Police in Uzbekistan on 1 December raided a group of about 80 Protestants on holiday together, Forum 18 News Service has learned. Charges under six different articles of the Code of Administrative Offences have been brought against four of the group, who were meeting together discussing their faith and singing Christian songs. Police confiscated three Bibles and 100 Christian songbooks, insulted the group, and took the fingerprints of all present. People must worship ‘only in registered places specifically set up for religious purposes’, police insisted to Forum 18. In November three Protestants were fined sums of between 100 and 20 times the minimum monthly wage for meeting together, reading their Bibles, singing Christian songs, praying, and possessing religious books – all without state permission. The books, including Bibles, were ordered to be destroyed.

Pray: that God will bless and protect those who gather to worship. (Ps.5:11)

More: http://www.forum18.org/

Uzbekistan on Monday, February 28, still refused to release some 15,000 Bibles that were seized earlier by customs authorities and the Bible Society of Uzbekistan said one of its staff members was fined for ‘violating procedures.’ In statements, the State Religious Affairs Committee and Justice Ministry officials said they ordered the Bible Society to return the books to Russia at their own cost as ‘There is no need to import Bibles into Uzbekistan since there’s an electronic version on the Internet.’ Christian workers say however, that since the average income in Uzbekistan is about $10 a day, Internet access ‘may not be very accessible to the average person’. The Slavic Gospel Association, which is supporting churches in the former Soviet Union, said the latest developments are part of a wider crackdown on evangelical Christianity in the region.

Pray: for the release of these Bibles that God’s Word will fulfil its purpose. (Pr.19:21)

More: http://www.bosnewslife.com/15758-uzbekistan-seizing-15000-bibles-christian-fined

kraine's Prime Minister has called on the opposition to stop escalating political tensions, warning, ‘anybody found guilty of violating the constitution and laws will be punished.’ Mass street protests (the largest since the pro-democracy Orange Revolution in 2004) began over a week ago, sparked by the government's decision not to sign an association deal with the EU. The EU wants to forge closer ties with Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and three states in the Caucasus - Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. All these former Soviet states have remained to some extent in Russia's sphere of influence since the Cold War ended. Years of negotiations culminated in a summit in Lithuania on 28-29 November. Ukraine and Armenia pulled out of an association agreement. Once on the path towards EU membership, countries (Turkey for example) receive millions of euros in EU funding for development projects. Ukraine has a population of 45 million and is one of Europe's biggest countries, dwarfing the other five partner states.

Ukraine parliamentarians have re-submitted a bill to outlaw the promotion of homosexuality in public, and the homosexual movement around the world. Their supporters in the mainstream media, have erupted in outrage. The bill’s sponsor said that the growing acceptance of homosexuality in the West was ‘not evolution, but degradation’. It would ban the promotion of homosexuality in television shows and movies, as well as prohibit public ‘Gay Pride’ events. It is intended to preserve ‘the moral, spiritual and physical health of the nation’ according to co-author MP Pavlo Ungurian, speaking at a news conference Monday. ‘We are not against homosexuals, however, we do not share their values,’ he said. ‘Our goal is the preservation of the moral, spiritual and physical health of the nation,’ Ungurian said adding ‘We must stop the propaganda, the positive description and the publicity of this abnormal lifestyle.’

Pray: for the government in Ukraine that it will stay firm on its stand against homosexuality. (1Tim.1:9-10)

More: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/international-homosexualist-groups-enraged-at-ukraine-bid-to-ban-homosexual

European leaders have mounted renewed diplomatic pressure on Ukraine over its treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko, the jailed former prime minister. Jose Manuel Barroso, the EU Commission president, said on Tuesday that he would not go to Ukraine during the European football championships in June unless there is a swift improvement in the human rights situation there. ‘It is clear that as things stand now, the president has no intention of going to Ukraine,’ Barroso's spokeswoman said. His announcement followed that of EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, who is also skipping the opening ceremony of the Euro 2012 football tournament, to be hosted by Ukraine and Poland, on June 8. A German government spokesman also said any visit by Chancellor Angela Merkel during the championship, one of the continent's main sports events, would be linked to Tymoshenko's fate. Tymoshenko has been on a hunger strike since last week to protest against her alleged beating in prison.

Pray: that the Ukrainian authorities would have a change of heart and seek the truth and resolve the situation. (Dt.10:20)

More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/05/2012517319725587.html

Compass Direct News (CDN) is reporting that despite some promising developments, Christians in Turkey continue to suffer attacks from private citizens, discrimination by lower-level government officials and vilification in both school textbooks and news media, according to a study by a Protestant group. In its annual Report on Human Rights Violations, the country's Association of Protestant Churches notes mixed indicators of improvement but states that there is a ‘root of intolerance’ in Turkish society toward adherents of non-Islamic faiths. ‘The removal of this root of intolerance is an urgent problem that still awaits to be dealt with,’ the report states. ‘There is still a lot of room for improvement,’ said Mine Yildirim, a member of the legal committee for the association. The report documented 12 attacks against Christians in 2011, including incidents in which individuals were beaten in Istanbul for sharing their faith, church members were threatened and church buildings attacked. None of the attackers has been charged.

Pray: for Christians in Turkey that God would protect them from discrimination and spiritual attacks. (Ps.86:14)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/turkish.christians.still.experiencing.discrimination/29341.htm

Sentiment against Christians in Turkey has persisted long enough for a US religious rights monitor to recommend it as a ‘Country of Particular Concern,’ and pastor Orhan Picaklar knows such anti-Christian hostility first-hand. Picaklar, of Agape Church in Samsun, lives in the Black Sea region where Christians live under increasing pressure. He has seen his building attacked and his family and congregation threatened. Picaklar said. 'We have been here for 10 years, and people here still treat us like cursed enemies'. Picaklar’s son received death threats on Facebook. A man caused minor damage to Picaklar’s church building last month, the latest in a series of aggressions that has led the church to file charges after long declining to do so. Police called Picaklar in the middle of the night on March 4 because a young man had disturbed neighbours near the church building. Neighbours heard the suspect, yelling, ‘Corrupt, perverted Christians, we are going to bring this church down on your heads, get lost,’ among other threats, Picaklar said.

Pray: for pastor Picaklar and others like him as they lead the church in places of hostility. (Ps.5:11)

More: http://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/stories/index.php?newsitem=1&date=09apr2012&country=turkey