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EU crisis response commisioner Kristalina Georgieva says massive toxic flooding in Hungary that killed nine people and injured more than 120 others has underscored the need for a stronger European disaster response. Since October 4 about 800,000 cubic-meters of toxic sludge has leaked from a reservoir of a metals plant flooding towns and villages in an area as large as 40 square kilometres. Experts from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden are investigating the sludge and hope to provide European assistance similar to that given to the US oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But Hungary would not receive additional money from the EU solidarity fund because the chemical spill was allegedly caused by human error. They may transfer funds from rural development protection projects. Commissioner Georgieva, who has visited the devastated villages and towns will present a European strategy for disaster response by the end of this month. Pray: that Commissioner Georgieva is able to produce guidelines for stronger and better responses when livelihoods are destroyed and people killed. (Ps.67:1-2) More: http://www.bosnewslife.com/14128-news-watch-european-aid-in-hungarys-toxic-flooding
On 10 June four Christian Democrat members of the Parliament submitted a proposed draft law regarding ‘The Right to Freedom of Conscience and Religion and on the Status of Churches, Religions and Religious Communities’. On 14 June 2011, only four days after the Bill was introduced in Parliament, the Committee on Human Rights, Minority, Civil and Religious Affairs approved the proposed religious legislation and voted to send the draft law to the Parliamentary Assembly for discussion and passage. Passage of this legislation would represent a serious setback for religious freedom in Hungary. The legislation contravenes the standards of OSCE, European Union, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights and United Nations because it clearly discriminates against minority religious groups and would create the most oppressive religion law and the most burdensome registration system in the entire region. It is completely inconsistent with fundamental human rights. Pray: that any changes in Hungary’s law would not violate the right to religious freedom. (Ex.22:28) More: http://religionandpolicy.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6921&Itemid=327
Local government officials in Hungary are handing state-owned schools over to churches, unable to afford their upkeep during the economic recession, according to church sources. ‘Churches are entitled to run schools in Hungary as public service providers, receiving the same taxpayers' money as public sponsors,’ said Balazs Odor, ecumenical officer of Hungary's Reformed Church, in an interview with ENInews. ‘The school system has its own problems here, which affect church-run schools as well. However, it's generally true that the wellbeing of church schools is better looked after since each has a community behind it,’ he added. In April, the premier Viktor Orban's centre-right government steered through a new national constitution that states Hungarian citizens ‘recognise the key role of Christianity in upholding the nation.’ A
new religion law in July strengthened the position of mainstream churches when it deprived all but 14 of Hungary's 358 registered churches and religious associations of legal recognition, and required others to re-apply for court registration after parliamentary approval.
Pray: for the work of the Church as it takes on the role running schools and teaching the young. (Dt.32:2)
More: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/September/Fighting-the-Ghosts-of-Bosnia-with-Love-Hope-/
Hungary's new centre-right government has allied itself with the churches in a drive to create jobs and pull Roma (Gypsy) communities out of poverty. The BBC's Nick Thorpe reports that social work by the churches is already helping to improve the lives of Roma in eastern Hungary. The Hungarian government is due to sign a deal with the main churches to allow them to apply for state funding for educational, social and labour programmes. So for the first time, the churches can get involved in job creation. Hungary's 800,000 Roma - many of them destitute - are a priority. The government wants to get a million Hungarians back to work in the next 10 years - 200,000 to 300,000 of them Roma. Hungary's State Secretary for Social Inclusion, Zoltan Balog, is himself a Protestant pastor. ‘It will be the job of the churches to go to the communities with their own proposals,’ he says. Pray: for these initiatives by the Government and Church to help the Roma that God would bless them.
In June, Prayer Alert reported on a draft religion law that constituted oppression because it discriminated against minority religious groups and would create an oppressive religion law inconsistent with fundamental human rights. See Prayer Alert 25-2011. This week Hungary's Constitutional Court has annulled the new law that would have withdrawn legal recognition from all but a handful of the country's registered religious associations. Praise God! However, a church commentator warned that the ruling was ‘just a technical delay,’ and predicted the law would still be enforced from the start of 2012.
