Displaying items by tag: Global

Five days after Shell announced it is ending all joint ventures with the Russian energy company Gazprom, on 6 March it admitted having bought Russian crude oil at a discounted price. It said there was no alternative crude supplies which would reach Europe in time. On March 8th Shell said, ‘We are acutely aware that our decision last week to purchase a cargo of Russian crude oil to be refined into products like petrol and diesel - despite being made with security of supplies at the forefront of our thinking - was not the right one and we are sorry.’ The business says it will immediately stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil and will shut its service stations, aviation fuel and lubricants operations in Russia. It says its withdrawal from other associations with Russia will be done ‘in a phased manner, aligned with new government guidance’. They said Russian oil profits will be used to help Ukrainians. See

8 March was International Women’s Day. Genesis 1:27 says God created both men and women in His image, yet women disproportionately suffer injustice. Operation World statistics report, ‘Women account for two thirds of the world’s poorest citizens. Nearly two thirds of illiterate people are women, and this proportion has stayed the same for two decades. Globally, women are paid less than men. A cultural preference for male babies has led to 30 million or more deaths of unborn or baby girls, mostly in India and China. This fuels the growth of trafficking of women as brides or sex slaves.’ In 1945 the UN Charter was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. The UN celebrated its first official International Women's Day during International Women’s Year in 1975. Nearly fifty years later, women still don’t fully participate in political, cultural and economic arenas in many nations and cultures. Globally, this still needs to be addressed.

The prospect of Ukraine’s wheat harvests being marooned by war has already sent wheat prices to record highs. If the crops cannot leave the country, global food shortages are likely. Ukraine is one of the world’s great breadbaskets. It is the top producer of sunflower seeds, its black-earth fields yield large oilseed crops, they export 12% of the world’s wheat and 17% of its corn. However the war has done grave damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure. Russian missiles have ruined airports, roads still existing have militarised checkpoints, and few companies want to send trucks across land borders already choked with refugees. Previously Ukraine’s sea ports exported 200,000 tonnes of wheat a day. Now the best it is likely to attain through transloading operations at every one of its western border crossings - Romania, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary - is ‘under 20,000 tonnes a day, altogether’.

God gives some the vocation of serving Him by running a business. Kingdom businesses are businesses with God's perspectives. The world is hungry for thousands of new businesses to be created, and places where the gospel is least well-known often have the highest unemployment and the deepest poverty. Countries which close the door to missionaries often open it wide for business people. Kingdom businesses are an essential part of seeing God’s Kingdom impact every sphere of society. Pray that the Lord will call workers into the harvest field from among business entrepreneurs and professionals in the Church. Pray for essential business skills and resources to be released in greater number for global mission and to address the most pressing economic, social, environmental and spiritual needs: fighting poverty, freeing slaves, providing for communities, creating good jobs, and bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth. Pray for more resources to provide support for mentoring, training, startup, member care, prayer, and knowledge-sharing networks.

A missionary’s message: ‘There is much happening right now. Persecution and hardships abound, yet our Mighty Lord reigns over it all! One member of our team and his young family have been receiving threatening messages due to their ministry work, and we have had to relocate them to a new city. Pray with us that they will remain safe and be able to continue their work for the Lord. Another team member was arrested crossing a border between Jordan and Lebanon. Pray with us for favour before the judge and for a quick resolution to the false charges. Despite these hardships, our team has also reported many praises of how God has been at work. A sewing workshop will take place this week to train persecuted women, providing skills to help sustain them and their families. We praise God for this opportunity to serve these women and offer training, hope and a way forward with dignity.’

There are about 400 million Buddhists in the world today. God loves each and every one of them. His heart’s desire is that they would be reconciled to Him through Jesus. Buddhism is the dominant religion in over a dozen Asian countries including mainland China and Japan, while large Buddhist populations live in North Korea, Nepal, India and South Korea. Buddhism revolves primarily around suffering. Its founder was born nearly 600 years before Christ. In its 2,500-year history, Buddhism has been one of the great religions of the world. The main expansion occurred during its first two millennia, and Buddhism has made no significant geographical expansion in the last five centuries. Revitalisation and missionary movements of Buddhism are currently on the increase. See

Islamist extremists are gaining ground in sub-Saharan Africa, including Burkina Faso and Mali. Christians are bombed, killed, and kidnapped; schools are burnt. Jihadists have assaulted religious leaders and places of worship, and forced churches to close and meet in secret. The situation is set to grow worse as French troops withdraw from the area. Life for Christians in the Sahel region now resembles Nigeria, where Boko Haram terrorists, IS fighters and Fulani militants are active. For all three, Christian communities are their prime targets. Afghanistan and India are also countries of great concern. Since the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan, Christians have faced greater risks of violence and betrayal by family and neighbours. Major food shortages will increase pressure on them. Indian Hindu militants are attacking Christians, and some states have anti-conversion laws to prevent Christian outreach among the Dalits where many are turning to Christ.

Airlines reported nearly 6,000 incidents involving unruly passengers last year and 151 in the first two weeks of this year. Most incidents involved passengers refusing to wear masks. The latest incident, on 20 January, involved an American Airlines passenger who refused to wear a mask on a flight to Heathrow from Miami, which forced the Boeing 777 carrying 129 passengers to return to Florida. The American Airlines statement said the diversion was ‘due to a disruptive customer refusing to comply with the federal mask requirement’. See also

Promoting religious freedom in countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, officials must be creative. Sanctions can weaken dysfunctional governments and destroy conditions for Christians living there. Instead, a ‘love your neighbour’ approach in ‘hot spots’ can facilitate peace and save entire communities. It is recorded that Afghanistan, Algeria, and Azerbaijan have tried to eliminate at least one religious group. Experts say a deeper understanding of the culture and engaging with those under duress makes a tremendous difference. English speakers are not the best representatives of the communities. Rural people have different understandings of how they see themselves and how they think the world works. They know the lived faith traditions, the lived conflict, they know what is in the way and how to remove it. This knowledge held within the communities includes how local cultures and customs mesh with religion. A Lebanese Christian is very different from an American Christian.

20+ countries have elections in 2022. From Colombia to Bosnia to South Korea, these elections could reshape their political systems - and destinies. 200 million will decide whether the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party continues for another five years in the enormous legislative elections in India’s Uttar Pradesh province. In Brazil, Hungary, and the Philippines, voters will decide whether to grant autocrats another term in office; France narrowly avoided electing such a leader in 2017, but 2022 may see a right-wing resurgence. In Costa Rica, South Korea, Colombia, and Kenya, the presidents are ineligible for reelection, giving way to potential candidates with extreme views. In Portugal, Australia, and Sweden, minority governments want elections to strengthen their coalitions. Mali, Bosnia, and Tunisia have seen significant challenges: elections will determine whether democratic institutions can continue. Also this year, leaders from the left and the centre-left are expected to be in power in the six largest economies in Latin America. See