New events

US withdrawal from Paris climate accord will hit Africa the hardest
Climate change is increasing the risk of war in Africa
A food crisis is coming to Southern Africa
African cities most vulnerable to climate change
Climate change, crime may deprive the world of cheap vanilla

North Africa

Morocco: Rif protestors punished with wave of mass arrests
Egypt: 300,000 workers in Qatar fear expulsion.
… due to rift between Gulf, Qatar
… The continuing tragedy of Egypt’s Coptic Christians
… ‘Egypt is crucial for Christianity’s future’
… the impact of Egyptian Christianity on border areas
… Egypt’s Al-Azhar University accepts Christian student
… amid accusations of discrimination
… Bible Society: ‘We can’t keep up with Copt demand for Bibles’
Libya: For Manchester as well as Libyans, a test of faith
… 10,000 or so Libyans, largest community outside of Libya

West Africa

Nigeria: Boko Haram launches major attack on Maiduguri
… Biafra: a painful chapter in Nigeria’s history
… with a special look at the ethnic conflicts & the role of religion
Senegal: Senna (Cassia) italica: little shrub = big difference

East Africa/Horn

Africa’s economic growth in 2016 was driven by East Africa
Eritrea: 100 arrested as part of illegal denominations
Ethiopia: The Internet is still shut off, after a week…
… turned off to beat cheating on exams…
… using VPNs to get around the shutdown
… Forecasters warn drought may linger, rainfall deficits
Somalia: Somaliland wants to be clear: it is not Somalia.
… lack of recognition slowing intl response to food crisis.
Sudan: Darfur shootout kills two World Vision workers
… ‘attacks highlight unstable security situation in the region’
S Sudan: Inside the worst famine since WW2
… 20 million starving to death

Central Asia

Tajikistan: The Tajik Civil War: 20 years later
… at peace, but future remains bleak

West Asia/Gulf

Iraq: Civilian casualties rise in west Mosul
Qatar: Diplomatic crisis continues across MidEast
… UAE, Saudi, Egypt, Bahrain accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism
… Why? Atlantic: The Emir criticized Saudi Arabia?
… Russian hackers sparked Qatar crisis w/fake messages
… but just the spark, not the long-building fuel
… How (and why) Saudi, allies strong-armed Qatar, blindsided US
… Why Saudi Arabia suddenly cut ties with Qatar
… The Gulf Widens: The Roots of the Regional Spat
… Trump’s trip emboldened conflict dealing with Iran
… Bloomberg thinks it’s rooted in natural gas
… Qatar’s wealth let it challenge Saudi for dominance.
… Bahrain almost completely closes Qatar airspace
… Qatar put its military forces on alert against invasion
… Turkey, Iran back Qatar
… Turkey approves troops to Qatar in support of govt
… Could cause flight chaos between Thailand and Qatar
… big connection between SE Asia & Middle East: many daily flights
… among Saudi demands is the termination of Al Jazeera broadcasts
… Philippines partially bans OFWs from Qatar
… more than 2M Filipino OFWs in MidEast, 140,000 in Qatar.
… US military implications of Qatari crisis
… (and more insights into what caused it)
Syria: US backed forces begin assault on Raqqa
… long anticipated vs ISIS self-proclaimed capital.
… ‘demise of IS: not a question of if but how long’
… Syria’s War: who is fighting and why (HT Mission Catalyst)
UAE: “Embrace Islam in the UAE with these guidelines”
… Cites Pew Research to demonstrate popularity of Islam
Yemen: “The forgotten war”
… ‘largest single-nation humanitarian crisis in the world’

South Asia

Afghanistan: collapsed into chaos (Vice)
… In Kabul, post-bomb anger sparks deadly street clashes
… ‘Taliban now control or contest 40% of the country’
… Taliban controls large parts of Afgh, ISIS has a foothold
… ‘Afghanistan is sliding into anarchy’
… Power struggle seen within surging IS in Afgh
India: Several states reject cattle trade ban
… ban led to ‘consternation in Christian-majority states’
… Nagaland Baptists alarmed by attacks on Christians
Pakistan: China wants military base in Pakistan
… major purchaser of Chinese arms

East Asia

China: 9.4 million students sit for college entrance exam
… Gaokao, the world’s toughest school exam?
… those who do well have bright prospects; for others, brutal system
… Studying in China? Certain classes now compulsory
… foreign students now overseen by special ‘instructors’
… CFR Panel: China’s Great Awakening: role of religion
… Middle Eastern migrants live the Chinese dream
… In China, the water is as dangerous as the air
Japan: Princess gives up title to wed commoner
… met at Intl Christian University
… concerns about shrinking size of imperial family
… only three male heirs through whom the throne can pass
N Korea: S Korea announces further THAAD deployment will wait
… ‘pending an environmental impact study’: up to 1 year

