Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on hunger strike in an Iranian prison. Her husband Richard has joined her hunger strike and is holding his own vigil by staying in a tent outside the Iranian embassy in London. The embassy has now erected metal barriers outside the entrance to the embassy and Richard and his supporters are warned not to touch them. They are protesting over Nazanin’s ‘unfair treatment’ by Iran. Richard will not end his vigil until his wife ends hers. Richard’s supporters said the fencing is an attempt by Iran to ‘scare Richard off’. They tweeted, ‘Appalling behaviour this morning in response to the peaceful hunger strike Richard is undertaking! Moving barriers to block off the tree of hope. We will not be beaten.’ They have called on Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to demand that the Iran ambassador ‘stop the intimidation’.

St Mary's church, Pelham, Hertfordshire had most of the lead stolen from its roof on 15/16 June. The church dates back to the 1100s, and the stolen lead is valued at £220,000. Police have issued a warning to other churches in the area. Last month a church in Lincolnshire had twelve tons of lead roof sheets stolen. It was rolled up and thrown onto the grass below. The criminals were disturbed at about 3am and fled in two vehicles. The lead was marked with microdot markers that survive extreme heat, cannot be destroyed, and are easily detected with a UV torch. Metal crime incidents for the year ending March 2018 increased by 25%, and more metal thefts are reported every day. See

St Mary's church, Pelham, Hertfordshire had most of the lead stolen from its roof on 15/16 June. The church dates back to the 1100s, and the stolen lead is valued at £220,000. Police have issued a warning to other churches in the area. Last month a church in Lincolnshire had twelve tons of lead roof sheets stolen. It was rolled up and thrown onto the grass below. The criminals were disturbed at about 3am and fled in two vehicles. The lead was marked with microdot markers that survive extreme heat, cannot be destroyed, and are easily detected with a UV torch. Metal crime incidents for the year ending March 2018 increased by 25%, and more metal thefts are reported every day. See

Greater Europe Mission (GEM) write: ‘We met Malik in a French square where refugees hang out. Originally from Senegal, Malik had travelled through Mali, Algeria, Syria, Italy and then France before we met him. He only had the clothes on his back and whatever was in his backpack. We took him to get some food, but he did not understand our English. When the local pastor translated, Malik’s face lit up in a painful smile. He had a horrible toothache. A few days later we invited him to come along as we visited a Jewish neighborhood. We visited a Jewish bakery owner, and read Isaiah 53 together. Not long after this he prayed a prayer of salvation. Malik being befriended was a picture of disciples making disciples who make disciples. It was the best training Malik could receive after accepting Christ into his life.’

At the time of writing European leaders are trying to agree on a compromise EU leader after political groups failed to unite behind a candidate to replace Jean-Claude Juncker in Europe’s top job. Following the elections in May, nobody has won united support from the four mainstream parties to become president of the EU’s executive arm. Onlookers are calling it a ‘big fight’ between Europe's political groups, leaders, and institutions. Other vacancies to be filled include speaker of the European parliament, which will sit for the first time on 2 July, and foreign policy chief. The final nominees must have the backing of least 21 of the 28 EU leaders and a majority in the 751-member parliament. National leaders want to control the process and allocate the most senior jobs in a way that balances men and women, east and west, small countries and large.

On 16 June the Saudi crown prince said he would ‘deal with’ threats to his people and vital interests following attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. America blamed Iran for the attack. The UK promised to deploy 100 Royal Marines ‘within weeks’ to ships operating from Bahrain. On 17 June Iran said its stockpile of uranium would soon exceed the agreed 2015 levels, and EU ministers said they were unconvinced that Iran was behind the attack and wanted more evidence and UN investigations. On 18 June the US supplied further images to back up their accusations, and promised 1,000 troops to the region in response to ‘hostile Iranian behaviour.’ On 19 June, forty workers were evacuated from an oil-drilling site in southern Iraq after it came under rocket fire. On 20 June Iran said it was ready for war after US confirmed that an American drone had been shot down in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz. See

Amnesty International reported that the Saudi public prosecutor has sought the death penalty for Murtaja Qureiris for offences and participating in protests when he was ten years old. This prompted a global outcry in support of the teenager. Riyadh has come under mounting international scrutiny over its human rights record since a journalist’s murder and the detention of women's rights activists who are still on trial. In April, 37 men were beheaded for ‘terrorism’ crimes. The UN said most of them may not have had fair trials, and at least three were minors when sentenced. We can give thanks for the increasing pressure that is being put on the Saudi government by Amnesty, the UN, and the wider international community to release imprisoned human rights activists. Ask God to use this pressure also to bring freedom to Christians who are in prison for their faith.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo made the long-feared jump across borders with three cases confirmed in Uganda, including the death of a five-year-old boy. Concern has been mounting that this would happen, underscored by an increase in the number of cases in recent weeks. The World Health Organisation and Ugandan health authorities said the Congolese boy had travelled to Uganda with his family. The other two confirmed cases are the boy's three-year-old brother and his grandmother, 50. They are in isolation at a Ugandan Ebola treatment unit. Eight people who had been in contact with the family are being traced. The Congo outbreak is the second largest and second deadliest in history. The Wellcome Trust said, ’This epidemic is in a truly frightening phase and shows no sign of stopping any time soon.’ WHO is expected to come under pressure to declare an international health emergency.

China’s president Xi Jinping visited North Korea on 20/21 June. It is the first visit by a Chinese president in over a decade. While the world ponders Korea’s denuclearisation issue, the plight of trafficked victims from North Korea to China is being ignored. Women and girls from the reclusive state are being taken to China and forced to work as prostitutes or sold as brides, and Beijing is doing little to stop it. Fleeing a patriarchal regime of tyranny and poverty, they are passed through the hands of traffickers, brokers, and criminal organisations before being pulled into China’s sex trade. Pray for sexual slavery and trafficking to be topics of conversation  between Xi and Kim. Xi is also expected to attend the G20 summit in Osaka the following week. Pray for a positive meeting between him and Donad Trump there.

Boko Haram warned Christians, ‘You have three days to go or you will be killed!’ So rural families fled to Diffa city. Islamist militias have killed dozens and displaced thousands in the Diffa region of Niger, according to UN officials. There are an estimated 200,000 displaced people in Niger:  those displaced internally, and also many who are fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Niger’s church ministers working close to zones of conflict are now taking refuge with other Christians in the relative safety of Niamey, the capital. This means that no minister now lives in the premises of the church in these dangerous areas. An observer said, ‘I do not know how the services take place every Sunday, but the churches are not closed’. Earlier this month the governor of the Diffa region ordered churches to close due to the threat of terrorist attacks.