Pray: that any changes in Hungary’s law would not violate the right to religious freedom. (Ex.22:28)
Three countries - France, Germany and the UK - acquire foreign intelligence for security and police matters from countries that routinely use torture to obtain information, claims a report issued on 28 June by Human Rights Watch. Additionally the use of torture intelligence in the fight against terrorism damages the credibility of the European Union, as they contradict anti-torture guidelines. Intelligence services in the three countries claim it is impossible to know the sources and methods used to acquire shared information in states such as Algeria, Syria, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. But officials in the UK and Germany have made public statements indicating that they believe it is sometimes acceptable to use foreign intelligence even if obtained under torture, the report notes. The 62-page long document cites the case of Djamel Beghal, whose statements made under ill-treatment in the United Arab Emirates were used against him in a French court, where he was on trial for plotting a terrorist attack. Pray: that even those plotting inhumane deeds are treated humanely. (Ps. 79:11)
Martin Kugler of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians has spoken about the growing acts of intolerance against Christians in Europe in an interview with MercatorNet magazine. The interview marks the 1700th anniversary of the birth of religious tolerance in Europe and seeks to explore the significance of the occasion for Western Christians, whom Mr Kugler says are now facing increasing social hostility. ‘It is not nominal Christians who are fully aligned to society’s mainstream who suffer discrimination. It is those who strive to live according to the high ethical demands of Christianity who experience a clash with the dominant culture,’ he says. ‘These are not in the majority. And even if they were, history has shown that a minority can discriminate against a peaceful majority.’
Pray: that this trend of hostility towards Christians will cease. (Ps.78:49)
More: http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/is_europe_discriminating_against_christians
Hope will launch in its new form as part of Europe’s largest gathering of Christians, an all-night prayer and praise event hosted by the Redeemed Christian Church of God which expects more than 25,000 people to attend. Hosted by Pastor Agu Irukwu of Jesus House, the Hope launch will be part of the Festival of Life on 23 July at the ExCel Centre in London. The General Overseer, Pastor EA Adeboye is also keen to pray over and commission Hope. The event signifies a move towards a wider involvement in Hope from across church denominations and cultural divides and will strengthen partnerships with the black majority church. Hope together is a continuation of Hope 08 and is reforming in response to calls from church and denominational leaders who found it a helpful banner to work under. Pray: that this celebration and launch of 'Hope' will lead to revival in the Church. (Ps.33:22) More:http://www.christiantoday.com/article/hope.to.launch.at.europes.largest.gathering.of.christians/26270.htm
It doesn’t happen often that church planting makes the headlines of secular newspapers, but on 31 July 2012 Dutch newspaper Het Parool opened with ‘God returns to the city’. The article reports that 1,500 citizens of Amsterdam joined so-called ‘new churches’, and that 10 more of these churches are planned for the next three years. Since three Reformed churches joined hands in re-evangelizing the city, new church groups are popping up everywhere. This adds to the already blooming immigrant and free Evangelical churches in the Bijlmer area of the Dutch capital. The Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics reports that 17 percent of the inhabitants of Amsterdam see themselves as part of the Christian tradition. The Church in the Netherlands is still in decline, but not as marked as in the past. Church planting provides a new stream of life in the cities.
Pray: for the ongoing growth and new life of the Church in Amsterdam. (Gen.17:2)
How to stop the loss of biodiversity without impeding human development is one of the biggest conundrums of modern times. Experts from around the world have gathered in Brussels this week to brainstorm on the problem. The UN has also designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. More than 3000 scientists, business leaders, environmental advocates and government officials are taking part in the forum, called Green Week. Biodiversity refers to the abundance and variety of plant and animal species and their habitats. A large number and wide range of natural habitats and species are essential to maintaining the earth’s ecosystems. Humans have caused massive losses in biodiversity, mainly by destroying plant and animal habitats. The UN estimates that species are now disappearing at 100 to 1000 times the natural extinction rate. A third of the 1.75m known animal and plant species are under threat.
Pray: that this forum would lead to significant advances to benefit the world we live in. (Gen.1:26-31)