Militants of the self-proclaimed ‘People's Republic of Donetsk’ (PRD) seized the building of the church, ‘Word of Life’, where Leonid Padun, Bishop of the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church is a pastor, reports The Christian Telegraph. ‘PRD representatives seized the building of our church on Wednesday, August 13 at 10pm. Despite the fact that there are lots of vacant buildings in the city, they decided to take the house of God, which is in use every single day, and providing assistance to people in need,’ wrote Leonid Padun on his Facebook page. 'For over twenty years we have invested our hearts and finances to that church building and now we are deprived of the opportunity to gather for prayer and worship of God. With a heavy heart, I have to inform you that this Sunday the doors of our church for the first time will not be opened.'

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says no progress has been made in Berlin talks on establishing a ceasefire between government and rebel forces in the east of Ukraine. Following the talks between Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine on Sunday, Lavrov said all issues related to sending a humanitarian convoy to Ukraine have been resolved. ‘One place where we cannot report positive results is in, first and foremost, establishing a ceasefire and [starting] a political process,’ Lavrov told a Berlin press conference that was carried live by Russian state television. Talks concluded with an agreement for the sides to meet again and continue trying to de-escalate the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. Lavrov accused Kiev's new pro-European leaders of continually changing demands over what it would take to establish a truce after more than four months of fighting with pro-Russia separatists that has claimed more than 2,000 lives.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Crimea on Thursday with senior politicians of his government. They are expected to discuss Russia’s development plans for the Crimea. This is more than just a meeting of the security council, he has effectively taken a large chunk of the Russian government to Crimea with what many believe is his intention to integrate Crimea into Russian structures. For instance Mobile phone operators’ in the Crimea currently are routed through the Ukraine, but he proposes to invest millions of dollars to have the systems routed through Russia. His aims appear to have Crimea part of the Russian federation, which is something the world does not accept. Meanwhile, 260 lorries carrying 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid for Eastern Ukraine are heading towards the Ukraine border, but they may not be able to enter Ukraine territory. At the time of writing, the International Red Cross have not sanctioned the convoy. Ukraine politicians describe the convoy as a provocation, Russia is determined to push the aid through, while Donetsk continues to come under heavy fire. More at: 

August 2014: Christians seeking asylum in Germany are reported to suffer anti-Christian attacks in homes for asylum seekers. Victims claim to have been verbally abused and beaten by Muslim asylum seekers. Syrian Christian Toni said: ‘It started with the children. They told them: You are Christians, non-believers. You eat pigs, we won’t play with you.’ Christian fellow countryman Farid adds: ‘We were watching our children day and night. Several times they were beating them. We were afraid to lose our temper and react to the provocations and cause even more problems.’  An Iraqi-Christian family was mobbed until they decided to return home. Other cases are reported in German media.

David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has been warned that measures designed to keep illegal immigrants out of Britain could collapse unless he pledges to address a new immigration crisis. As violent clashes took place in an illegal refugee camp in Calais, French officials wrote to Mr Cameron to say they would no longer support British border officials working in France. Philippe Mignonet, the deputy mayor and immigration chief at Calais, told The Telegraph he was losing patience with a treaty which allows British border guards to check passports in France before passengers board ferries or Channel Tunnel services. The British border was moved to France in 2003 as part of a deal to close the infamous Sangatte refugee camp, and to stop illegal immigrants reaching British soil to claim asylum. ‘We are suffering in Calais. Calais is a city, not a country. We are suffering by having the English border on its territory,’ said Mr Mignonet.

Civilians in eastern Ukraine are facing increasing hardships, with wrecked infrastructure and limited access to power and water supplies, the UN says. UN humanitarian chief John Ging said ‘immediate action’ was needed to halt the conflict and prevent the situation from putting more people in danger. At a UN Security Council meeting Russia blamed Ukraine for the hardships, but the UK said it was Russia's fault. More than 1,500 people are believed to have been killed since April. The crisis erupted when well-armed pro-Russian gunmen took over various cities and attempted to break away from Ukraine. They have been slowly beaten back and the fighting is now focused on the two rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk. Heavy fighting once again erupted on Tuesday in a suburb of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. Mr Ging told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that the lack of a political solution in Ukraine would only lead to more people being killed.

Turkish citizens go to the polls on August 10 to vote for the 12th president of the Republic of Turkey - the first time the country's president will be elected by popular vote. The presidential post has previously been elected by assembly lawmakers. The public campaign for the position will continue up until August 9. The first votes have begun to be lodged by Turkish nationals living overseas. Forty two Turkish land, airport and harbour customs offices launched their polling services for Turks residing abroad but staying in Turkey at the time of voting at midnight on Friday and will remain open until 5 p.m. on August 10 - the day voters choose their first directly elected president. Should none of the candidates take more than 50 per cent of the vote, a second round will take place on 24 August.

France has said it is ready to welcome Christians fleeing the area of Iraq controlled by Islamic State group's fighters, saying it is ‘outraged’ by their persecution. Islamic State fighters seized large swathes of northern Iraq last month, prompting hundreds of Christian families in Mosul to flee a city which has hosted the faith since its earliest years. ‘France is outraged by these abuses that it condemns with the utmost firmness,’ Laurent Fabius, France's foreign minister, and Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, said in a joint statement on Monday. ‘The ultimatum given to these communities in Mosul by ISIL is the latest tragic example of the terrible threat that jihadist groups in Iraq, but also in Syria and elsewhere, pose to these populations that are historically an integral part of this region,’ they added, referring to the Islamic State's former name of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

To understand why Vladimir Putin is willing to take the kinds of risks that produced the destruction of a civilian airliner, and why the US and its allies should see his power play as an effort to alter not just the arc of Ukraine but all of Europe it is necessary to look at the tale of two countries. Poland, integrated into Western economy and grew twice as fast as Ukraine. Many think this contrast scared Mr. Putin particularly when Ukraine, emulating Poland, began to pivot westward earlier this year. To allow the Ukrainian turn to happen would have been the end of any near-term dreams of rebuilding a Russian empire. The goal of re-creating a Russian sphere of influence collided head-on with the spread of a Westernized EU model for Europe seeping toward Russia's doorstep. Mr. Putin faced a historic choice: swim with the tide or try to turn it. He chose the latter.

The recovered bodies and flight recorders of Malaysia Flight 17 have been turned over to the proper authorities, but the propaganda wars continue. Ukrainian government officials blame Russia for a complicit role in the shooting down of the commercial flight, while Russia blames Ukraine. This unusual war in Eastern Ukraine is also having other consequences: the evangelical community is being targeted. President of Russian Ministries Sergey Rakhuba says, ‘They believe that evangelical churches are their enemies. In one of the towns, they even raised the Orthodox flag and said they would fight any heretic, any protestant, anyone who represents any western immoral values.’ Many evangelicals have been attacked, including four men who were killed a few weeks ago. Rakhuba says a childhood friend was targeted on Monday when Russian Separatists stopped his car in Donetsk. Fortunately, Ukrainian forces trying to regain control of Donetsk began engaging the separatists and Rakhuba’s friend was able to get away.