A Marine Corps unit equipped with tanks, light armoured vehicles and artillery will be sent to Bulgaria as part of US efforts to reassure NATO allies worried by Russia’s involvement in Ukraine. Brigadier-General Norman Cooling, the deputy commander of the US marines in Europe and Africa, said on Thursday 2 July that 155 troops equipped with four Abrams battle tanks, six light armoured vehicles and three howitzers were scheduled to be deployed at the Novo Selo training area by early September. ‘It’s certainly our intent to convince the Russians and Mr Putin to refrain from aggression and return to the community of peaceful nations,’ Cooling said. The US defence secretary said that more US military equipment would be positioned in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Germany as NATO seeks to bolster its forces in Eastern Europe.
Bosnia: The cradle of modern jihadism?
17 Jul 2015
In the 1990s something happened in central Bosnia-Herzegovina that inspired people to this day and helps explain why that country now has more men fighting in Syria and Iraq (over 300), as a proportion of its population, than most in Europe. The formation of a ‘Mujahideen Battalion’ in 1992, composed mainly of Arab volunteers in central Bosnia, was a landmark. Today the dynamic of jihad has been reversed and Bosnians travel to Arab lands. ‘There is a war between the West and Islam,’ says Aimen Dean, who, as a young Saudi Arabian volunteer, travelled to fight in central Bosnia in 1994. ‘Bosnia gave the modern jihadist movement that narrative. It is the cradle.’
Over 230 people were taken out of the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo and transported to Belgium where they have been granted asylum and can start to rebuild their lives. The Belgian government said the operation took over two months and happened in great secrecy. The refugees were mostly Christian and had faced human rights abuses in Aleppo. Once settled in Belgium, the government will help them rebuild their future. They’ll provide training in order to help them to find jobs. Theo Francken, Secretary of State for asylum policy and migration, said they will receive permanent protection status allowing them to rebuild a future in Belgium; adding, ‘the last thing they want is to be dependent on social security.’ The Belgian government has welcomed 5,500 Syrian refugees since 2011 and has provided asylum to 98% of all Syrians who request it.
Belarus: Developing teamwork with Qatar
17 Jul 2015
Belarus is ready to develop all-round cooperation with Qatar, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with Qatar Minister of State for Defence Affairs Hamad bin Ali Al Attiyah on 2nd July. The Belarusian head of state noted that the two countries cooperate in various fields. ‘There are no closed topics. We are ready to cooperate in education, military and technical fields if your country is interested in it,’ the Belarusian leader said. ‘But you should know and please tell my good friend, the Emir of Qatar, that we are ready to cooperate with your country in all areas, we will always be a reliable partner for you,’ Alexander Lukashenko emphasised . The President believes the existing level of trade between the two countries ($18-20 million) is ridiculous. ‘We expect not only to double bilateral trade, but also to increase it several times,’ the Belarusian head of state said.
Austria: Petition to leave the EU
17 Jul 2015
261,159 Austrians have signed a petition demanding a referendum on whether Austria should leave the EU. The number of signatories represents 4.12% of the electorate, and as it has had more than 100,000 signatures the question of a referendum must now be discussed in parliament. The petition was initiated by 66-year-old Inge Rauscher, who launched a similar petition back in 2000 which was only signed by 3.35% of the electorate. Rauscher said that she believes there was more support for a referendum this time around due to the economic downturn and the Greek crisis. In a press release she said it was ‘a great result, we want to go back to a neutral and peace-loving Austria’, adding that Austria is currently forced to endorse economic sanctions against Russia. She also said that she believes the EU is responsible for the economic downturn. She argues that withdrawal from the EU would lead to welfare gains of €9,800 per household per year, because Austria would no longer have to help fund the EU administration.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination that observes Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, and accentuates the imminent second coming (advent) of Jesus Christ. For more than 40 years efforts were made to establish the first Seventh-day Adventist Church in Principat d’Andorra, a very small country in the middle of the Pyrenean mountains. The prayer and work of a few dedicated families living in Andorra and Spain have produced the establishment of Associació Cristiana Adventista d’Andorra. The government of Andorra has existed with a peculiar arrangement since 1269 AD, as decreed in the Pareatge Agreements. The country has two heads of state or co-princes; one prince is the president of France, and the other is the Bishop of Urgell (Catalonia, Spain). The Andorran Constitution warrants non-discrimination for religious reasons, and freedom of cult and religion, but there is a specific mention that grants protection and preeminence to the traditional church of the nation. These laws explain why the nation's first Adventist Church has had to be registered as an ‘association.’
