Pakistan: Searing heatwave
224 people are believed to have died so far during Pakistan's heatwave in southern Sindh province (nearly 1,700 people died in a similar heatwave in India last month). Most of the deaths have been in Karachi, with temperatures of 45C (113F) in recent days. The city has seen power cuts caused partly by increased electricity demand for air-conditioning. Many of Pakistan’s victims are elderly people who have been suffering from fever, dehydration and gastric problems. The morgue reports an increased number of bodies being brought in. Hundreds of patients suffering from the heatwave effects are being treated at government hospitals. The body's normal core temperature is 37-38C. If it heats to 39-40C, the brain tells the muscles to slow down and fatigue sets in. At 40-41C, heat exhaustion is likely - and above 41C, the body shuts down. Chemical processes start to be affected, body cells deteriorate and there is a risk of multiple organ failure.
Australia: Same sex marriage might put government senate seats at risk
Anti-gay marriage forces inside the Abbott government are circulating election polling surveys claiming that at least three Senate seats, and potentially five, would be at risk if MPs were allowed a conscience vote and that the Coalition would face a backlash from ethnic communities. The information is being used to fight back against a growing view that it is inevitable same-sex marriage will become law. The Senate seats could be lost if the preferences of the family and Christian parties, which are strongly against gay marriage, were redirected away from the Liberal Party. Supporters of same-sex marriage blasted the figures as propaganda and said it was too simplistic whilst acknowledging there could be ‘some potential impact at the margins’.
Azerbaijan: Central Asia hosts European Games
In a somewhat geographically and culturally challenging development, the first-ever European Games began on 13 June in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is usually identified as a Central Asian country, but the European Union considers it to be in what it calls its ‘European Neighbourhood’ – what others in the world would call ‘our backyard’. This might be shorthand for ‘an area close enough to us that what happens there affects our peace and stability’ - Ukraine is another country in the ‘Neighbourhood’. Just days ahead of the Games, on Tuesday, Amnesty International was ordered to leave Azerbaijan after it launched a report, ‘Azerbaijan - the Repression Games’ in which it highlighted human rights abuses in the country. But what about rights to freedom of religion or belief in Azerbaijan, and, more generally, across Central Asia? The Games and the surrounding publicity offer a reason to take a closer look at the region.
Albania: Opposition cries foul in election result
The Albanian opposition condemned voting ‘irregularities’ in Sunday’s local elections, which were a test of the Balkan country's fragile democracy. The first official results to elect mayors and councillors in 61 municipalities were not expected until Monday, but the opposition Democratic Party quickly cried foul after polling stations closed. ‘There have been irregularities and manipulations, as well as pressure and threats against voters from the right,’ senior PD lawmaker Edi Paloka said in a statement, while also claiming a clear win for his party. Since the fall of communism Albanian elections have been marred by violence and accusations of fraud from all sides. ‘More than the results, the real importance of these elections are the values of democracy which must triumph,’ said parliamentary speaker Ilir Meta. Albania is extremely poor and only obtained EU candidate status last year in a move to fight against corruption and organised crime.
Kenya: Jesus brings freedom and hope
The plague of alcoholism and poverty in one Kenyan village led to the despair of the Christian chieftain who saw poverty driving hundreds of women to brew illegal and dangerous alcohol which they secretly made and sold in their homes. When Samuel spoke at a meeting the chief organised, he did not expect his audience would number almost 200 people. He challenged the men and women to choose a new course in life and told the chief to let him know if a few of the women might choose to leave brewing and attend a few days of training at the Truth Training Centre. Three days later a surprised chief called and said, ‘Samuel, there are more than 100 women who want to come for training! This is a miracle!’ When they arrived on a bright Monday morning, they did not realise that dozens of lives were about to change. Toward the end of the devotion the Spirit of God moved, and 44 women and two men gave their lives to Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord.
