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Austria and Hungary are asking the EU to help them guard the Schengen border to the Balkans after an alleged increase in human trafficking. The issue will be discussed today (22 September) when interior ministers are likely to bin a proposal to give the EU commission a say in re-imposing border checks and on enlarging the border-less zone to Bulgaria and Romania. In a joint letter seen by EUobserver, the Austrian and Hungarian interior ministers are asking for ‘common action’ in securing the Hungarian-Serbian border which allows traffickers to bring Arab and Asian migrants into western Europe. ‘In Austria and in Hungary we have recently seen a significant increase in the number of interceptions of illegal migrants, most of them smuggled into the country. These people, above all citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Somalia, Iran and Iraq, are being smuggled into the European Union under inhuman conditions, most often in converted buses, lorries or cars,’ the letter reads.
Pray: for all those caught up in this trafficking problem to be set free. (Is.42:7)
According to a recent news report, one in six clergy in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN) and six other denominations is either an atheist or agnostic, reports Christian Concern for our Nation. Klaas Hendrikse, who leads a PNK church in Gorinchem, wrote a book called Believing in a Non-Existent God which prompted the denomination to consider removing him. However, having found that his views were so widely shared amongst clergy in the denomination they decided not to single him out. He also stated that God is ‘a word for experience, or human experience’ and that Jesus may never have existed. Sytse de Jong, who is Deputy Mayor of Staphorst, said: ‘When we get people into the Church by throwing Jesus Christ out of the Church, then we lose the core of Christianity. Then we are not reforming the institutions and attitudes but the core of our messagthee.’
Pray: for leaders of the church in the Netherlands that God would bring life where there is death and renew their faith revealing Jesus as Lord. (Rom.10:9)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban acknowledged anti-Semitism was on the rise in the country because of the economic crisis but said his government had a ‘zero-tolerance’ towards it. On Saturday the far-right Jobbik party – who regularly issue anti-Semitic statements and are Hungary’s trhird largest political force - held a protest against the Hungarian capital of Budapest hosting a World Jewish Congress meet ing where the Hungarian Prime Minister spoke. The WJC usually hosts its assembly in Jerusalem but chose Hungary this year to highlight what it says is growing anti-Semitism in Europe. Addressing the opening session, Mr Orban said, ‘Anti-Semitism is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.’ He said his government had a moral duty to declare zero tolerance on anti-Semitism. The president of the World Jewish Congress said Jews were wondering if they were safe in Hungary.
Pray: against the growth of Anti-semitisim in Europe, pray also for the Lord to protect all who are persecuted for their faith. (Ps.32:7-8)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22423812
The European Union's anti-fraud body recovered a record €691 million last year, it said on Tuesday, but expressed concern that public bodies were getting more reluctant to tip it off for fear of damaging national reputations. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) - which monitors the use of EU funds and investigates wrongdoing within EU institutions - saw an increase in private tip-offs thanks to a new internet notification system, it said in its 2011 annual report. But information from EU institutions and member states was becoming more scarce, said OLAF's director-general. ‘This decrease in information from public authorities worries us,’ Giovanni Kessler told reporters. Many of the larger fraud cases concern EU Structural Funds, which pay for regional infrastructure projects and are overseen by member states. One such investigation, into the financing of road works in Italy, yielded €389 million in recovered EU funds last year.
Pray: against any actions leading to deceit and lies within our leaders. (Ps.32:2)
More: http://www.euractiv.com/justice/anti-fraud-chief-eu-countries-re-news-513716
Like many Eastern European nations, Albania prides itself on an atheistic worldview. When the Soviet Union was in its prime, inquiries into the existence of God or any higher being were quickly stamped out. Most young people in Albania grew up believing ‘there was no God.’ In 1967, the government closed all religious institutions, and Albania became the first atheistic state in Eastern Europe. Private religious practice wasn't allowed again until 1990, and with not even an underground church in sight, the Good News had to start from scratch in Albania. A mere two years ago, the government granted legal status to over 100 of the country's evangelical churches. A small but passionate group of believers in the nation's capital city want to change this societal outlook. Though the group may be small, their influence is mighty. On September 22, believers will gather in the city of Tirana for an evangelistic outreach called TiranaFest with Luis Palau.
