Displaying items by tag: Europe

The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo will meet imminently to restart the EU-brokered dialogue that would normalise relations and put both nations on a path to European Union membership. The date for a meeting will be announced shortly by the EU's foreign policy chief. The dialogue is the only path to membership of the European Union for both nations. Talks began a decade ago but have stalled in recent years. A change of government and a new prime minister with a strong political mandate in Pristina has increased the chances of successful talks between the two neighbours. In February Albin Kurti was elected in a landslide victory and has repeatedly said he wanted a full apology from Serbia for its actions during the 1998-99 conflict, which led to the displacement of a million Kosovars and at least 20,000 deaths. The politicians may make many public statements, but what really matters is what is said in discussions.

The Cologne police force has set up a special team to combat a growing black market in forged vaccine certificates. Fraudsters are communicating via an encrypted messenger service which makes investigations difficult, and the police are still trying to determine the scale of the problem nationally. Some people are duped into paying about £86 then get nothing. Covid ‘passports’ to ease travel are being rolled out now across the EU. 44% of Germans have had at least one jab and over 18% of the population are fully vaccinated against Covid. The fraud takes place on the Telegram messenger service and involves both real traffic in fake certificates and fake offers which lure people into paying but provide nothing. Often cryptocurrency is used, like in the online black markets in drugs and weapons. Telegram has become a hub for anti-vaxxers, suspicious of vaccines and denying official data about the pandemic. Proving that you are Covid-free allows access to restaurants, leisure facilities, foreign travel, and more.

Roman Protasevich, 26, a prominent critic of Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko, and his girlfriend were taken off a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania after it was diverted by a Belarus fighter jet to Minsk under the pretext of a bomb threat. He was arrested to 'confess' organising protests against the regime, and has been imprisoned in a detention centre. His father saw a video of him after his arrest and said his son’s nose appears broken and he wore heavy makeup to disguise bruising. Some is still visible. Many fear for Mr Protasevich's life. The dissident journalist/blogger has almost certainly been tortured. Past prisoners received broken bones, smashed teeth, skin lesions, electrical burns, brain traumas and kidney damage. Police in balaclavas would hold people for three sleep-deprived days, during which time they suffered electrocutions, stress positions, sleep deprivation, and starvation as guards pressurised them to sign confessions.

US president Joe Biden and Russia's president Vladimir Putin will hold their first summit on 16 June in Geneva, setting the stage for a new chapter in their fraught relationship. The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues, seeking to restore predictability and stability to the US-Russia relationship. The Kremlin said that Putin and Biden would be discussing ‘issues of strategic stability,’ as well as ‘resolving regional conflicts’ and the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden, making his first international trip as president, will go to Geneva immediately after separate summits with his key Western allies in the G7, NATO, and the EU. To prepare the ground, US secretary of state Antony Blinken and veteran Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met last week in Reykjavik. After their meeting, a Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that repairing ties ‘will not be easy’, but he saw ‘a positive signal’.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations across Europe have descended into orgies of anti-Semitism by anarchists, hard-left anti-Israel activists, and immigrants from Muslim countries, chanting 'Allahu Akbar'. All are opposed to Israeli action in Gaza and call for the destruction of Israel and death to Jews. This anti-Semitism is a testament to the failure of European multiculturalism which is making Jewish life in Europe increasingly unviable. On 13 May 3,500+ protesters marched across Berlin with anti-Semitic banners calling for total elimination of Israel and many similar sentiments while chanting ‘Bomb Tel Aviv!’ 1,000 police broke up the demonstrations. 93 officers were injured. Bild newspaper stated, ‘Open, disgusting hatred of Jews and Israel is also hatred of our free, tolerant democracy’. 200 highly aggressive people brandishing Palestinian and Turkish flags and shouting anti-Semitic slurs were removed from outside a synagogue in Gelsenkirchen.

Thousands of migrants have swum into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after border controls were relaxed in Morocco. In 24 hours, 6,000 people had paddled in inflatable boats, swum with rubber rings, or walked through the shallows at low tide. 1,500 were thought to be teenagers. Spanish troops were deployed to Ceuta to patrol the border. Moroccan migrants have crossed land and sea borders to Spain by the hundreds for weeks. Adults were transferred to a football stadium and returned to Morocco, minors went to an industrial building. Spanish / Moroccan tensions are high after the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, was admitted to a Spanish hospital without informing Morocco. The Polisario Front fights for the independence of Western Sahara and contests all Morocco's claims. Many believe lax Moroccan border control, facilitating easy access to Spain, was in retaliation for Spain treating Brahim Ghali.

The season of Ramadan, when Muslims set aside time to fast and seek God, has now ended. We can ask Father God not to let that time of intentional seeking go to waste. Pray for the Muslims who may have encountered Jesus in this season. Ask God to connect them with Christians, whether local or expatriate, that they may hear the good news of the gospel from them. Ask God to release the Holy Spirit to move powerfully amongst the ‘not yet’ believers as they return to their daily routines.

In the Netherlands, Protestants make up around 16 percent of the population. A small group of traditional Calvinists are opposed to vaccination and social distancing. Most of these believers, who live in a region known as the ‘Bible Belt’, were never vaccinated as children and are opposed to the idea of injecting sickness into a healthy body. Despite surging case numbers, they continue to attend Sunday services without face masks. But amid some of the country's highest Covid-19 infection rates, some of them are starting to shift their mindset.

Former government minister and current MP Päivi Räsänen is charged over her tweet about homosexuality, when she posted a picture of her Bible open at Romans 1:24-27 which describes homosexuality as 'shameful'. In the post she questioned the decision of the church of which she is a member to support a gay pride event. Following complaints, police questioned her and launched an investigation. This resulted in her being charged over the tweet, and also comments made on TV in 2018 and a pamphlet about marriage which she wrote in 2004. All charges are linked to 'hate speech'. Vowing to fight the charges, Ms Räsänen said, ‘I will go to court with a peaceful and brave mind, trusting that Finland is a constitutional state where the freedoms of speech and religion, which are guaranteed both in international agreements and in our constitution, are respected.’

France’s parliament has given the green light for so-called Covid ‘health passes’ which people will have to carry when attending crowded events and venues. Some MPs have said it may lead to discrimination. The law committee of the National Assembly, the lower house of France’s parliament, has approved a bill on health passes which citizens will be required to carry in order to attend gatherings of more than 1,000 people. According to this proposal, the pass will prove that a person has been vaccinated, has tested negative for Covid-19, or has recovered from the virus. See The Norwegian prime minister has said the country will bring in Covid vaccine passports, which will allow holders to attend events, before the government brings in EU-compliant certificates later that month. The certificate means Norway can open society more quickly. It can be used for public events, cruises, and package tours.