Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday ordered the speeding up of construction of military and civilian infrastructure on a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean where Moscow and Tokyo have rival territorial claims. Dispute over the islands, known as the Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, has strained relations between the two countries since World War Two, when Soviet forces occupied four islands at the southern end of the chain. Shoigu was speaking in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok while inspecting the eastern military district, his ministry said in a statement. It did not provide more detail. Moscow has angered Tokyo in recent years by having state officials visit the island chain and stepping up military activities there. Japan says the islands are part of its territory and wants Moscow to hand them over.
Romania's parliament has refused to lift prime minister Victor Ponta's immunity from prosecution after he was questioned by Romania's powerful DNA anti-corruption agency last Friday on suspicion of forgery, tax evasion and money laundering. Mr Ponta, who has come under pressure to resign, said he would stay on to prevent a protracted political crisis. Anti-corruption officials are looking at his work between 2007 and 2011. Parliament is dominated by Mr Ponta's centre-left coalition, so Tuesday's vote to block prosecution was unsurprising. It has been investigating allegations that Mr Ponta used forged invoices from a law firm, Sova and Associates, to buy two luxury apartments and a Mitsubishi Lancer car. The Social Democrat prime minister, in office since 2012, has denied any wrongdoing and says his government will survive a no-confidence vote in parliament due on Friday 19 June. President Klaus Iohannis said he regretted that parliament was obstructing justice and acting as a shield for the prime minister ‘in contempt’ of the Romanian population.
A new study has found that more than 40 percent of Portuguese doctors claim that a lack of material interferes with their work, and the majority believe their national health service cannot take any more cuts without compromising the quality of care it provides. The survey, carried out by a Lisbon University at the request of the Doctors’ Register, indicates that almost 60% of health centre workers and 44%of professionals in public hospitals have noticed a lack of basic materials such as paper, gloves or needles. Over 3,000 doctors filled out the questionnaire developed for the survey.
On Thursday 11 June former Florida Governor Jeb Bush met Poland’s newly elected president in Warsaw. Andrzej Duda, who won a Tea Party-like victory against the Polish establishment last month, had an informal meeting with Bush in the afternoon. Bush, who represents the Republican establishment in the wide-open race for the party's US presidential nomination, met him at the beginning of a five-day tour through Europe. All three countries Bush is visiting have thriving economies, and he is expected to use the trip to highlight pro-growth policies in Europe while trying to make a connection to his own campaign, in which he has called for 4% annual growth in the US. There will also be obvious defence policy implications. All three countries have been among Ukraine’s strongest supporters amid the country’s conflict with Russia. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said earlier this month that 7,000 civilians have died since the fighting started in April 2014.
The Norwegian National Church Planting Network has been in existence since the early 1990’s. Last year 800 leaders, church planters and potential church planters gathered together and signed a statement committing to the planting of 400 new churches in Norway and training 4,000 pioneers over the next 10 years. This year they reported that around 75 churches were planted in the last 4-5 years and another 75 churches are in process of being planted. M4 has developed into an interdenominational church planting movement in Norway. During 2015, around twenty church planting teams will be involved in M4 learning. Alongside this, two years ago the Christian Post reported, ‘Bible Has Become the Best-Seller in 'Secular' Norway - Many Surprised’. They added that Church attendance is a poor measure of the Norwegian state of faith. See also
370 businesses and institutions (excluding one-man businesses) were declared bankrupt in May this year - 84 down from the previous month and the lowest level since November 2008. They fell noticeably in the trade and manufacturing sectors. Meanwhile, Operation World reports ‘the Roman Catholic Church is rapidly decreasing - from 41% in 1975 to 26% (other reports claim 18%) in 2010 - and every year has fewer priests and missionaries. Weekly attendance is reportedly as low as 300,000 on any given Sunday, and the aged composition of the faithful points toward further decline. However, there is also clear growth in the charismatic and evangelical groups within Dutch Catholicism, and a proliferation of Alpha Courses.
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has offered an AED 183.6 million ($49.9 million) concessionary loan to the Government of Montenegro to support its agricultural development sector. Aimed at accelerating economic development in Montenegro through supporting food security, the agreement seeks to enhance the competitiveness of Montenegro's products to international levels. Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi said, ‘As a catalyst for inclusive development and food security, the UAE, through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, pursues an active policy in supporting agricultural investment across the developing world. To achieve this goal, ADFD is committed to ensuring necessary funding for development projects, especially in strategically important sectors that can significantly benefit the economies of developing countries.’
A new international volunteer from Monaco has flown to Mongolia to help set up a pilot centre for people with disabilities. Florestan Fillon holds a Masters degree from the University of Victoria in Canada in community development. He will be based in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia, and will focus on the integration of young people with handicaps. This project is supported by the Luxembourg NGO PADEM (Aid and Development Programmes for Children of the World), a partner of Monaco in international cooperation since 2010. Already rich in experience with eleven years of development programmes and partnerships, fundraising and public relations, Florestan Fillon will use his expertise for the pilot project in Mongolia. Previously, he took part in the development of a centre for people with disabilities in Peru. Currently, six international volunteers from Monaco are in long-term missions in Mongolia, Morocco, Burkina Faso, and Madagascar.