Nigeria: Pentecost Sunday murders
Gunmen burst into St Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state. They opened fire and set off explosives, killing dozens of worshippers, including many children, who were celebrating Mass on Pentecost Sunday. Legislator Adelegbe Timileyin told local media that at least fifty people were dead. While much of Nigeria has struggled with security issues, Ondo is widely known as one of the country’s most peaceful states. Its state governor said, ‘This vile and satanic attack is a calculated assault on the peace-loving people of Owo Kingdom. I appeal to our people to maintain calm and let the security agencies take charge. The perpetrators will never escape. We are after them. And I can assure you we will get them.’ While radical Fulani militants have terrorised the Middle Belt region over the past two decades, authorities are still investigating the source of Sunday’s attack.
Turkey: preparing a military move into Syria
President Erdogan is giving signals of an imminent cross-border large-scale military incursion into Syria. Military equipment is on the frontier, and artillery shells now pound positions held by Syrian Kurdish armed forces. Senior officials and analysts believe operations against the groups will commence soon, hoping to conclude before the NATO summit on 29 June. ‘We will crack down on them suddenly overnight’, Erdogan told reporters. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it will coordinate with Syrian troops to fend off any Turkish invasion. An SDF commander said Damascus should use air defence systems against Turkish planes. Turkey’s vowed new offensive will be on areas controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia, a key part of the SDF. Syria warned Turkey there will be no compromise on territorial integrity. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organisation. Syrian Kurdish forces are backed by Washington, and co-ordinated with Syria and its ally Russia. See
USA: Congress passes gun bill
The US House of Representatives has voted through a series of measures regulating the sale of guns. The new measures would bar sales of semiautomatic weapons to people under 21 and ban large-capacity magazines. But Republican opposition in the Senate means the bill has little chance of entering law, despite a renewed focus on gun control in the wake of a series of mass shootings. Hours before the vote, survivors of the Uvalde school shooting gave emotional testimony to lawmakers which reduced some to tears. The primary school shooting in the Texan city claimed the lives of 21 people, including 19 young children. One 11-year-old girl said she had smeared her classmate's blood on herself to play dead, and graphically described the moment the gunman shot her teacher in the head. Breaking news: on 9 June a gunman killed three and injured many others, yet another example of what the debate is about: see
Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
The UK and Commonwealth will celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a four-day holiday weekend (2 to 5 June). HOPE Together is working to help churches around the Commonwealth to mark this special occasion and, in particular, to celebrate the Queen’s seventy years of faith and service. It has produced a web-page resource (see link below) with information to assist churches and organisations as they plan their celebrations. HOPE have commissioned a new anthem, ‘Rise Up and Serve’, written by Graham Kendrick and Rend Collective for choirs to sing as part of the celebrations. The highlight for many will be on Pentecost Sunday, where services in churches around the Commonwealth will give thanks for the Queen’s life of service and witness to her Christian faith.
