Germany: From ‘Call of the Watchman’
Europe is dependent on a well-oiled working relationship between France and Germany. However the chemistry between François Hollande and Angela Merkel is poor. Merkel offended Hollande by refusing to meet him in Berlin when he was a candidate in the French presidential election. He took his revenge by inviting the SPD chief to the Elysée Palace, where only heads of state are normally welcomed. There is much that has yet to come out into the open between the two of them. Politically they are divided on how to solve the European crisis. Merkel believes this can be achieved by strict budget control, debt reduction, liberalization of the labour market (with minimal state interference), and the reform of the social system. Hollande holds the opposite opinion. The economy should first be revived with state investment, before looking for savings and reform – a more palatable recipe. In the past, Berlin and Paris agreed a policy in advance and then presented a united approach. This is not happening and Germany appears to be standing alone.
Pray: for reconciliation between the two leaders at a personal level. (Psalm 133) and wisdom for an agreed basis of budget control. (Job 12:.13)
Germany: From ‘Call of the Watchman’
Europe is dependent on a well-oiled working relationship between France and Germany. However the chemistry between François Hollande and Angela Merkel is poor. Merkel offended Hollande by refusing to meet him in Berlin when he was a candidate in the French presidential election. He took his revenge by inviting the SPD chief to the Elysée Palace, where only heads of state are normally welcomed. There is much that has yet to come out into the open between the two of them. Politically they are divided on how to solve the European crisis. Merkel believes this can be achieved by strict budget control, debt reduction, liberalization of the labour market (with minimal state interference), and the reform of the social system. Hollande holds the opposite opinion. The economy should first be revived with state investment, before looking for savings and reform – a more palatable recipe. In the past, Berlin and Paris agreed a policy in advance and then presented a united approach. This is not happening and Germany appears to be standing alone.
Pray: for reconciliation between the two leaders at a personal level. (Psalm 133) and wisdom for an agreed basis of budget control. (Job 12:.13)
European week against cancer
The European commission estimates that 700,000 people die and millions of EU citizens suffer as a result of smoking related diseases every year. Tobacco consumption is by far the largest avoidable health risk and the biggest cause of premature death in the EU. Linda McAvan parliament’s rapporteur on the tobacco products directive, said, ‘The biggest worry for me is that more young people smoke than adults in the EU.’ The British MEP, who is a member of parliament’s environment, public health and food safety committee, said that 28 per cent of European citizens smoke. According to the European commission, the figure for 15 to 24-year-olds is slightly higher, at 29 per cent. ‘We have to do something to tackle the recruitment of children and young people into smoking, and that’s what this new law from Europe’s about,’ McAvan said.
Pray: that the battle against cancer and smoking by the young will be taken seriously. (Ps.144:1)
European week against cancer
The European commission estimates that 700,000 people die and millions of EU citizens suffer as a result of smoking related diseases every year. Tobacco consumption is by far the largest avoidable health risk and the biggest cause of premature death in the EU. Linda McAvan parliament’s rapporteur on the tobacco products directive, said, ‘The biggest worry for me is that more young people smoke than adults in the EU.’ The British MEP, who is a member of parliament’s environment, public health and food safety committee, said that 28 per cent of European citizens smoke. According to the European commission, the figure for 15 to 24-year-olds is slightly higher, at 29 per cent. ‘We have to do something to tackle the recruitment of children and young people into smoking, and that’s what this new law from Europe’s about,’ McAvan said.
Pray: that the battle against cancer and smoking by the young will be taken seriously. (Ps.144:1)
NIGERIA: Refugees
A UN report for refugees stated that no fewer than 6,000 people - mostly women, children and elderly were displaced following the military onslaught against Boko Haram and the al Qaeda-linked Ansaru. They fled to neighbouring Niger Republic fearful of being caught in the government-led crackdown. The presence of Nigerian refugees in Niger is putting a strain on meagre local food and water resources as they struggle after years of drought. Refugees are either renting houses or staying with host families who are themselves living in very precarious conditions. A UNHCR member of staff who visited several border villages hosting refugees met Nigerian families living out in the open and some under trees. Refugees reported air strikes by government forces from time to time, and planes regularly flying over Borno, Yobe and Adamawa where a state of emergency has been in force since May 14.
