Zimbabwe’s ten national parks are famed for their huge populations of elephants, lions, rhinos, leopards and buffaloes; but on Tuesday they put their wild animals up for sale to save them from a devastating drought. The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said, ‘Members of the public with the capacity to acquire and manage wildlife - and enough land to hold the animals - should get in touch to register an interest.’ The drought is expected to worsen an already critical water shortage. Further north, Ethiopia is in the midst of the worst drought in fifty years, affecting over half of the country’s 750 districts. Earlier this month, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs called Ethiopia’s condition ‘a deteriorated humanitarian situation’. Ethiopia is a victim of land degradation, due to increased use of unsustainable agricultural practices. Grazing animals and firewood collection haven’t helped, causing decreased protection against erosion with soil easily washed away. See also

International Olympic Committee officials say preparations for the Olympic Games are the ‘worst ever’. The situation is critical on the ground, there is no plan B and they are not ready in many, many ways.The latest warning is all the more significant for coming from inside the IOC.  The work has been troubled by construction delays and mass protests. The unwieldy relationships between the city, state and national governments and the ambitious nature of the plans have caused delays and discord. There are also ‘social issues that need addressing’. Hosting the Olympics was designed to showcase Brazil's confidence as one of the fastest growing world economies and turbocharge long-overdue improvement to the city's infrastructure. But negative headlines about the readiness of facilities has dented confidence in its ability to deliver.

District Court Judge Lou Olivera presides over a treatment court for veterans with mental health issues in North Carolina. Sergeant Joseph Serna had been through a lot and earned three Purple Hearts, but suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He recently came to Judge Olivera’s court charged with driving ‘under the influence’, even though he has fought to stay sober. He confessed to Olivera that he had lied about a recent urine test. In response Olivera sentenced Serna to one day in jail, drove him to the jail, and spent the 24-hour sentence with him. ‘When Joe first came to turn himself in, he was trembling,’ Olivera said. ‘I decided that I’d spend the night serving with him.’ As Serna sat down on the cot in his cell, the door rattled open again and Olivera came in and sat down beside him. Serna said, ‘Are you here for the entire time with me?’ He replied, ‘Yeah, that’s what I am doing.'

‘I was with my family, whom I hadn't seen in 13 weeks, and was soon to graduate from the Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego, California, when a man walked up and thanked me for helping his son return to the Lord. While in the service, I found myself witnessing in many non-traditional forms. I led a prayer group at boot camp and marched recruits to chapel services, all as a previously burned-out youth pastor with plans to become a chaplain. Later, while I was training for deployment to Iraq as a field radio operator, a close friend of mine gave me the call sign “Preach”, which stuck. The call sign was a term of endearment as well as a fresh reminder of God's call on my life. I was amazed to experience first-hand the fulfilment of the prophecies in Joel 2:28-29 and Acts 2:17-19. Wherever I went, I witnessed God speaking to men and women in uniform. He even spoke in dreams to fellow infantrymen while they were on training operations in the field leading up to deployment.’

The Church of England has released a prayer intended to be used by churches and individuals ahead of the EU referendum vote on 23 June. The text of the prayer is: ‘God of truth, give us grace to debate the issues in this referendum with honesty and openness. Give generosity to those who seek to form opinion and discernment to those who vote, that our nation may prosper and that with all the peoples of Europe we may work for peace and the common good; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.’

The media are quoting our politicians as they blitz the public with claims and counterclaims of why we should vote this way or that way in the EU referendum. The British public are fairly evenly split, according to the latest opinion polls. Many of the debates have been borderline self-justification by individuals rather than practical, honest arguments. We can pray for those on both sides of the debate to improve dramatically the quality of their discussions, resist the temptation to exaggerate statistics, and give strong factual arguments, not suppositions, to back up their advice. We can also ask God to help the nation to be led by the Holy Spirit to discern the difference between career-driven political views and opinions based on solid research and facts. The BBC has provided an easy to understand guide to the referendum debate and honest answers to some questions. This can be found by clicking the ‘More’ link.

Churches on Merseyside have been holding vigils for the football tragedy at Hillsborough for 27 years. This week a report exonerated the fans: now justice is needed. The following prayer is from the Baptist Times: ‘God of justice and peace, help us to hold fast to the dignity restored through the Hillsborough report. Truth, unwrapped from deception, has paved the way for justice and peace to be found. Give us grace to walk on with dignity, and help us to live lives that bear testimony to our true character that has now been acknowledged. Grant diligence and courage to those who must now take forward the cause of justice, and patience to those who long for its coming. Bless this ongoing and noble pursuit, and thwart any plan to stand in its way. Bless the waiting and the hopes of the families, survivors, supporters and all who feel the pain of these events. Bless those whose endeavours may indeed bear the fruit of justice. Bless our city and those throughout the world who suffer injustice.’

On Monday the Government crushed a cross-party amendment, tabled by Lord Alf Dubs, to the immigration bill that would have seen the UK accept 3,000 child refugees from Europe. The Government recently announced that it would take in an extra 3,000 child refugees from the Middle East over the next four years, but not those from Europe, saying such a policy would encourage more. The Christian charity Home for Good said, ‘We are very disappointed that Parliament voted against the amendment that would have allowed 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children currently in Europe to be brought into the UK. This crisis has not gone away, and there are still many children in need of loving homes. Last year 3,000 children arrived unaccompanied into the UK and claimed asylum. These children desperately need homes and people to care for them.’ See also:

Last month we reported that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are inviting churches to pray for the evangelisation of the nation during the week leading up to Pentecost Sunday. They called on every serving parish priest to participate in a great wave of prayer across our land from 8 to 15 May. The World Prayer Centre now reports, ‘There are very encouraging stories about how many individuals, churches and cathedrals are planning to respond to the archbishops’ call for prayer.’ Partners in this prayer initiative include 24-7 Prayer, HOPE, the World Prayer Centre, the Neighbourhood Prayer Network, and the National Day of Prayer and Worship. Let us pray for a real release of a spirit of prayer and mission to flow across our lands. See all resources at

This week 45,000 junior doctors took part in the first all-out strike in the history of the NHS. Junior doctors and Telegraph readers on both sides of the debate shared their views in the Telegraph newspaper. There were many interesting submissions. Some key themes were: –people feel used, burned out, ill-treated and are showing it; some patients and even some senior doctors are even angrier. –polls show there is an even split between those in favour and those who think it is dangerous, arrogant, and wrong. –it's not clear how this contract will actually help the seven-day NHS come into being. Certainly it isn't enough on its own. Instead, it may merely be a way of cutting costs. –it’s not clear how the new contract will endanger patient safety, or lead to doctors being more tired than they are now, even though many doctors say this.