A Dutch court has ordered the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% by 2020, in a case environmentalists hope will set a precedent for other countries. Campaigners brought the case on behalf of almost 900 Dutch citizens. They argued that the government had a legal obligation to protect its citizens from the dangers of climate change. Government lawyers did not immediately comment on the ruling at the court in The Hague. Jasper Teulings from Greenpeace called it a ‘landmark case’. ‘It shifts the whole debate. Other cases are being brought in Belgium and the Philippines. This is the start of a wave of climate litigation. In terms of practical implementation, the government has already agreed to close coal-fired plants, increase the use of windmills and solar energy and drastically reduce gas extractions in the north of the country. The court case puts pressure on the government to speed up the process in order to meet the targets and become more energy-efficient within the next five years. The judgment is legally binding and based on ‘Tort Law’ - a general and universal concept which essentially refers to a duty to refrain from causing harm.
The sixth meeting of the EU-Montenegro Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) in Brussels, held a lively debate on the transparency and inclusiveness of Montenegro's accession process to the EU. The situation concerning disability policy and recent developments on social dialogue in the country were also discussed. The JCC called on the EU to increase its financial support aimed at strengthening and supporting the professionalism and independence of the media. Urgent action is also needed to ensure the rights of people with disabilities. While acknowledging that some positive steps had been taken towards promoting the integration of people with disabilities, the JCC stressed it was important to translate good intentions into real, efficient and timely action on the ground. JCC members noted with deep concern that access for people with disabilities to a majority of state and local institutions, such as schools, hospitals, social welfare centres, and even the Parliament and courts, was still extremely difficult.
Monaco: Law enforcement system to be envied
01 Jul 2015
Law enforcement in Monaco is provided by an armed national police. It has the largest police force and police presence in the world on both a per-capita and per-area basis. Its police includes a specialist unit which operates patrol and surveillance boats. There is also a militarised bodyguard unit for the Prince and his palace called the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince, well-equipped with modern weapons. There is also a well-trained Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers, which provides an extensive civil defence service in support of law enforcement, in addition to its fire and rescue services. A member of INTERPOL, Monaco enjoys the world's lowest crime rates.
Last week you were asked to pray against corruption and fraud in Moldova . This week the prime minister of Moldova, Chiril Gaburici, announced his resignation a day after the prosecution questioned him on his fraudulent high-school and university diplomas. Gaburici, a pro-European businessman and candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party, became Prime Minister five months ago in February and came into the governing position claiming to be a manager not a politician and saying that the country had to change its political system. With his resignation move, he wants to ensure that the authorities will carry out an objective and transparent investigation into his credentials. Earlier, he had called on the state prosecutor and the head of the central bank to resign for failure to act effectively over the disappearance of one billion US dollars from three Moldovan banks. Gaburici expressed regret that questions on his studies had become ‘an instrument of a political game’, making no comments on the contents of the allegations.
The Malta Police Association has appealed to the Home Affairs Minister and the Police Commissioner to continue to implement measures and effective controls to safeguard and protect officers’ personal information and data. In a statement issued following the Data Commissioner’s decision on personal information from an inspector’s file being passed on to the media with extracts from the same file being later exhibited in court in a libel case between the inspector and an editor, the association said it was concerned as this was not the first time when information or sensitive data had beenmade public in an abusive and unauthorised manner. This was undermining police work and damaging officers’ reputations. The association condemned the fact that some members of the media reported allegations on members of the force which were only aimed at destroying their integrity.
Historically, the Orthodox Church has had a strong influence in Macedonia. A harsh policy aimed at restricting religious groups (apart from Orthodox, Catholics and Muslims) was overturned in court in 1999, but some restrictions remain. There is a need for an unprecedented movement of the Holy Spirit in the Macedonian Orthodox church as well as among all churches in this country. There is a great spiritual battle going on for believers working to reach ethnic Albanians in the country. The opposition for the gospel is enormous and the soil of hearts is hard - yet God is doing amazing things in the universities. Pray that the ministry would see the first Albanian students come to Christ in the universities. Pray also that the believing students would not only be doing evangelism but making disciples and maturing spiritually.
Luxembourg: Pray for more missionary zeal
01 Jul 2015
Among the expatriate community, followers of Christ tend to be very busy with demanding and time-consuming jobs and want to enjoy time with their families on weekends. Hence, readiness to invest themselves into Christian ministry is limited. Pray for a hunger to grow and a passion to serve. Many people live in a wealth bubble within Luxembourg with a focus on material possessions, and the country has an exceptionally liberal government. Important decisions for the future economic well-being of the nation have to be taken in this legislative period, and their leaders need wisdom. Pray for God-fearing men and woman to be placed in decision-making positions. There are three English-speaking churches, each with 150-250 members, and many small Portuguese, Brazilian, Luxembourgish and Scandinavian immigrant churches, but they do not have much in common.
Lithuania: A fragile Christian presence
01 Jul 2015
Due to a strong Polish influence, Catholicism was politically dominant until the Soviet occupation when all faiths were repressed. Low-level discrimination against evangelical groups exists and religious freedom has facilitated the entry of cults and theological error. Relationships between denominations are better than in most former Soviet states. Agape Lithuania has a vision of seeing a ministry presence on every university campus in the country. Praise God for good relationships on the Agape team and the encouragement of healthy ministry funding. There is a Lithuanian internet evangelism ministry, ieskauDievo.lt (searching God). Their prayer is that their work would reach Lithuanians in the country and beyond. Also praise God for 24 e-coaches who are connected with seekers. Pray for wisdom and sensitivity as they interact with these seekers. There is a need for more student leaders to be raised up who would have a heart to see their fellow-classmates know Jesus. Pray for spiritually open students to get connected with the Vilnius campus ministry.