In our final Pray the News of 2024, we're looking back on the past 3 months and how God has been listening and answering along the way.
Over the course of the last three months, we've been praying into important global issues facing the world. Some of these have been highly visible, and others left from the news cycle. In our final Pray the News of 2024, we're looking back on the past 3 months and how God has been listening and answering along the way.
On December 17, 2024, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila and the surrounding areas, resulting in at least 14 fatalities and over 200 injuries. The quake caused significant damage, including collapsed buildings, landslides, and infrastructure disruptions.
Rescue operations are ongoing, with international aid from Australia, New Zealand, and France. Concerns about water contamination have arisen, especially among children, due to damaged reservoirs. The government has declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew.
Anglican Missions, alongside the Anglican Alliance are responding to the needs as they become apparent. In the meantime, we can continue to pray for those who are grieving lost loved ones, for the swift and effective recovery efforts and for the people of Vanuatu as they recover.
Since the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, following widespread exposure of corruption, electoral fraud, and human rights abuses, Bangladesh has gone from the frying pan into the fire.
The military's subsequent takeover accelerated the crisis, with over 650 deaths reported at the height of protests between July 16 and August 11, according to the UN. In the wake of Hasina’s departure, Muhammad Yunus was appointed as Chief Adviser to the interim government. Yunus has pledged to hold general elections by the end of 2025, pending the implementation of key electoral reforms.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have led major protest marches, including a notable one from Dhaka to the eastern border with India. Their grievances center on national sovereignty and rising tensions over attacks on minorities. These protests have inflamed relations with India, sparking reciprocal demonstrations in New Delhi, where participants condemned the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.
With political instability and regional tensions mounting, we pray for a peaceful resolution, wisdom for leaders, and for justice to prevail, particularly in addressing the breaches of human rights.
The Anglican Church continues to strongly oppose the Treaty Principles Bill, and advocacy campaigns are underway across the church to mobilise public submissions against the bill.
Considering the large-scale hīkoi and public opinion, it seems unlikely the bill will pass in a referendum, or even a second reading in Parliament. However, the public discourse is significant in scope, and has caused reverberations in the political, cultural and social landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi was founded on mutual respect, partnership, and equity between Māori and Pākehā. We pray that any future developments honour and reflect the spirit of these principles.
With Earth already warming by 1.36°C above preindustrial levels, the 1.5°C threshold is now very difficult to avoid, as evidenced by worsening climate impacts like Lahore’s hazardous AQI, heatwaves in southern Europe, and devastating floods across Africa and South Asia.
In the realm of international cooperation, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) held its 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) from December 2–13, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This conference, themed "Our Land. Our Future" was the largest summit on land issues since 2022, focusing on establishing a global regime and addressing systemic risks associated with drought.
Notably, the conference saw financial commitments, including over $12 billion pledged for land restoration and drought preparedness, but failed to end in a binding agreement.
Surges of gang violence in Haiti continue to erode away the social fabric, with over 2,500 people killed, kidnapped, or injured in the past year.
Thankfully, there a reprieve in murder rates between May and September of this year, after rival gangs reached a precarious truce. However, October and November have been particularly bloody, with a brutal mass murder of at least 110 elderly individuals, accused of practicing witchcraft.
This type of inhumane violence has become commonplace in Haiti, where the rule of law is inconsequential to the power of gangs and warlords. Exacerbating the violence is the ongoing food instability that continues to leave more than 1.4 millio people on the brink of famine.
The humanitarian situation in the West Bank continues to deteriorate. In the past month, Israeli forces killed at least 15 Palestinians, including in a raid on Balata refugee camp and exchanges of fire in various West Bank locations.
Last week, Israeli forces evicted a Palestinian family of ten from their home in East Jerusalem, part of a larger pattern of displacement affecting hundreds of Palestinian households in the region. This came after a Israeli Supreme Court ruling legalising settlements on private land, with 215 Palestinian families facing similar eviction risks.
On December 11, the UN launched a Flash Appeal for nearly $4.07 billion to address the urgent needs of 3 million people across Gaza and the West Bank in 2025. Yet, of this considerable sum, only a fraction—just over 10%—is designated for the West Bank.
As of October 2024, the humanitarian situation in Gaza teeters on the brink of collapse, with aid deliveries dwindling from an average of 169 trucks per day in April to just 37 daily.
Parts of northern Gaza remain under siege, and the UN warns that tens of thousands are “facing diminishing conditions for survival.” The UN reported that its efforts to assist between 65,000 and 75,000 people in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, and Jabalia this month have been blocked or delayed, forcing food outlets to shut down.
Anglican Missions continues to support the area through Hope for the Holy Land, which provides vital support across Gaza and the West Bank, including through Al Ahli Hospital in the north of Gaza.
This hospital has become a lifeline, offering medical care and shelter for those displaced. We give thanks for God’s protection over these efforts and the perseverance of those serving on the ground.
The Israeli Knesset’s recent vote to ban UNRWA from operating in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories has raised doubts of the effectiveness of future humanitarian aid.
With UNRWA providing services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure support for millions of Palestinian refugees, ensuring the protection of hospitals and clinics under international law, their presence is a backbone to the region.
The recent UN General Assembly resolution reaffirmed support for UNRWA and called for the agency's “full, rapid, safe and unhindered” operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It also condemned the Israeli legislation that threatened the agency’s mandate.
This was supported by a wide international coalition, calling on Israel to honor international law and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in dire need. It stresses that no other organization can replicate UNRWA’s critical role in providing essential services to Palestinian refugees. We pray for the reinstatement of UNRWA, for the protection and provision of those impacted by the conflict.
Thank you for your prayer support this year through Pray the News.
We know that these situations seem dark and dire. But we believe that prayer works, and that God is at work in these situations in ways we cannot aloways comprehend or understand.
We'll be back next year from mid-January. Until then, we wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year.