A UN report accuses the Eritrean government of extrajudicial executions, torture, national service and forced labour that create a climate of repression driving many to flee. It catalogues a litany of human rights violations by the ‘totalitarian’ regime of President Isaias Afwerki on a scope and scale seldom witnessed elsewhere. The government uses imprisonment, forced disappearance, surveillance and censorship to create a culture of permanent fear and crush all dissent. The year-long study, which was carried out without the cooperation of the Eritrean government, is based on first-hand testimony gathered through 550 confidential interviews with witnesses in third countries and 160 written submissions. After Syrians, Eritreans were the most common nationality to arrive on European shores, comprising 22% of all people entering Italy by boat last year. Faced with a seemingly hopeless situation they feel powerless to change, hundreds of thousands of Eritreans are fleeing their country.

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.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that time is running out for a deal to keep Greece in the Eurozone. Speaking after the G7 summit in Germany, she said Europe would show solidarity but only if Greece ‘makes proposals and implements reforms’. Also on the agenda was climate change, with the G7 calling for a transformation of electricity generation towards renewables and nuclear power by 2050; they also said that fossil fuel should not be burned in any sector of the economy by the end of the century. This is a seismic shift, but huge questions remain. On the Ukraine the G7 hoped Russia would comply with a ceasefire agreement signed in February by pro-Moscow rebels and the Kiev government. But sanctions could be strengthened if necessary. Barack Obama echoed Mrs Merkel’s comments, saying, ‘The G7 is making it clear that if necessary we stand ready to impose additional significant sanctions against Russia.'

Sarah Mbuyi (31) was fired from her job as a nursery nurse after a conversation with a homosexual colleague. She explained the biblical position on homosexuality and marriage when her colleague asked whether she would be welcomed at church and if God approves of her civil partnership. Sarah said that ‘God is not okay with what you do’ but that ‘everyone is a sinner and God offers forgiveness’. Miss Mbuyi recalled, ‘When I said ‘No, God does not condone the practice of homosexuality, but does love you and says you should come to Him as you are', she became emotional and went off to report me to my manager’. Following the complaint by her colleague, Sarah was investigated and sacked for gross misconduct within three days of the conversation. She was supported by the Christian Legal Centre, and represented by a human rights barrister. In a brave judgment, the Watford Employment Tribunal found she had been directly discriminated against because of her beliefs.