Southeast Asia

Cambodia: Monks find a second calling: political correspondent
… using Facebook Live.
Indonesia: so many islands it hasn’t counted them all
… wants to count, name, register with UN to protect resources
… (another definition of ‘unreached’)
… ‘Church says riot sparked by military burning Bibles’ (Fox)
… in provincial capital of ‘predominantly Christian’ Papua
… Another view: the Jakarta elections, not all about religion
… in the lands of the Betawi
Laos: ‘Wombs for Rent’ business flourishes (Reuters)
… commercial surrogacy banned by wealthier neighbors
Malaysia: Christian preachers’ disappearance stokes fears
… of crackdown on religious minorities
… New tourism tax of 20RM
Myanmar: Muslims struggle after camp closures
… ‘What will we eat?’
Thailand: Travel insurance could become compulsory to visit
Philippines: Why Filipinos love Duterte
… ‘I went back to the family farm … to try to understand why…’

New Data

Education is the biggest divide between Muslims, Christians in Africa
… 65% of Muslims have no formal schooling; 30% of Christians have none.
… Christian universities growing rapidly in Africa
US Millennials aren’t saving for homes
… student debt, rising rents are in the way. Debt impacts all.
Walmart+Amazon shows disintegration of US middle class
… is impacting Christian finance trends
Global diarrhoea deaths down by a third
UN forecasts clean water shortages by 2050
… affecting 25% of world population

Longer reads

Why America is trying to remake the world’s prisons
… ‘prisons in Middle East, West Africa key fronts in war against extremism’
… prison ministries are important, then?
AirBNB’s new service built to help 100,000 refugees
… new platform to match refugees with stop-gap homes
Muslim tourism: the new growth industry in Africa
The invisible heroes of the persecuted church: human rights lawyers (CT)
How the Muslim world was invented: the complicated origins of a universal idea

Lifehacking, Tactics, Skills, Rules

Crosswired: numerous online courses on mission-specific issues
… from religious overviews to member care and more
7 ways to do great interviews (podcasts, videos, etc)
7 habits of tech savvy teams
… write well, protect their time, discard wrong tech, more

Pioneer Mission Startups, Strategy

Multiplication begins at spiritual birth (Roger Thoman)
10 years ago I was sent to DR Congo without security training.
… for most aid workers, little has changed
11 sales performance metrics that matter most
… these really apply to recruiting & fundraising too.
How FamApp got over 1M downloads
… in 10 days, with “$0-ish” in marketing
… (it actually took 3 years of iteration, compounded learning)
Why white-centered discipleship hurts us all
… bringing racial equity to the spiritual training of women (CT)

UPG Profiles, Travelogues, Stories

Embedded with the Bedouins: Lila Abu-Lughod’s “Veiled Sentiments”: review
Conquests and Conversions through a Konkani lens: review of “Age of Frenzy.”
Anthony Bourdain explores the dark hidden history of Laos: landmines
After 28 years Tiananmen Protest pictures see light of day

Futuristics/Technology

China: cybersecurity law: where should data live?
… data localization has particularly riled foreign tech companies
Experts predict when AI will exceed human performance
… chart for specific job types
Google Sheets builds charts semi-automatically with machine learning
Oman: mobile phone penetration rate of 150%
NYT has 13 million subscriptions to 50 email newsletters
Email has always been dead in China
… WeChat is the preferred method of communication
… Tencent has a huge entertainment reach
China-origin Fireball adware impacts 250 million
… can push and execute any file on victim’s computer
50% of GenZ ‘can’t live without Youtube’
… ‘trust social stars as much as mainstream celebrities’
… is there a role here for mobilization, recruiting, training?
Europe, Japan, Indonesia, Egypt have faster mobile speeds than US
China’s robot glut

Quotable

“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.” ~ Elbert Hubbard

“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” ~Peter Drucker

“There is little point in breeding tigers if you intend to keep them chained up and dog kennels.” ~George Lings

“The HS does not flow through methods, He does not come on machinery. He does not anoint plans, but men—men of prayer.” ~E. M. Bounds

“We show that we really believe God’s promises only when we begin to obey his commands.” ~David Jackman

“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably does not lead anywhere.” ~Frank Clark

“A Christian is not just someone who stands a better chance of being “saved”, but who promotes God’s reign in all its forms.” ~D. Bosch

“Sending out leaders creates more leaders. What you send out inevitably comes back to you in multiplied form.” ~J.D. Greear

“Our offerings to God ought to make a statement to the nations about God’s worth to us.” ~J.D. Greear

“Everybody tithes to something. What gets your first and best?” ~J.D. Greear