US President Barack Obama arrived in the UK yesterday, urging the British public to vote to ‘remain’ in the European Union on 23 June. Since his visit was announced, some critics have told him to ‘butt out’, while his appearance will be welcomed by the pro-EU campaigners. Obama reiterated his view that Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with the US is best served by remaining in the union. However, Christian MP Steve Baker appeared to suggest Obama should look at American history before intervening in British politics. ‘Whenever a US president intervenes in our constitutional future, I always reread the US Declaration of Independence,’ he told the Independent. ‘We will solve peacefully at the ballot box the problem for which their nation fought a bloody war of insurrection,’ he added.

Since Saturday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake there have been 550+ aftershocks, including a 6.2 magnitude aftershock on Wednesday. Humanitarian aid has been pouring in, but distribution is slow. People wait for hours under tropical heat for water and food supplies, and looting is reported in some shops. The death toll is 500+ and could increase by hundreds. 4,000+ were injured. The number of missing could rise to 2,000. Thousands are homeless and vulnerable. Please pray for the organisations and charities who are sending supplies and preparing airlifts; for the sniffer dogs and mechanical diggers searching for survivors where the smell of rotting bodies fills the air; for those waiting for news of missing loved ones; for harmony between foreign nationals arriving at a scene of chaos where unity in direction and good communication is needed; for the survivors in damaged communities, with poor sanitation and broken infrastructure hampering relief efforts. Pray for the estimated 150,000 children affected by the disaster. See also:

This week, Christian media reported: –In Ethiopia the sons of a Christian woman embraced Christianity after witnessing their mother’s martyrdom for refusing to convert to Islam from Christianity. –In China the wife of a Christian pastor was buried alive by bulldozers as she protested against the demolition of her husband’s church. –A Syrian Christian woman who was killed by Muslim extremists because she refused to renounce her faith has been described as a ‘martyr’ by Pope Francis. –In Indonesia an elderly Christian woman was publicly whipped nearly thirty times for selling alcohol as the persecution of Christians continues to rise. –In Pakistan a Christian who stood up to Muslim drug dealers was murdered for his efforts, and in Syria more than twenty Christians were brutally killed by IS when the terror group captured a Syrian community that the government had recently liberated.

A week after the Taliban said it was launching a ‘spring offensive’ of large-scale attacks, bomb and gun attacks hit Kabul killing 28 and injuring 329. After the assault was declared over, another blast rocked Kabul. Afghan MP Elay Ershad said, ‘Everyone is scared in this situation.’ Other similar attacks have been foiled by security forces, but preventing them completely is almost impossible. Explosives are easily available, and bomb-making skills are common. The ‘spring offensive’ is a propaganda war. Meanwhile in Israel 21 people were injured, two seriously, when a bomb exploded on a Jerusalem bus. Bus bombings were a feature of the second intifada which ended ten years ago. However, recently there has been a fresh wave of Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Bombings are perpetrated by extremist segments of society and armies and police are under increasing pressure to stamp it out. See also: