Christian campaigners hit out at tax evasion
A Christian movement to end poverty has spoken out against tax evasion by wealthy people.The group Micah Challenge is calling upon church leaders to hold the super-rich to account after a report by the Tax Justice Network suggested that up to $20trillion was being siphoned off by the world's wealthiest people into tax havens. The movement says that Jesus would have hit out at such excessive greed, especially at a time when millions remain in extreme poverty and without access to basic health care. The campaigners are urging churches the world over to raise their concerns with politicians. ‘Once again
the poor are paying the price of the greed of the wealthiest,’ said Head of Campaigns Amanda Jackson. ‘The money being siphoned off to tax havens is more than the American and Japanese GDPs put together. Yet millions of the world's poorest are suffering. It is so wrong.’
Pray: that greed will not govern the hearts of men and for the poor to be treated fairly. (LK.12:15)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.campaigners.hit.out.tax.evasion/30336.htm
TV watchdog slammed Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent stunned parents by failing to censure ITV for outrageous performances by Rihanna and Christina Aguilera on The X Factor. Now Ofcom has done it again – this time clearing Britain's Got Talent despite parents complaining about the broadcast of a burlesque performance before the watershed. In one routine Beatrix Von Bourbon – real name Stephanie Brooks – gave a performance in front of judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon which saw the burlesque dancer remove jacket, skirt and bra to reveal nipple tassels, corset and stockings. Almost 100 people made formal complaints and scores more took to social networks to complain for the fact the performance took place before the watershed and questioned whether it was suitable for children. The regulator is facing accusations of being 'permissive' and 'toothless' after it found the reality show did not breach guidelines.
Pray: that Ofcom will take seriously the complaints of the public and use its authority to control the media.
North Korea Update
“There are both some hopeful things coming out of the North and the ongoing difficulties...
On a positive note, it seems that China is seeking to do more in the way of investment in North Korea which will help the economic situation some… We are also beginning to see some hopeful signs that Kim Jong Un may really be interested in opening up to other foreign investment and creating a more open business environment. If he does follow through on this, it could mean not only a better life for the people but also gradual lessening of repression and restriction as happened in China (although China still has a long way to go.)
On the negative side: The country has beefed up their identity card system to make it easier to control people, especially those who have been involved with activities that the government frowns on. Four North Koreans returned from China were recently executed and a number more put into prison camps.
We also have the increasingly serious drought situation in the North, especially in the main bread basket area of Hwanghae Do where farmers have just about given up on this summer's crops and beggars have been dying of starvation. The drought has even affected the capital where many residents are having difficulty getting water.
It has not been easy for people in China and elsewhere seeking to help those leaving NK in search of food or a better life. Four South Korean activists have been detained in China for a few months now although there are hopeful signs that they may be released. An activist has also recently been arrested in Vietnam as well.
The people of North Korea need your prayers. Please keep praying.”
Afghanistan: Taliban Execute Woman to Send Afghans a Grim Warning
Many Afghans are very afraid that the Taliban will come back again and where they control areas inside Afghanistan. Pray that this would never happen again. This is an example how brutal they are:
Taliban execute a woman to send Afghans a grim warning of life without the West.
Video of the brutal killing is released on the same day as donors promise 10 billion pounds of aid after troop withdrawal in 2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/taliban-execute-woman-to-send-afghans-a-grim-warning-of-life-without-the-west-7923566.htm
An Afghan woman accused of adultery was executed by a purported member of the Taliban as a crowd of about 150 men looked on and cheered in a killing captured in video footage that surfaced at the weekend.
The slaying occurred just an hour’s drive from Kabul and is a grim reminder of the hard-line group’s brutality, under whose rule from 1996 to 2001 women suffered severe privations, including being banned from attending school. It also highlights the expanding presence the Taliban has throughout the country beyond their traditional strongholds in the south and east.
As international troops start to leave in advance of total withdrawal in 2014, concerns are mounting about whether the fledgling Afghan National Security Forces will keep insurgents at bay.
The video, obtained by Reuters, shows a woman in a shawl kneeling in the dirt. A turban-clad man approaches and fires on her at close range with an automatic rifle. Another man is heard saying, “Allah warns us not to get close to adultery because it’s the wrong way. It is the order of Allah that she be executed.”
The woman involved – either by consent or force – with two Taliban commanders was killed in order to settle a dispute between them, according to Parwan’s Provincial Governor Basir Salangi. According to Agence France Presse, the woman was a 22-year-old called Naliba. The fate of the Taliban commanders is not known.
“When I saw this video, I closed my eyes,” Mr. Salangi told Reuters. “The woman was not guilty; the Taliban are guilty.” The footage is thought to have been shot about a week ago. Mr. Salangi added that the Taliban have considerable influence in his province…
“Afghan women and girls were looking to the international community to protect the progress they have made in the last decade, and they have been let down. Some important steps have been taken, notably in a renewed commitment to their constitutional rights and better implementation of laws. But this is still not enough to entrench the fragile gains that have been made so far. There are not enough concrete steps or firm affirmations of how women will play a better role in the transformation phase of their country”.
Please pray for the safeguarding of women and children’s rights and the gains that have been made since the Taliban were overthrown. Pray that they will not be successful in regaining control over the nation to reestablish their tyrannical and oppressive rule.
