A decision by the Scottish government to ban fracking has been welcomed by the Church of Scotland. Church leaders said the vast majority of congregations oppose this controversial practice. They have now called for more opportunities to exploit greener energy sources, like wind. Adrian Shaw, the Church of Scotland's climate change officer said the Church is against fracking ‘primarily because of a need to build a low carbon economy’, adding, ‘Continuing dependence on fossil fuels, coal, and gas delays a low-carbon economy.’ He also said that the Church believes in the potential for Scotland to be fully green. ‘Our resources for wind power, hydropower, and tidal power are enormous here.’

Catalonia has its own history, language and culture. It has both ‘nationality’ status and autonomy within the Spanish constitution. It also has a history of nationalist politics. On 1 October there was a referendum on Catalan independence that the Spanish government declared unlawful. Catalan volunteers guarded polling stations, not from criminals, but from the police. Social media images depict Spanish police kicking non-violent protesters, throwing them down stairs, breaking into buildings, and holding back Catalan police who were trying to help voters - police in a stand-off against each other! The Spanish police managed to force the closure of 93 of 2,000 polling stations. In Spain’s Basque country, other independence-minded people are watching closely. ETA (a Basque terrorist group) has been respecting a ceasefire for many years. Some are wondering what it will do now. Spain is a member state of the Council of Europe, whose primary role is to promote democracy throughout the continent. See

The only Baptist pastor in Rekjavik doesn’t want Down's syndrome eliminated. ‘My family has spent a lot of time at the hospital. For over a year our five-year-old son has been undergoing chemotherapy for leukaemia. Our youngest son, born this April, also spent two months at the hospital as doctors ran tests on him, finding a genetic mutation in his X chromosome that only two other people in the world have been diagnosed with. Every day, as I walked into the intensive care unit at the hospital, I looked over a wall of pictures of young children and teenagers holding up photos of themselves as premature babies. They were born after as little as 21 or 22 weeks of pregnancy.’ Meanwhile, there is talk of new legislation which would make abortion available in the 22nd week of pregnancy. Recently this issue took the internet by storm, with a report on how the country (population 340,000) is on the verge of eliminating Down’s syndrome.

Taylor was attending the concert at the Mandalay Bay casino when a gunman killed 59 and wounded 527. He said that prior to the shooting he was an agnostic but, ‘In a fight or flight situation you just take it to God and hope that you can make it,’ In the midst of tragedy and fear, not knowing where to flee to, with bodies everywhere, his faith was renewed. The National Day of Prayer president said, ‘The massacre has more to do with the fallenness of mankind than where God is. God is with the people of Las Vegas. He is with everyone who has suffered. We must trust Him, even when we see things like this occur and we have no idea why someone would do it. We are living in days like none before and being called back to God through every terrible event we are observing around the world. The Church must call out to God together.’ See

In the South, the rifle-bearing eagle insignia of the National Rifle Association is seen everywhere, and support of the Second Amendment is as common a topic in country music as sweet tea and tailgates. The bond between the NRA and country music spurred the formation of an entire branch of the gun lobbying group, prompting a series of concerts and events sponsored by the organisation and headlined by country stars to bring the two entities together formally . But the Las Vegas mass shooting at a country music festival has rocked some of the most ardent supporters of gun rights. Country guitarist Caleb Keeter, who performed at the festival, wrote on Twitter, ‘I've been a proponent of the Second Amendment my entire life, until the events of last night. Now I cannot express how wrong I was.’

The ruling military changed Burma’s name to Myanmar in 1989. At that time thousands were killed when a popular uprising was suppressed. The military still hold the upper hand. Ethnic Rohingya people in Myanmar face genocide. Violation of human rights is part of a pattern of religious-based persecution in south and south-eastern Asia. There are eight officially recognised ethnic races in Myanmar, speaking four different languages. While the majority of citizens are at least nominally Buddhist, some of these ethnic groups are predominantly Christian. Minorities in Myanmar experience discrimination, forced conversions and violence. Christian communities are targeted with abuse, even though on paper they are citizens and entitled to live there. The Rohingya are not registered citizens, and the government is making them leave. Prior to the recent military crackdown, almost one million had already fled in the past few decades. Some who reached places like Thailand were held for ransom, caught in sex trafficking, or murdered.

Every October, Window International Network intensifies prayer for the 10/40 Window, and profiles a different country each day. On 6 October the focus is on the peaceful country of Guinea where people live on less than $1 a day, despite the country’s wealthy resources. At least half a million Guineans protested against government corruption last year, denouncing supposed economic mismanagement by their president. Ethnic tensions increased, with the country divided along equal-sized tribal lines. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone have added to the strain. Low incomes and a poor economy create a challenge for those seeking help from a poorly-equipped health care system. Christians are not persecuted in this mainly Muslim country, but believers are starting to lose the religious freedom they once had, especially in major cities. Also, pray for a Godly transformation of the media and entertainment industries, which are highly influential but lack wholesome messages.

Despite being susceptible to devastating weather, the island of Dominica has a thriving banana industry that drives much of the economy, but not one tree, village, street, or person was spared the terrifying effects of Hurricane Maria. One of several devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean in September, Maria blasted the tiny island as a Category 5 storm. Communications are down. Drinking water is scarce. Over fifteen were killed and many more injured. Many say the devastation on this island is worse than a war zone. Dominica does not possess the means or infrastructure to rebuild after such a catastrophe. Though the majority claim Christianity (primarily Catholicism), nominalism is rampant, yet we praise God that evangelicals have experienced great growth, from 2% of the population in 1970 to 17% in 2010!

A two-year study by Pew Research of 199 countries and self-administering territories found Islam to be the world's most common state religion, and listed ten non-religious nations that are hostile toward Christianity and other religions. Most countries do not have an official or preferred religion: of the 43 nations which do, 27 follow Islam. Thirteen states have Christianity as their official religion, two have Buddhism, and one has Judaism. The study said that there are nine officially Christian countries in Europe, including the UK, Denmark, Monaco, and Iceland. The others are Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Tuvalu (in the Asia-Pacific region). Only Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa is officially Christian.

On 6 October, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, will meet India's prime minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, a human rights group, urges the EU leaders not to 'turn a blind eye' to the rising persecution of Christians and Muslims in India. 'How many more victims of government-condoned violence against Muslims and Christians will the EU tolerate before it puts the issue on the agenda with Prime Minister Modi?’ No person should live in fear of being killed, tortured, or oppressed because of their religious beliefs. The persecution of religious minorities in India has become worse under the government of the BJP, which is the political arm of the nationalist Hindutva movement. The party has been accused of inciting hatred and riots against religious minorities, including Christians and Muslims.