Germany promises Libya millions of euros
The German foreign minister has announced extra aid to improve conditions at refugee camps. He warned of growing instability, and urged warring parties to overcome their differences and support the UN-backed government. Berlin will provide 3.5 million euros to Libyan authorities to improve conditions at refugee camps in the country. The money is expected to complement relief funds provided by Germany aimed at easing Europe's migration crisis. It is Germany’s goal, to work with the Libyans to resist the instability that has arisen from the absence of established structures. Meanwhile the UNHCR said that Libya must release refugees held in detention centres. Germany called the three rival Libyan authorities to overcome their differences through dialogue and said that conflicting parties should abide by UN-brokered agreements signed in 2015, which established the government of national accord led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.
Switzerland: summit on Artificial Intelligence
Experts from Microsoft, Audi and others gathered with UN leaders and academics to debate the pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Geneva. ‘AI is probably the most significant technology we will ever create,’ said Peter Diamandis, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Experts discussed the huge unleashed potential of AI that can heal healthcare, make travel safe, and boost wealth. There is a desire to harness AI for good, but also a stark warning that AI also has the power to harm. Weapons already in service are capable of selecting targets, and there are no technical boundaries to machines making(?) decisions to take a human life. Automation of the battlefield lowers the threshold for the use of deadly force and transparency, meaning that accountability in the use of force is needed to keep these AI tools in check.
South Africa: keep praying
South Africa needs change, and churches there have just completed fifty days of blessing the nation through prayer (16 April to 4 June). Human Rights Watch reports that ‘public confidence in the government’s willingness to tackle human rights violations, corruption, and respect for the rule of law has eroded’, and ‘an estimated half-million children with disabilities have no access to basic education’. The government continues to fail to combat the high rate of violence against women and the continued under-reporting of rape. The national police commissioner is deemed unfit to hold office, and xenophobic attacks on businesses and homes of refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants increase. We can stand with the South African Church and declare, ‘IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE’. Pray for an end to the spiritual drought over South Africa. Pray for God to rain down His righteousness on His Church and drench His people with power. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s power to flow like a river through the streets, families, police, commerce, industry and government. See also
Qatar: ‘no surrender’
Qatar has vowed it will not surrender its foreign policy in an escalating row with other Arab states over its alleged connections to extremism, which it denies. Its foreign minister has said he favours diplomacy to resolve the crisis, and that there is no military solution. Meanwhile, Qatar's Al Jazeera network said it was suffering a cyber-attack; it has been in the crosshairs in the current dispute, and other Gulf countries blocked it in May. There were also reports of hacking attempts on Qatar’s state-run TV station. Saudi Arabia and other states cut travel and diplomatic links with the country on 5 June. The emir of Kuwait is trying to mediate the row, carrying out shuttle diplomacy between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Israel: Friday prayer points
Ramadan is a time of increased security tensions, particularly on Fridays when hundreds of thousands of people gather on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for prayer. Lord, give wisdom to Israel’s security forces during this month to know how to handle the emotions of multitudes of Muslims, often stirred up against Israel by the preaching of their leaders. Give alertness to those who are guarding against people intent on doing evil acts of terror, especially after many days of high alert during President Trump’s visit. Protect security personnel from murderous attacks against them. Guard them against ‘alertness-fatigue’, tiredness, hot weather, and mobile phone distractions. Give police, government and security guards discernment of danger and decisiveness to act when needed. Pray that Jerusalem, ‘the city of the Great King’ (Psalm 48:2), will be kept safe. ‘Like birds flying about, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem’ (Isaiah 31:5).
Yemen: cholera killing one person an hour
Unicef reports that cholera cases in Yemen could quadruple in the next month to 300,000. A runaway epidemic is killing someone nearly every hour and threatening the lives of thousands, says Oxfam. There is an urgent call going out for massive aid efforts and an immediate ceasefire to allow health and aid workers to tackle the outbreak. The World Health Organisation said that between 27 April and 3 June, 676 people died and over 86,000 were suspected of having the disease. Yemen’s neglected medical reporting system and the widespread nature of the epidemic mean that these figures are likely to be under-reporting the full scale of the crisis. The crisis follows two years of war which have decimated water and sanitation systems, restricted imports, and left millions one step away from famine.
