ Joe Biden intends to spend more time on Asian security issues after months focusing on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

‘Machine guns and fighter jets are not our primary security concern. The single greatest threat to our very existence is climate change, not military tensions’, Fiji defence minister Inia Seruiratu told delegates at the Asian security summit in Singapore, which up to that point had focused on China-US tensions and the Ukraine war. He told delegates, ‘Cyclones have repeatedly battered Fiji and other low-lying Pacific countries. Climate change threatens our very hopes and dreams of prosperity. Waves are crashing at our doorsteps, winds are battering our homes, we are being assaulted by this enemy from many angles.’ In recent years human-induced devastating climate change has displaced thousands of people who have been inundated by floods. Floods and cyclones have also wrought economic havoc, and Pacific states have urged advanced industrialised nations to do more to combat climate change. The world is now 1.2C warmer than it was in the 19th century - mainly because of burning fossil fuels which release greenhouse gases.

The Nigerian government is about to pass a bill that will punish those who pay ransoms with up to fifteen years in prison. It would also give a death sentence to those who commit abductions. Armed groups have kidnapped hundreds of people for ransom across Nigeria over the last two years. Most recently, a ransom of $240,000 was paid by the Nigerian Methodist Church after eight gunmen abducted its head, His Eminence Samuel Kanu, and two other pastors while they were on their way to the airport in Nigeria’s southeastern state of Abia. The clergymen’s driver and one other church member managed to escape. The 69-year-old recounted how the abductors showed them the rotted bodies of previous victims, threatening to do the same with him. Archbishop Chibuzo Opoko, who heads the Methodist church in Abia State, said paying the ransom was necessary.

Iran's proxy militias have caused the decline of Christians in many regions by adopting ‘forced immigration’. In Lebanon Hezbollah targets missionaries, impedes conversions, imposes strict dress codes and alcohol bans, and limits mixed sexes in public, in what have been dubbed ‘mini-Tehrans.’ A sizeable amount of land owned by Christians has been taken over by Hezbollah through eviction. In Iraq, initially employed to resist American forces, the Shiite Mahdi Army has changed the demography, Making Baghdad 'Christian-free' was high on its agenda when they morphed into IS. Iran had influence in Syria through the Assad family (Alawite Sunni). After the uprising Iran restructured the Syrian Army and created several militias within the Shia Liberation Army. It saved the Assad regime, killing 600,000 people, displacing 6.5 million internally, and forcing 6.6 million to flee Syria. In Yemen the Houthis have invested considerable effort into ending the Christian presence in the territories under their control.

Every minute twenty people leave everything behind to flee persecution of their race, religion, nationality, politics or social group membership. Others escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters. There are also internally displaced persons, stateless people with no recognised nationality, not belonging to any country due to discrimination against certain groups. With no citizenship certificate, they are excluded from healthcare, education and employment. There are also asylum seekers who have fled their homes, but their refugee status is not yet definitively evaluated in the country to which they fled. Every one of them, according to the 1951 Refugee Convention Protocol, has the right to work, to housing, to education, to public relief and assistance, and to freedom of religion. They should also have access to courts and freedom of movement. and be issued with identity and travel documents in the country at the end of their journey.

Church leaders are common targets for violations of rights in Uzbekistan. They are fined for meeting illegally, possession of religious literature, having Christian songs on their smartphones and more. They can be detained, denied exit visas, and put under house arrest: all tactics to cause a ripple effect of fear and anxiety throughout their congregations. Pastors and lay leaders of unregistered churches are insulted, beaten and humiliated. Some men will be denied promotion at work, while others may lose their job altogether. When a church does try to officially register, persecution increases. Adam tried unsuccessfully to register with the government. Then the police demanded he renounce his faith because he had asked for registration. Ask God to encourage, equip and empower believers facing pressure and persecution. May hostility against them soften. Grant leaders wisdom and discernment when they navigate state restrictions. Keep them in good health and spirits.

The situation for women deteriorates rapidly as restrictions erase girls and women from public life. They are virtually prisoners in their homes. Christians remain in danger as the Taliban do house-to-house searches and even confiscate people’s smartphones. Men, women and children are being deprived of freedom to think and live freely in different ways. But Pastor Ebadi speaks hope into viewers’ lives on SAT7 Christian broadcasting, saying, ‘Jesus Christ is the only one who can help us be freed from the cage in which we are held. Whatever the chains, whether sin, power, desire, or temptation, Jesus can rescue us. While we are alive, we must encourage and help one another.’ SAT7 is responding to the need for emotional and spiritual support through regular live broadcasts of Secret of Life and the pre-recorded programme Window of Light. Later this year they will broadcast two seasons of the Dari scripture teaching programme.

Two of the 276 Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram extremists in 2014 have completed their master’s degrees in the USA. Lydia Pogu completed a masters in Human Services Administration, and Joy Bishara a masters in Social Work. ‘Boko Haram told us that school is a taboo for women and warned us that if we went back to school, they would come for us,’ said Lydia. ‘I thought all my dreams had changed, but God had a different plan for me.’

Kerry worked in a Christian hospital in sub-Saharan Africa as a physiotherapist to bring healing and hope to people largely unreached with the Christian message. Based in north Cameroon, she became part of a multinational (and non-denominational) team offering medical - and sometimes miraculous - solutions to the Fulbe (also known as Fulani) tribe. A gentle, gracious and unhurried people, the Fulbe are mostly Muslim. But many are now following Jesus, and they do not always first hear about him through the missionaries. Extended family groups, even across the border into Chad, have come together after having dreams of Jesus, asking Kerry and her colleagues to teach them more about the faith. A young man called Mohammed, whom Kerry introduced to Jesus four years ago, has since visited several of these groups, feeding their hunger to know more about this wonderful person who appeared to them in their sleep.

After months of power struggles and accusations, Boris Johnson has said, ‘Let's draw a line under our issues’. The House of Commons and House of Lords both begin their sessions with prayers: may God graciously answer them at this time. The Speaker's Chaplain prays along these lines: ‘God of righteousness and truth, grant our government and MPs your Spirit’s guidance. May they never lead the nation wrongly through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals, but laying aside all private interests and prejudices remember their responsibility to improve the condition of our nation.’ The House of Lords prayer is: ‘Almighty God, You raise up leaders to reign and decree justice. Grant them Your counsel, wisdom, and understanding. Direct and guide all meetings, so that all private interests, prejudices, and partial affections are laid aside. May the result of all our counsel bring glory to Your Name. Lord and be graced with your favour.’ See