Pray: that the church will be blessed and increase in numbers through this outreach. (Gen.1:22a)
A Norwegian man has received terrorist training from Al Qaeda's offshoot in Yemen and is awaiting orders to carry out an attack on the West, officials from three European security agencies told The Associated Press on Monday. Western intelligence officials have long feared such a scenario - a convert to Islam who is trained in terrorist methods and can blend in easily in Europe and the United States, travelling without visa restrictions. Officials from three European security agencies confirmed on Monday the man is ‘operational’, meaning he has completed his training and is about to receive a target. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly. They declined to name the man, who has not been accused of a crime. ‘We believe he is operational and he is probably about to get his target,’ one security official said. ‘And that target is probably in the West.’
Pray: that the security agencies will be given clear direction on where to find such people. (2Ti.4:18)
Pray4brussels seeks to mobilise prayer and to coordinate it in and for the city of Brussels. Brussels is becoming more and more a metropolis and an international crossroads: NATO, the EU and many international institutions have their headquarters here. It is a very strategic city, but also has a high degree of spiritual need. International teams come regularly to Brussels to pray, and we welcome them with open arms. However, we also want to create a platform among the many churches in Brussels to pray together and strengthen each other in this task. We want to make a conscious effort to join and work together with all other existing prayer initiatives.
Pray: that the significance of Brussels will be recognised and therefore the importance and strategic need for focused prayer will be taken up. (1Tim.2:1)
More: http://www.pray4belgium.be/index.php?page=pray4brussels-en
November 9 is the day in 1938 when Hitler’s gangs attacked Jewish property in a prelude to the Holocaust, and the very same day 51 years later when the wall dividing East and West was breached, signaling the end of the cold war. People lined up in Berlin for an exhibition of photographs celebrating the opening of the Bornholmer Strasse border crossing in 1989. Nov 9 has always presented the dilemma of how to celebrate the joy of the wall’s coming down while at the same time commemorating the night of terror known as Kristallnacht, or the night of broken glass. ‘I think it’s the beginning in the shift in narrative,’ said Deidre Berger, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Berlin office. ‘It’s a concern of what young people know about this day.’ The nightly news seemed to support her view, reporting Germany’s celebrating the wall coming down, followed by a report on the ‘Jewish community’ marking Kristallnacht. Pray: that the world may always remember the devastating lessons of fascism and genocide. (Ps.107:39) More: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/world/europe/10germany.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
Germany's attempts to build a post-war multicultural society have ‘utterly failed’, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has said. She broke a long standing taboo in Germany to address the immigration issue in a speech at Potsdam near Berlin. Mrs Merkel told a meeting of the youth wing of her party at the weekend: ‘Multikulti, the concept that we are now living side by side and are happy about it, this approach has failed, utterly.’ She spoke days after a poll showed that a third of all Germans viewed immigrants as welfare cheats. Mrs Merkel said: ‘We feel bound to the Christian image of humanity. That is what defines us. Those who do not accept this are in the wrong place here.’ Mindful of the legacy of the Second World War and racial policies that cost millions their lives, German politicians have tended only to speak in broad positive terms of the ‘multikulti’ society. Pray: that Germany continues to emphasise its Christian heritage to all. (Ro.15:16) More:http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Multikulti+failed+Germany+says+chancellor+Angela+Merkel/3684846/story.html#ixzz12tmKfCX7
Police in Thailand have arrested more than 400 Pakistani Christian immigrants, including children. Several pastors in Bangkok said many of the Christians fled Pakistan because they were either accused of blasphemy or threatened by radical Muslims. They have sought work and refugee status, and many reportedly have interview appointments scheduled with the United Nations. Some of the Pakistani Christians are converts from Islam. Since arriving in Thailand, they've depended on churches and others for food and housing. The Thai government says they are illegal immigrants and should be deported. The Christians say they thought Thailand would provide a safe haven for them after they escaped religious persecution.