Albania
17 Jul 2015
Albania is bracing itself for the risk that turmoil in Greece, its southern neighbour, will force tens of thousands of migrant Albanian workers to return home, cutting off remittances to hard-pressed families in one of post-communist eastern Europe’s poorest states. Government ministers in Tirana express confidence that Albania’s financial system can ride out the storm, even though three banks in Albania are Greek-owned and control almost 16 per cent of all assets in the Albanian banking sector. The concerns about the possible return of migrants underline that Albania and other Balkan states, rather than Greece’s Eurozone partners, could be the first to feel the economic and social ripple effects of the crisis in Athens. About 12 per cent of Albania’s 3.2m people live below the World Bank-defined poverty line of $2 a day. Albanian migrant workers have been going to Greece since the early 1990s.
September 13 - 27, 2015
Joel 2:28 is being fulfilled at the end-time. God is pouring out the Holy Spirit to three generations - parents, youngsters and children. Psalms 8:3: "Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger."
Children are being raised to have intimacy with God, who love to worship God, pray and listen to God's voice. They become instruments of God and as the transformation agents for their family, church, city, country and nations. After the World Prayer Assembly in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2012. Jerusalem House of Prayer of All Nations Convocation Jerusalem and Watchman Tour of Israel began a children's prayer track where they are trained to have intimacy with God 24 hours per day and become watchmen with Harp and Bowl.
At this year's Jerusalem House of Prayer of All Nations Convocation, the Children in Prayer Track will be served by an Indonesian team to be led by Ps. Tety Irwan. They will meet every day for 6 hours from the 13th Sept - 27th September with a morning session (9:00-12:00 am) and an afternoon session (2:00 - 5:00 pm).
Date: September 13 - September 27, 2015
Place: Jerusalem - Israel
Theme: Arise and Shine The Glory of The King is Rising Upon You, isaiah 60:1-2
Children Track Program is as follows:
* Devotion time
* Workshop training about prayer: intimacy with God, hearing God's voice, praise and worship, powerful prayer, prayer fasting, harp and bowl, prayer walking, equipping, prayer for your country, praying for the nation and many others.
* Lesson on Prophetic Dance.
* Children will do prayer walking in Kibbutz
* Harp and Bowl in Prayer tower 24/7 hours
* Praying for nations
* Hearing the voice of God
* Puppet show
* Concert of Prayer
* Fellowship and fun time (playing & swimming)
* Games
* Snack time
Attached is an invitation letter from Ps. Tom Hess for the event CHILDREN PRAYER TRACK JHOPFAN September 13 - September 27, 2015 and also Registration Form
Criteria for children are :
1 . Age 7-14 years ( can be accompanied by a parent or adult )
2 . Children who are confident, polite and of good character
3 . Able to communicate in English
For those who are interested and wanted to send their children and teenagers to participate in the Children's Prayer Track, Please fill out the registration form and send it to Nelli ( Children Track Staff ) email : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and cc to me : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ps . Tety Irwan ( Indonesia )
Children in Prayer ( CIP ) International
Children Prayer Track Leaders : Jerusalem House of Prayer for All Nations Convocation and Watchman Tour of Israel September 13 - September 27, 2015
Dear Children of the world,
We bring you warm greetings from Jerusalem, the City of the Great King!
For the last 4 years Tety Irwan has done an awesome job in coordinating the children's track from all nations and continents at our annual convocation and Watchmen's tour of Israel. Each year more children attend. We hope this year you could send at least a few children to represent your nation at the All Nations Convocation Jerusalem and Watchmen's tour of Israel. The lives of the children that are going to be here will never be the same.
Join with Tety and all of us this year in Jerusalem for an awesome download from heaven and life-changing experience together in the land of Jesus.
Hope to see you this year in Jerusalem.
Shalom in Messiah's Love and Joy,
Tom Hess