In February this year we reported Turkey getting its first Christian TV station and in a season of fear for many Mideast Christians, Turkey has approved its first new church in 92 years to meet the needs of the Syrian Christian refugee community. The state will fund the construction and according to officials, this will be the first church constructed in Turkey since the creation of the republic in 1923.  Pope Francis applauded Turkey for their acceptance of Christian refugees during his November visit to the country and also encouraged religious coexistence between the Muslim majority and minority Christian faiths within the country. See also: http://www.news.va/en/news/revisiting-the-highlights-of-pope-francis-visit-to

Police have failed to make an arrest six days after a church was attacked in the northern Indian city of Agra. St Mary’s Church was desecrated in the early hours of April 16 by suspected Hindu hardliners who broke open the church gates and destroyed two statues. Christians are living in fear of more attacks as Hindu hardliners continue to target Christian facilities in India. A statement released by the Archdiocese said, ‘Christian institutions are sitting ducks for these fringe elements who are targeting them to further their vested interest. This has spread fear among Christians and we feel very unsafe in our own motherland.’ The Archdiocese called on authorities to speed up their investigation and take punitive action to deter future attacks on Christian properties. Elsewhere, in Delhi, six churches have been attacked or vandalised since December last year. See also 

Pakistan’s Prime Minister rejected Saudi Arabia’s request to join its military campaign in Yemen. He believes ‘if the Saudis enter into a ground war in Yemen - with or without Pakistani forces - it will become a quagmire’. It is thought that the Egyptian experience in Yemen, 20,000 casualties in the 1960s fighting the same Zaydi tribes that back the Houthis, figures prominently in Pakistani thinking. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned that the Saudi attacks in Yemen could be a catalyst for a broader sectarian war. Meanwhile in Yemen Christians are routinely harassed and this latest crisis involving Saudi Arabia and Iran will only make it worse for Christians there. See: 

In January Christian Today reported that violations of religious freedom are increasing in Cuba, with incidences becoming more violent. Protestant pastors are arbitrarily detained or beaten and churches are being demolished. Everything is monitored, the Cuban Government has complete control over telephone lines and internet connection. Pastors or church officials who try to send information out are doing that knowing that the government's going to know about it - and their actions will produce repercussions. Unregistered churches can experience anything from the confiscation of property to the demolition of the church building. This week Cuba welcomed a US decision to remove it from a list of state sponsors of terrorism after Mr Obama met Cuban President Raul Castro last week. This move officially changes the way the US government has viewed Cuba since 1982. Many are now hoping the trade embargo against Cuba will end. See also http://www.christiantoday.com/article/religious.freedom.worsening.in.cuba.there.is.a.crackdown.happening/46769.htm

The USS Theodore Roosevelt and her escort ship, a guided-missile cruiser, are sailing towards the Arabian Sea. This massive ship carries F/A-18 fighter jets and will be a show of force in the region amid reports that a convoy of eight Iranian ships, possibly carrying arms for the Houthis, is heading toward Yemen. Western governments and Sunni Arab countries believe Houthis get their arms from Iran. Officials said it's too soon to speculate on what the Navy ships may do as the Iranian convoy approaches, including whether Iran would consent to a boarding request and what actions the Navy would take if its request was refused. The month-long Saudi air strikes targeting Houthi rebels stopped on Tuesday night and a new Saudi operation will focus on, initially, a political solution in Yemen and on counter-terrorism at home. See also the article below and click on  

Tunnels are gates for terrorism and facilitate external terrorist support between Gaza and Sinai. On April 12 an Egyptian law was issued, maximising the penalty of digging tunnels linking Egypt’s border to any other state to 25 years. Also, using such tunnels or being aware of their existence without reporting them is punishable. The recent discovery of a 2.8 kilometre-long tunnel between Sinai and Gaza raised questions about the parties supporting digging operations, as such work requires expensive and advanced modern equipment, as well as an extensive labour force to dig either in rocks or loose land. The process takes four to five months, while the average cost of the required equipment would be 10 million Egyptian pounds. Most of the manufacturers of such equipment do not authorise sales except to states and major engineering and construction companies

South African President Jacob Zuma called churches to lead the nation in praying for peace and friendship following xenophobic violence in Durban, Johannesburg and other parts of the country. ‘The majority of South Africans believe in peace, unity and friendship and have nothing to do with the sporadic incidents of violence that have taken place,’ Zuma said. South Africa has faced a backlash from the rest of the continent over the violence against immigrants. SA vehicles were pelted with stones in Mozambique, SA companies are being threatened with closure in Nigeria, there have been protests at various SA embassies across the continent and several SA musicians have been forced to cancel concerts abroad. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the immigrants are asylum seekers forced to leave their countries due to war and persecution. President Zuma will travel across the country next week to preach anti-xenophobia messages as he attempts to bring an end to attacks against foreign nationals

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.

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