Russia: Russians fleeing motherland
When Putin announced ‘military mobilisation’, thousands of Russians rushed to the border. Hundreds of thousands have left since the invasion began. Many were against the war, so not wanting to be drafted they left. Poor training and insufficient kit for new soldiers prompted more men and their families to flee. Estimates of how many have left vary from hundreds of thousands to up to seven million. Leaving is easy; finding somewhere to stay is hard. Countries have changed their laws to block Russian immigrants. They limit how many days Russian tourists can stay. Unable to return home, Russians must apply for residency to work in the countries they settle in. In 15 months 155,000 Russians received temporary residence permits in the Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia. 17,000 applied for political asylum in EU countries, but only 2,000 received it. Russia’s interior ministry says 40% more have applied for foreign passports in 2022 than 2021.
France: four children stabbed
On 8 June, in a shocking incident, four children, aged between one and three, were stabbed in a playground in Annecy. Police overpowered and arrested the knifeman, who also stabbed two adults. The victims are in hospital; three are in a critical condition. The suspect is a 31-year-old Syrian who had refugee status in Sweden. He has no criminal or psychiatric record, and there is no sign of terrorist motivation. When applying for asylum in France in 2022, he said he was a Christian, and seemingly invoked the name of Jesus during the attack. In recent years, France has become accustomed to knife attacks, often carried out by solitary young men with backgrounds in petty crime and some Islamist connection. It is clear that this attack is of a different nature. So far, most politicians are being careful not to leap to conclusions, but it is inevitable that the attack will feed into the debate on immigration.
Israel: government budget and society prayers
With the budget passed, the coalition has much to focus on apart from judicial reform. Pray for God’s priorities to be the government’s priorities, and ask God to show the various ministers how to work in unity as they deal with issues. Ask God to place the coalition's reins firmly in prime minister Netanyahu’s hands, and use his partners to keep him turning Israel onto a more biblical path, while removing any ungodly advisers from him. Ask God to anoint finance minister Smotrich to win the war against Israel's high cost of living and show every ministry how to reduce wasteful spending and increase the effectiveness of their budgets. May national security minister Ben-Gvir use the budget dedicated to reinforce and encourage Israel's police force to do just that - while also removing all unrighteousness from its ranks. And finally, ask God to help the housing industry to make affordable housing readily available. See
India: worst anti-Christian violence ever seen
The ongoing attacks on Manipur’s Christians are labelled 'religious cleansing'. Over 317 churches, 70 church schools, 6,137 Christian homes and Christian administrative buildings had been destroyed by 3 May, according to an assessment by the Federation of Indian American Christian Organisations (FIACONA). Other groups estimated 45,000 people have been displaced in what FIACONA is calling ‘the worst anti-Christian violence India has ever seen’. The BJP government used a decades-old underlying ethnic tension between two ethnic groups to create the deadliest violence against Christians, instigated by Hindutva nationalists. It is ‘target killings by government forces’. Events in Manipur follow worsening conditions for Christians across India. Kerala’s Catholic bishops’ council conducted prayers and a candle-lit procession on 6 June, demanding peace should be established in Manipur immediately. Bishops, priests, and laity participated in the meeting and procession.
