Middle East churches' symposium ahead of COP28
Dave Bookless of A Rocha writes: ‘On 4-5 October I spoke at a symposium on “Ecumenical Perspectives on Climate Change” held in Beirut by the Middle East Council of Churches. It was remarkable to see all the diverse cardinals, metropolitans, bishops and archimandrites, and hundreds of robed and bearded priests and seminary students, all coming together to address creation care. All the churches of the region were represented - an amazing witness to Christian unity. The whole event was televised across the Middle East. Amazingly, all the Churches of the Middle East have agreed to a joint statement and call to action which will be presented at COP28, due to be held in Dubai at the end of November.’
India: bank agents steal money from customers
An exposé has shown that the Bank of Baroda made it simple and easy for its agents to steal money from customers’ accounts - and some of them did. The bank’s employees had linked unauthorised mobile numbers to accounts before uploading them onto the bank’s new mobile app. These numbers were of bank staff, managers, guards, their relatives, and bank agents in remote areas. Internal documents show that some of the bank’s agents withdrew tens of thousands of rupees from customers’ accounts. The bank’s head office has asked the managers concerned to do everything necessary to restore the money to the accounts. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ordered an audit, and has told the bank to stop registering new customers on its app.
Afghanistan: two earthquakes within a week
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has struck western Afghanistan, four days after a series of deadly quakes left at least a thousand people dead. This second earthquake struck an area near Herat early on 10 October. There are conflicting reports about the number of casualties: one spokesperson reported at least 120 injured. It flattened all 700 homes in Chahak village, which was untouched by Saturday’s quakes. Rescue workers and volunteers have been working around the clock to try to dig out survivors and bodies from the ruins of the villages since the weekend. Relief efforts have been hampered by poor infrastructure in the impoverished country, following decades of war and a decline in foreign aid.
Algeria: church leader convicted
Church leader Rev Youssef Ourahmane has been convicted of holding an unauthorised religious assembly and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and a fine equivalent to approximately £600. He is vice-president of the Èglise Protestante d’Algérie (EPA), an association of around 45 Algerian churches which have been suffering under a severe crackdown that began in 2017. Many EPA-affiliated churches have been forced to close. In March 2023 a small number of Christian families spent three days in a church compound under Rev Youssef’s supervision. The small church in the compound had been sealed by order of the provincial governor in 2019. The pastor was charged with holding an unauthorised religious assembly and holding worship in a building not permitted for worship. He was convicted in absentia and was not informed of the court hearing or the verdict until mid-September. He has appealed the verdict: a hearing date has been set for 19 November.
