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This is an early invitation to all Prayer Alert readers to join with other European churches, prayer ministries and mission agencies to pray and seek God’s kingdom for the lost in Europe. (2 Chronicles 7:14). There is nothing more powerful than when saints stand in the gap. A great shift is happening in Europe and many are aware of it. It is time to gather, to move forward together, to lift our voices and rejoice together in prayer. God is calling His people to come together to blow the trumpets for the whole continent of Europe, for ‘When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies’ (Numbers 10:9). Please join us in Timisoara, Romania for a historic gathering of believers from across Europe as we cry out for a transformative move of God on our continent.
The newly-elected President of Poland promises change. Andrzej Duda has limited powers, but is head of the armed forces and can veto new laws. The victory will be a wake-up call to Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz ahead of parliamentary elections this autumn. Mr Duda said, ‘Those who voted for me voted for change. Together we can change Poland.’ Poland is gradually catching up to Western Europe's living standards but youth unemployment is high and Poles can still earn much more in the UK or Germany. The new President needs his Law and Justice party to win this autumn's parliamentary elections to bring about real change. Mr Duda attracted most support in the conservative eastern regions near the border with Ukraine and Belarus. For up-to-date INSIGHTS into potentially significant political changes across the nations in the second half of 2015 click the ‘more’ button below.
Turkish voters go to the polls on Sunday amid concerns around slowing economic growth and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's autocratic policies. The election could also be momentous for modern Turkish history, as four candidates come from Turkey’s minority groups, including the resurgent Kurds who have been discriminated against for years. Erdogan's AK Party is also fielding an Armenian Christian candidate, Markar Esayan, in hopes of courting the Christian vote in Istanbul. In Turkey there are no Armenian officials, police or judges. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest national church and one of the most ancient Christian communities, claiming to have originated in the missions of apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century. Underscoring some of the tensions surrounding Turkey's minority community, hundreds of people took to Istanbul's streets in May protesting against the seizure of a one-hundred-year-old Armenian orphanage. For up to date INSIGHTS behind elections due to be held across the nations between now and 2016, click the ‘more’ button below.
A few countries span more than one continent - transcontinental states. Azerbaijan is on both European and Asian maps, but this year’s European games place it firmly in Europe. An anomaly? Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, was awarded the right to host the 2015 European Games, which are the final ‘continental’ Games to be inaugurated (after the Asian Games, Pan-American Games, All-Africa Games and Pacific Games). As of 2015, every continent will have a continental Games in the Olympic tradition. A total of 20 sports will be represented: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. Twelve of them - Archery, Athletics, Volleyball, Boxing, Cycling, Judo, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon and Wrestling - will offer qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
This week EU leaders convened in Riga for the eastern partnership summit. They met with officials from the six eastern partners. Latvian foreign affairs minister Edgars Rinkevics hoped it would be ‘an opportunity to look at the challenges the EU faces along its eastern borders’ (namely ongoing tensions with Russia and peace in Ukraine hanging by a thread). During the summit a rally congregated outside urging the EU to grant Georgia and Ukraine visa free regimes and recognise their European future. One of the rally's organisers said the main demand for Georgia and Ukraine to be promised a ‘European perspective’ was not achieved at the summit.
Russian people and religious organisations charged with distributing banned ‘extremist’ texts face sharply increased fines after changes to the law this month. Confiscations of religious texts from all religions, mostly during raids or detentions, frequently result in prosecutions of people. Convictions have led to liquidation, or threats of liquidation of ministries. The possession of allegedly ‘extremist’ texts is not the only obstacle to exercising freedom of religion or belief. Communities face barriers to holding public events. Baptist pastor Pavel Pilipchuk was imprisoned for five days in mid-April for refusing to pay a fine for allegedly organising an open-air meeting for worship without informing the city administration beforehand. The increases are part of a number of legal changes proposed by the Communications Ministry in December 2014, which introduce specific charges for media outlets accused of inciting "extremism’ and harsher existing punishments for related offences. There have been 19 prosecutions so far in 2015.
On Sunday four Irish bishops simultaneously published statements urging Catholics to vote ‘no’ in Ireland's referendum on gay marriage. They defend marriage between a man and a woman as the natural order and argue that a vote against same-sex marriage is a vote for the common good. Bishop of Killala John Fleming admits that during the past fifty years there has been a great change in the home environment in Ireland. It must be acknowledged that single parents and, in recent years, same-sex parents provide children with a loving home environment. However, this does not take away from the fact that it’s the firm belief of the bishops that the traditional family environment of a father, mother and children is in fact the best environment in which to raise children, despite the fact that family life as we know it is not without its problems and difficulties.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will visit Ireland and Northern Ireland next week, and security is being stepped up. Concerns have been raised that Irish Islamic extremists may try to target the visit. In addition to the risk from dissident republicans, Gardai (Irish police) are monitoring a number of radicalised individuals who they fear may attempt to disrupt the trip. Among suspects under surveillance is Irishman Khalid Kelly, who converted to Islam in 2000 while imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and is thought to have recently worked as a nurse in Syria before returning to Ireland. Mr Kelly knew Michael Adebolajo, the man who brutally killed British soldier Lee Rigby. Speaking at a mosque in Cavan, Mr Kelly said that Gardai were monitoring him ahead of Prince Charles’s visit.
Eight policemen and 14 gunmen were killed following a day-long gun battle in the Republic of Macedonia. Native Albanians from Kosovo are believed to be behind the violence, but on Wednesday the opposition claimed that the government orchestrated Saturday’s shootout. Many believe that ethnic tensions could destabilise the country. Macedonia now appears to be grappling with its deepest political crisis since gaining independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991. The tensions have been exacerbated by a number of factors. In 2001 the Albanian National Liberation Army demanded greater rights and autonomy for the Albanian minority. Since then, the country has been governed in a delicate power-sharing arrangement between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians, followed by a rising ethnic Macedonian nationalism. Last month EU envoys accused the government of leading the country towards disaster and urged those in power and the opposition to agree to a roadmap which would steer it away from ‘exploding.’ See also:
For about a year, Pope Francis has been meeting with scientists and policy experts to get their advice on addressing the environmental degradation caused by climate change. This process will culminate in June or July, when he will deliver a highly anticipated papal encyclical on the environment. An encyclical is the highest teaching issued by a pope. It is essentially a church policy paper, meant to offer guidance on specific issues for the bishops, priests and faithful who make up the family of about 1.2 billion Roman Catholics worldwide. The pope finished writing his ‘eco-encyclical’ in late April. It will be the first time a Catholic leader has dedicated an entire encyclical to environmental issues. The Vatican’s speaker on climate change said Pope Francis will frame the issue of climate change in moral terms regarding the accelerating burning of fossil fuels that power our economic engine and disrupt the earth’s delicate ecological balance on an almost unfathomable scale. See also article 4 in Prayer-Alert British Isles section.