In Norway, an Iraqi Islamist is keeping the entire country on tenterhooks. The man, who calls himself Mullah Krekar, was granted asylum in Norway in 1991, but in the meantime has been held responsible for terrorist attacks by an Islamist group in northern Iraq. Now he's about to be confined to a small village in northern Norway. Krekar has been facing deportation for ten years because he is seen as a danger to Norwegian national security, but according to international law he cannot be sent to Iraq because he would be subject to torture and possibly the death penalty there. The Norwegian government is sending him to the isolated village of Kyrksaeteroera, on a fjord southwest of Trondheim, where he will remain until a deportation order can be enforced.The village residents - neither the Norwegians, nor the 200 well-integrated asylum seekers already there - are enthusiastic.
Heads of eleven Evangelical churches have asked people not to give or take bribes and oppose corruption the main inner enemy of Ukraine, reports The Christian Telegraph in reference to the Institute for Religious Freedom. ‘Losses from corruption are huge. The sin of theft cruelly destroys our nation. The experience of other countries has shown that all good changes in a person’s life or the life of the whole nation begin with changes in the worldview,’ said the appeal made by the Alliance of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine. The heads of the of Evangelical churches noted the importance of healthy spiritual guide-lines, which the Bible contains. All officials should remember ‘the oath of civil servants, and, what is more important, the responsibility before the Almighty Creator and Lord.’ the ministers called on the government to make transparent reformation of ‘courts, local governments and other important components of the state.’
A new report by the Pew Research Centre said, ‘The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world’s major religions, as well as by people switching faiths. Over the next four decades Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion if current trends continue. By 2050, Christianity is set to decline further in the UK and Europe. 25% of all Christians lived in Europe in 2010. By 2050 this is set to drop to 15.6 % and Africa will have the most Christians. In 2010, 24% of the world's Christians lived in sub-Saharan Africa by 2050 it will exceed 38% according to Pew. Europe’s ‘absolute number’ of Christians will fall from 553 million in 2010 to 454 million in 2050.
Four hundred migrants drowned in the Mediterranean in the latest migrant tragedy taking place inside the European borders. On Monday, the Italian navy said that it managed to rescue 144 people. Survivors said the boat was carrying about 550 people who wanted to enter the European Union through Italy. The survivors were brought to a southern Italian port on Tuesday morning, the International Organization for Migration and the charity Save the Children reported. Most of the migrants were sub-Saharan Africans. ‘There were 400 victims in this shipwreck, which occurred 24 hours after their vessel left the Libyan coast,’ Save the Children said in a statement, citing survivors. ‘There were several young males, probably minors, among the victims’ and also children among those rescued'. IOM spokesman in Italy, Flavio Di Giacomo, told AFP that the Italian authorities are ‘continuing to investigate in order to understand how the shipwreck happened.’
Thousands of people have gathered in 50 cities across Hungary to protest what many say is an erosion of democratic freedoms and government corruption. Sunday’s (19 April) demonstrations came after the European Commission suspended payments to Hungary over suspected corruption and irregularities in the awarding of tenders. ‘Listening to my heart I would make them resign and call an early election,’ a woman told Euronews. ‘For me, anybody else would be better than them, They have no shame.’ Euronews correspondent Attilla Magyar filed the following report from Budapest: ‘The last months have seen several demonstrations against corruption and the actions of Orbán’s government. The most recent protest demonstration was sparked by the recent disagreement between the European Union and the Hungarian government. The organisers have promised more demonstrations.’
From May 14 to16, in Wiesbaden, Germany, International Prayer Connect will hold a prayer conference for Europe for prayer leaders based on the fact that Europe is the first port of call for millions of immigrants coming from the Arab world. This conference will be the third in a succession of similar prayer gatherings where God’s people have sought His face for Europe. The first was in 2013 in the UK. Many representatives of Arabic churches attended. In 2014 Germany held a similar conference and later that year 35 prayer leaders from 15 European countries organised the 2015 conference that is to be not only for the Arabs living in Europe, but for all Christians to unite and seek God's face in a season when many believe He is calling His church to rise up and stand in prayer for Europe in a time of significant security threats and economic cracks that are beginning to happen across nations. For more info please visit, www.riseup-now.com
Russia’s intervention in Ukraine is a big concern for Poles who fear Moscow might be planning an invasion of their country. This has reportedly resulted in increasing numbers of Poles joining volunteer paramilitary groups that provide basic military training. Up to now, the Polish government has ignored unofficial militias. Now it is reportedly seeking a way to harness the 120 volunteer groups that boast a membership of 10,000. Some 800 members of paramilitary groups gathered in Warsaw on March 20 to attend a meeting hosted by the defence ministry. Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak announced the government’s decision to pay the wages of 2,500 people who would form the backbone of local volunteer units to be mobilised in the event of a war. In an interview with Reuters, the Polish President's chief security adviser, General Stanislaw Koziej, said the new approach had been prompted by the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine, where Russia is accused of fighting alongside pro-Moscow separatists.
Churches have opened their doors in the wake of Tuesday's Germanwings Airbus crash in the French Alps, which killed all 150 people on board. Sixteen of those who died were teenagers on a Spanish exchange programme from Joseph-Koenig school in Germany. Two of their teachers were also on the plane. The local Catholic Church in Haltern, St Sixtus, was reportedly open all night for mourners. Hundreds of people visited the church after the news broke yesterday to light candles and write messages of condolence to the families of those who died. At the school just 1.5km away, residents covered the entrance with flowers and red and white candles. Deputy Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Sylvia Loehrmann, told reporters on Wednesday: ‘We can only share that pain and maybe some comfort can grow from that sharing. All of Germany is mourning with us and the whole world is sending us messages.’ At least three Britons were also killed.