Drug smugglers targeting 'lucrative' European market
A senior official with Europol, the EU crime-busting agency, has voiced concern about ‘worrying’ new trends in the illegal drugs market. Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, Patrick Byrne also said that the DNA of drug smugglers had changed in recent years. ‘They are becoming more clever and more sophisticated in their methods than ever before,’ said Byrne, assistant director for the operations department at Europol. He also said drug traffickers, including Mexican cartels, were continuing to target the ‘lucrative’ drugs market in Europe, and increasingly trying to get a foothold using routes via the Balkans. Byrne was speaking at a joint news conference with Russell Benson, a regional director with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Europol has come under fire in some quarters for an alleged lack of impact in the fight against organised crime, including drug dealing. But Byrne said the agency had had a ‘real’ impact since it became a fully-fledged EU agency in 2010.
Pray: that Europol would continue to have success in tackling the drug menace. (Rom.6:20)
Burma: Christians in peace talks with government
Christian leaders in Burma are holding peace talks with the country’s central government whih they hope will help to end the 60-year conflict that has exhausted the nation’s civilian population. The rare opportunity for change has resulted in a group of Karen National Union leaders establishing a peace committee in hopes of capitalising on the transformations occurring in their fractured country. The Karen are a predominantly Christian minority group located in eastern and southern regions of the country that have been at war with the government since shortly after Burma gained independence from the UK in 1948. Ryan Morgan, an advocacy officer at International Christian Concern, ‘is hoping these talks are going to produce lasting results. ICC is excited about the possibility of changes and we are watching them closely.' I think it’s important, though, that the international community and other organisations stay aware of the plight of Christians living in Burma,’ he added.
Pray: for the nation of Burma and especially the predominantly Christian Karen minority group as they enter into these peace talks. (Lev.26:6)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/burmas.christians.in.peace.talks.with.government/29151.htm
Kenya: Faith leaders urge calm after court indicts politicians
Faith leaders in Kenya called for calm after the International Criminal Court in The Hague committed to trial high-ranking politicians for crimes against humanity in connection with violence following elections in 2007. Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, fellow presidential candidate William Ruto, cabinet secretary Francis Muthaura and radio journalist Joshua Sang will be tried for an orchestrated campaign to displace, torture, and kill civilians. More than 1,200 people died and around 650,000 were left homeless in clashes in the Rift Valley, Nyanza, Nairobi and Central provinces. ‘We call for sobriety and restraint as Kenyans engage in discussion and interpretation of the decision and its ramifications,’ said the Rev Peter Karanja, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, in a statement on 23 January. The council in 2009 urged the court to investigate the violence, following failure by the government to establish a local justice system to deal with the causes.
Pray: for restraint as these politicians engage in discussion. Pray for peace and justice. (Job.34:17a)
Nigeria: Boko Haram declares war
Police in Nigeria discovered ten more car bombs on Tuesday in Kano, an area already reeling from multiple bombings on Friday. Spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs USA, Todd Nettleton, says the level of sophistication is what's drawing their concern. ‘This was a very serious attack. It also shows the growing ability of Boko Haram to coordinate attacks and to maximize the body count.’ Boko Haram, a radical Islamist sect, claimed the bomb blasts that killed 256 people. The attacks
came shortly after Muslim prayers in that beleaguered nation's second-largest city. This time instead of churches, it was police headquarters and other police stations, a secret police building, and immigration offices that were targeted. According to a video released by the group's leader, the attacks were a response to a refusal by the authorities to release the sect's members from custody. This could amount to starting a civil war and destabilizing the government at the same time.
Pray: against these ongoing conflicts that a solution will be found that will bring ongoing unity and peace. (Jn.17:23)