Pray: for the UN to effectively deliver structured and coordinated help for host communities of Nigerian refugees. (Ps.12:7)
More: http://www.punchng.com/news/6000-flee-bharam-crisis-to-niger-un/
Syria (a): UN security concern for Golan Heights
The Golan Heights has a political and strategic significance which belies its size. There are 30+ Jewish settlements on the heights and 20,000 Syrians, mostly members of the Druze sect. 900+ UN soldiers monitor the Israel/Syria border. However Syria’s violence spilling into the UN patrolled zone has prompted Austria to remove its 377 peacekeeping soldiers after nearly four decades of peacekeeping. This decision leaves the Philippines as the largest contributor. India also has troops based in the Golan, but Croatia, Canada and Japan have withdrawn their contingents because of the Syrian conflict. Syria's deployment of tanks in the demilitarized zone violates 1973 ceasefire agreements but sources told the BBC that Israel will not react. There are concerns the civil war in Syria will spill further over this and other borders and that the Golan Heights could be used to launch attacks against Israel.
Pray: for containment of Islamist extremists and Hezbollah militants fighting in Syria and that the war will not spill further into neighbouring countries. (Ps.80:14 & 19)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22862213
Syria(b): UN seeks host countries for refugees
The United Nations is asking the United States and Europe to take in thousands of Syrian refugees. Since the beginning of Syria's civil war, more than 1.5 million Syrians have fled the country seeking refuge. UN officials think that number could reach 3.5 million by the end of the year. According to agency spokesman Adrian Edwards, the UN is seeking to relocate 10,000 refugees. On Tuesday Edwards told the Associated Press that ‘resettlement is only one of the tools we use and tends to apply to a very small number of highly vulnerable individuals of any refugee population.’ German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said Germany has already agreed to take in half. Edwards says the United States and Germany usually offer the most help.
Pray: for all the administration and application associated with this initiative for the dispossessed vulnerable. (Job22:29)
More: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/June/UN-Seeks-Host-Countries-for-Syrian-Refugees/
Turkey: Questions and answers
Q- Are the riots about trees or something else? A- Protesters are venting pent-up resentment against the Prime Minister. Many secular Turks see him as an authoritarian figure forcing his conservative religious Islamic views on them. He has spoken out against Caesarean births; said women should have at least three children and backed laws to curb the sale of alcohol. Q- Why should other nations care about Turkey? A- Turkey is a largely Muslim nation straddling Europe and Asia, it’s a stable democracy, a key US ally and an important regional influence accommodating tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. Q- Will Turkey see an Arab Spring revolution? A- Turkey holds a presidential election next year in which the current PM will be backed by rural conservative voters (the silent majority) However the daughter of Canadian missionaries in Turkey reported that the 240,000 people protesting against the government are mostly young people looking for change. See http://blog.godreports.com/2013/06/protests-spread-in-turkey-christian-ministry-calls-for-prayer/
Pray: the current situation would bring about a peaceful end to the ‘soft Islamization’ of Turkish society. (Ps.72:14)
More: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-widespread-protests-19376657#.Ubg-Wpwptr8
Pakistan: Christians abused
Christians are treated like animals and denied the dignity of human beings in Kasur district of Punjab province, a district where a recent rape of a 15 yr. old Christian went unpunished. The NGO Lead (Legal Evangelical Association Development) reports Muslims abusing, mocking, hitting and publicly humiliating Christian men and women, agricultural workers and pastors. Recently a minor encroachment of some flocks belonging to Christians led to Muslim men breaking into the Christian’s home hitting three women, stripping them and then forcing them to run naked through the streets, while they were ridiculed and harassed. The same humiliating treatment was given to two Christian elders when they reported the matter, followed by police raiding their homes and threatening them with a criminal case. The faithful turned to Rev Saleem Gill for help to register a formal complaint. Other Christian families reported abuse and ill-treatment by Muslim landowners, who are their employers. See also Prayer Alert. 17-2013
Pray: that the Christians' complaint will be upheld and the aggressors brought to justice, pray against the rise in physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Christian farmers and agricultural workers in NE Pakistan. (Ps.86:14-17)
USA: Prostitution, drugs alleged in State Department memo
Senior State Department and Diplomatic Security officials may have covered up or stopped investigations of inappropriate/criminal misconduct by staff according to an internal memo from the Office of the Inspector General. The timeline places incidents during former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's tenure. Sometimes the sources are one or more agents who became aware of cases from colleagues in ‘a shared environment.’ The documents provided by a lawyer for a whistle-blower who is a former senior inspector general investigator stated, ‘an active US ambassador routinely ditched his protective security detail in order to solicit sexual favorus from both prostitutes and minor children.’ A member of Clinton's security detail allegedly, ‘engaged prostitutes while on official trips in foreign countries’ and ’prostitution problem was endemic.’ Also In Iraq an ‘underground drug ring may have been supplying drugs to State Department security contractors, but an agent sent to investigate the allegations was prevented from completing the job’.
Pray: for suspected incidents of abuse or corruption to be investigated thoroughly. May all concealed episodes be revealed. (Am.5:7 & 15)
More: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/11/politics/state-department-allegations/index.html?hpt=hp_t1