Iraq: underground prison found in Mosul
On 3 June, while liberating western Mosul, Iraqi troops discovered a huge underground prison with dozens of detainees from Anbar province. The detainees were treated medically and then transferred to another place to check their identities. The UN estimates the number of civilians stranded at the battlefield in the old city at 200,000. They will be suffering severe shortages in food and medicine.
Iran / Middle East tensions
Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in Tehran on 7 June, killing at least 13 people. IS claimed responsibility, and threatened more attacks against Iran’s majority Shi'ite population. Iran's Revolutionary Guards blame their regional rival Saudi Arabia. Sunni Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the attacks, but the assault further fuels tensions between Riyadh and Tehran as they vie for control of the Gulf and influence in the wider Islamic world. The attack happened one week after the meeting between Donald Trump and the Saudi leaders (who support terrorists). Trump said that he prayed for the attack victims but added, ‘States that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.’
Israel: plight of Eritrean refugees
A Christian agency in Israel said, ‘We see a great deal of fear among vulnerable members of our Eritrean community,’ after a new law, known as the Deposit Law, was implemented by the government. It deducts 20% from the earnings of African asylum-seekers, and their employers must also make monthly payments equivalent to 16% of the person’s salary. This law impacts the 40,000 Eritreans (mainly Christians) who fled to Israel hoping to find freedom and security in a country where they could worship without fear. The funds - from employee and employer - will be set aside by the Israeli government and released to the individual asylum-seeker when they agree to leave the country permanently. No Eritreans wish to return to the brutal communist regime which hounds Christians, imprisoning them for years in atrocious conditions just for meeting together to pray. Eritreans trying to go to Uganda or Rwanda have sometimes ended in the hands of human traffickers or been killed by IS.
London Attack - the battle continues
“Pray without ceasing.” [1 Thess 5:17]
The second horrific attack during this election campaign should make it abundantly clear, if we didn’t know already, that there is a mighty battle going on in the spiritual realms for the future of the UK – what we see ‘on the ground’ is but a reflection of what is happening beyond our natural sight. As the political parties have been campaigning for our votes the cry ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ has been resounding throughout the land – and as that prayer is answered the ‘kingdoms’ that do not acknowledge Jesus as Lord are being dislodged – but they will not leave quietly!
There is a ‘shift in the atmosphere’ taking place over the UK, with many places reporting an openness to the Gospel that has not been experienced for a long time. It is early days, but as we press in with continued prayer and intercession, we will see change coming.
After the Manchester attack the terrorist threat level was raised from ‘severe’ to ‘critical’, then reduced again. As we saw on Saturday night – the ‘severe’ level means that the Police are still at a very high state of readiness to respond swiftly to any incident.
Church – we need to raise the prayer level from ‘severe’ to ‘critical’! Our prayers for the safety and security of our communities and the nation are crucial in the ongoing battle to defeat the enemy’s plans to disrupt, not only this election, but our whole way of life.
As never before in recent history, we need to ‘stand in the gap’ for our families, neighbourhoods, communities, towns and cities – for all of society, but especially for those who would form our new Westminster Parliament and Government, and for all those at Holyrood.
This is the new ‘Battle for Britain’ – the Church responded ‘As One’ during World War II – may we do so with even greater energy and fervour in these days!
Please pray for:
• for the safety, security and protection of every community, especially for places where large numbers gather for sport or social events, and for transport systems;
• our political leaders – that they would have God’s wisdom to know what to say and do in these days, and for the protection of all in public office, their staff and their families;
• the safety and protection of the Police and security services, and of any Army personnel involved, who are on the ‘front line’ and face the prospect of giving their lives to ensure our safety;
• that every single plan of the enemy would be uncovered and foiled before it can be implemented;
• the Church, that we would, like that mighty army, be mobilised to ‘rise up and pray’ as never before until victory is achieved;
• the Muslims in our towns and cities – that they would have dreams, visions and other divine encounters with Jesus, revealing to them just who He is and transforming their lives;
• that, while those planning evil need to be ‘rooted out’, there would be no violent backlash against Muslim communities in general, but instead that we would show them the Father’s love, His grace and his mercy – drawing them to Christ through our words and actions.
Source: Pray for Scotland