The Albanian opposition condemned voting ‘irregularities’ in Sunday’s local elections, which were a test of the Balkan country's fragile democracy. The first official results to elect mayors and councillors in 61 municipalities were not expected until Monday, but the opposition Democratic Party quickly cried foul after polling stations closed. ‘There have been irregularities and manipulations, as well as pressure and threats against voters from the right,’ senior PD lawmaker Edi Paloka said in a statement, while also claiming a clear win for his party. Since the fall of communism Albanian elections have been marred by violence and accusations of fraud from all sides. ‘More than the results, the real importance of these elections are the values of democracy which must triumph,’ said parliamentary speaker Ilir Meta. Albania is extremely poor and only obtained EU candidate status last year in a move to fight against corruption and organised crime.
Azerbaijan: Central Asia hosts European Games
24 Jun 2015
In a somewhat geographically and culturally challenging development, the first-ever European Games began on 13 June in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is usually identified as a Central Asian country, but the European Union considers it to be in what it calls its ‘European Neighbourhood’ – what others in the world would call ‘our backyard’. This might be shorthand for ‘an area close enough to us that what happens there affects our peace and stability’ - Ukraine is another country in the ‘Neighbourhood’. Just days ahead of the Games, on Tuesday, Amnesty International was ordered to leave Azerbaijan after it launched a report, ‘Azerbaijan - the Repression Games’ in which it highlighted human rights abuses in the country. But what about rights to freedom of religion or belief in Azerbaijan, and, more generally, across Central Asia? The Games and the surrounding publicity offer a reason to take a closer look at the region.
UK: decline of Christianity
09 Jun 2015
Christianity is increasingly marginalised by a hostile media and public mood. Christian morality and belief in the uniqueness of Jesus are labelled ‘intolerant’. Government regulations make it increasingly difficult to minister in the public arena. Many believe serious persecution is not far off. Pray that believers may recognise and address the decline of Christianity in the public sphere. Pray that they may recover confidence in the gospel and boldness and passion to share it - lovingly and unapologetically - with the majority who have little concept of its content. See also THE MILL STATEMENT at www.wpc.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The-Mill-Statement-Apr-2015.pdf
Ukraine: Huge fire at oil depot
09 Jun 2015
Emergency crews are battling a fire outside the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, following a huge blast at a fuel depot. On Tuesday people in a 2km (1.24 miles) zone around petrol containers on fire have been evacuated. The blaze broke out on Monday evening, and one worker at the plant died. An explosion on Tuesday morning left three firefighters unaccounted for and another six taken to hospital. The fire spread to at least 16 tanks, most of them storing petrol and next to Hlevakha airbase and near the village of Vasylkiv. The army has been clearing a munitions storage facility, located about 50m (164ft) away, amid fears that the fire could spread. It was not immediately clear what might have caused the blast.
HSBC (HSBA.L) agreed to pay Geneva authorities 40 million Swiss francs to settle a money- laundering investigation at its Swiss private bank, one of a number of probes facing its Geneva-based wealth manager. Leaked files published earlier this year sparked allegations that HSBC's private bank may have enabled clients to conceal millions of dollars of assets and dragged Europe's largest lender into the sights of regulators including Geneva's public prosecutor. Following four months of inquiries, Geneva authorities said they had closed their investigation after HSBC agreed to pay 40 million francs for wrongdoing, the largest such figure imposed by local prosecutors. Olivier Jornot, Geneva's attorney-general, told reporters, ‘This affair shows the weakness of Swiss law in fighting the entry of criminal funds into the financial circuit.’
Online there is a Swedish Prayer Network that provides a global opportunity for the Church to connect and partner with individuals and businesses, to provide answers to any and every need. They desire to agree with the will of God on behalf of anyone seeking to find biblical spiritual help for the problems in life. They are not a counselling service, but are a faith-based prayer service. They receive free-will financial offerings that help support their Affiliate Prayer Partners around the world. They meet people every day looking for someone to encourage them and others looking for someone to encourage. This is the driving force of Open 4 Prayer. Each of their Affiliate Prayer Partners agrees to keep every prayer request confidential. Jesus Prayer Network is working to be the largest Social Prayer network of its kind. It’s their goal to be available in every translatable language and accessible in every country.
An eight-year-old Ivorian boy discovered being smuggled into Spain from Morocco in a suitcase has been reunited with his mother. Adou Ouattara was said to be in a ‘terrible state’ when he was found last month in a bag without air vents at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The boy's father was arrested for arranging his son to be smuggled, but is due to be released on bail. The Moroccan woman who carried him in has also been detained. The boy underwent DNA tests before the Spanish authorities would hand him over to his mother, who lives legally on Spain's Canary Islands. The father tried to bring his son into Spain through legal means but his income fell short of the amount required by law. Officials have granted the boy a year to stay in Spain. The incident highlights the often desperate, dangerous means migrants use to try to make it into Europe through Ceuta, and another Spanish enclave, Melilla.
After Slovenia introduced measures to reduce pressure on the mid-term sustainability of the pension system, the European Commission is calling for a reform that would guarantee sustainability after 2020. Trade unions are warning that even an announcement of a new reform could trigger a wave of new retirements. Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis, in charge of the euro and social dialogue, said, as he visited Ljubljana on Friday, that the reform should build on intergenerational solidarity. Given the demographic changes, the issue needs to be addressed, he said. ‘The longer you delay with a solution, the harder it will get,’ he pointed out. The effects of the 2012 pension system reform are positive and a bill creating a demographic fund is expected to be passed soon, the Commission said. But the Commission believes additional reforms will be needed to ensure long-term sustainability of the system.