Christian professors help Omar face life outside prison
Known by some as a wrongfully imprisoned child soldier and by others as a terrorist and murderer, Omar Khadr is free after nearly 13 years in prison. The 28-year-old, accused of war crimes and imprisoned since he was 15, was released on bail on 7 May. A group of Christian educators are applauding the decision, and continuing their quest to help Khadr upgrade his schooling. Arlette Zinck, a professor at The King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada first heard Khadr’s story from his lawyer in 2008. He spoke of a profoundly wounded teen with a fist-sized bullet hole in his chest, who was nicknamed ‘buckshot’ by guards because of the many shrapnel wounds in his body, and made to carry heavy pails of water until his wounds wept. He experienced sleep deprivation and cruelties of cold temperatures. Despite all this he had never spoken an ill word about anyone. To read the full story of a Canadian child taken to Afghanistan click the ‘More’ button.
Kenya: Jesus brings freedom and hope
The plague of alcoholism and poverty in one Kenyan village led to the despair of the Christian chieftain who saw poverty driving hundreds of women to brew illegal and dangerous alcohol which they secretly made and sold in their homes. When Samuel spoke at a meeting the chief organised, he did not expect his audience would number almost 200 people. He challenged the men and women to choose a new course in life and told the chief to let him know if a few of the women might choose to leave brewing and attend a few days of training at the Truth Training Centre. Three days later a surprised chief called and said, ‘Samuel, there are more than 100 women who want to come for training! This is a miracle!’ When they arrived on a bright Monday morning, they did not realise that dozens of lives were about to change. Toward the end of the devotion the Spirit of God moved, and 44 women and two men gave their lives to Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord.
Christian professors help Omar face life outside prison
Known by some as a wrongfully imprisoned child soldier and by others as a terrorist and murderer, Omar Khadr is free after nearly 13 years in prison. The 28-year-old, accused of war crimes and imprisoned since he was 15, was released on bail on 7 May. A group of Christian educators are applauding the decision, and continuing their quest to help Khadr upgrade his schooling. Arlette Zinck, a professor at The King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada first heard Khadr’s story from his lawyer in 2008. He spoke of a profoundly wounded teen with a fist-sized bullet hole in his chest, who was nicknamed ‘buckshot’ by guards because of the many shrapnel wounds in his body, and made to carry heavy pails of water until his wounds wept. He experienced sleep deprivation and cruelties of cold temperatures. Despite all this he had never spoken an ill word about anyone. To read the full story of a Canadian child taken to Afghanistan click the ‘More’ button.
Romania: Prime minister's prosecution?
Romania's parliament has refused to lift prime minister Victor Ponta's immunity from prosecution after he was questioned by Romania's powerful DNA anti-corruption agency last Friday on suspicion of forgery, tax evasion and money laundering. Mr Ponta, who has come under pressure to resign, said he would stay on to prevent a protracted political crisis. Anti-corruption officials are looking at his work between 2007 and 2011. Parliament is dominated by Mr Ponta's centre-left coalition so Tuesday's vote to block prosecution was unsurprising. It is alleged that Mr Ponta used forged invoices from a law firm, Sova and Associates, to buy two luxury apartments and a Mitsubishi Lancer car. The Social Democrat prime minister, in office since 2012, has denied any wrongdoing and says his government will survive a no-confidence vote in parliament due on Friday 19 June. President Klaus Iohannis said he regretted that parliament was obstructing justice and acting as a shield for the prime minister ‘in contempt’ of the Romanian population.
Turkey: Man attacks church with Molotov cocktail
A man attacked a church in the Kadıköy district of İstanbul with a Molotov cocktail on Tuesday, setting the building's door on fire. In a video purporting to show the attack, the man is seen shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great) and ‘Revenge will be taken for Al-Aqsa Mosque’ as he throws a bomb at the Aya Triada Orthodox Church in the Bahariye area of Kadıköy. The door of the church caught fire, but the blaze was extinguished shortly after the attack. The man was detained by police. A recent report by the Gatestone institute stated, ‘Churches in Turkey on the Verge of Extinction’ as cathedrals are having Qu'ran recitations and being turned into museums. See also