France: G7 summit (24-26 August)
22 Aug 2019
The 2019 G7 summit in Biarritz will focus on fighting inequality. The following five objectives will be discussed, and we can pray that they will be acted on: a) inequality of opportunity, promoting in particular gender…
Switzerland: UN summit on extinction threats
22 Aug 2019
Amid growing alarm over accelerating extinctions, a major two-week international conference opened in Geneva on 17 August. 183 member states aim to tighten rules on trade in elephant ivory and other endangered animal and plant species.…
Russia: protests challenge Putin’s dominance
15 Aug 2019
President Putin’s heavy-handed politics ahead of September elections have caused street protests for weeks. Russians are airing an array of grievances over economic stagnation and the Kremlin’s geopolitical isolation. Putin has turned Russia into a powerhouse…
Ukraine: 500+ churches join new Orthodox church
15 Aug 2019
In seven months over 500 congregations have left the Russian-affiliated church to join a newly created Orthodox Church of Ukraine. As a result, the Russian church has lost almost 5% of its congregations, a relatively small…
Germany: Holocaust trial
09 Aug 2019
92-year-old Bruno Dey will be tried in Germany for complicity in mass murder of 5,230 people in the Stutthof Nazi death camp during World War Two. The former guard admitted knowledge of atrocities of murder in…
Turkey: Ramps up drilling off Cyprus
09 Aug 2019
The Republic of Cyprus is in the EU, but the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey, and is internationally isolated. Ankara's latest move to increase drilling for oil off the coast…