East Africa: hardest months still to come
The food crisis in East Africa is escalating. Women and children are dying in South Sudan. The number of Kenyans needing emergency food has doubled in the past three months and could soon reach four million. Food prices are spiralling. Many people, weak with hunger, have to make long journeys just to find water. But the last months before the hoped-for harvest in June will be the hardest to bear. All food stocks were exhausted long ago. Most of the livestock are dead, and the crops are not yet fully grown. This is the period when people die. But a good harvest needs rainfall. The March-May rains in Kenya started late this year. In Uganda the rains started early but have been erratic - some areas getting too much and others too little. Mission agencies are giving support during this prolonged drought that has caused the death of livestock and people, but they need more help from the public as the crisis grows.
Worldwide: the power of demonstrations
Known as ‘Europe's last dictatorship,’ Belarus does not tolerate protest or dissent. Yet thousands protested in the streets over a controversial tax. These protests have gained significant momentum, even though 400+ have been detained and many beaten. A brewing conflict over the relationship between Belarus and Russia is spiraling downward, as the country moves away from Russia. Belarus is fragile and vulnerable at a pivotal moment in its history. But most importantly, increasing numbers of Belarusians are turning to Christ, even amid tight controls and increased persecution (source: Prayercast). In America Donald Trump hit back at tax protesters, asking who funded their demonstrations. English newspapers report the tide turning on the streets of the world’s capital cities. Hundreds of peaceful protesters were arrested in Moscow and St Petersburg, after unsanctioned demonstrations against corruption. Half a million Romanians forced their government to abandon a law pardoning corrupt officials after taking to the streets.
USA: Christians being lured into denying Jesus?
Dr Mark Christian, a former prominent Egyptian Muslim (his great uncle was co-founder of Muslim Brotherhood), is a Christian lecturer who warns people of the impact of Islam on the world today. In a webinar hosted by the American Pastors Network, Christian explained how he began questioning Islam as a 23-year-old imam and later left the religion. He argues that organisations such as the Muslim Students' Association, the North American Islamic Trust, and the Islamic Society of North America are funded heavily by Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt, Pakistan and other countries, who are attempting to persuade the American public to accept the Islamic agenda and even try to lure Christians into denying Jesus Christ.
Zambia - Opposition leader arrested for alleged treason
Hakainde Hichilema, the leader of the Zambian opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), was arrested by police in his Lusaka home on Tuesday, 11 April 2017. The police liberally fired tear gas and, according to HH, as he is widely known, 'tortured' his staff and ransacked the New Kasama property. They also stole 'colossal' amounts of cash, along with carpets and food. Hichilema has now been charged with treason, and is being held at Lilayi Police Staff College outside the capital for questioning. Hichilema’s motorcade apparently failed to give way to that of President Edgar Lungu in Mongu three days earlier, spiking tensions. HH and his supporters have since as a result refused to acknowledge Lungu as president since the 2016 elections, citing election fraud. To charge Hichilema for treason for interfering with a motorcade would seem to be self-defeating. Yet it could also be a feint to test the response of the international community.
