Pipeline awaits approval
The EU is finding it difficult to decrease its dependence on Russian oil and gas. One alternative is the proposed EastMed pipeline, which would carry natural gas extracted from fields under the waters of Israel's and Cyprus's exclusive economic zones to Greece and from there to other European countries. The pre-feasibility studies of the pipeline, conducted from 2015-18 and paid for by the EU, found that the project is ‘technically feasible, economically viable and commercially competitive’. The US under secretary of state for political affairs, meeting with her counterparts in Turkey, has said that more pipelines are needed in the Eastern Mediterranean. However, the USA prefers to steer business to Turkey rather than to America's democratic allies, Cyprus, Israel and Greece. Algerian gas pipelines are also acceptable to the Americans, but the long-planned EastMed pipeline is not.
Eritrea: persecution and prisoners
Many face extreme poverty as drought and food shortages are serious challenges in this one-party state. Christians in denominations not recognised by the government are persecuted; many are under house arrest, and over 3,000 are in prisons that are beyond description. Some are kept in metal, unsanitary, unventilated shipping containers in the desert - tin cells that are almost too hot to touch by day and freezing cold at night. They are beaten to get them to renounce their faith. The government has seized church assets. All denominations are drawn together in fellowship through decades of war, drought, and government oppression, but the intense suffering of the Church in Eritrea is one of the untold stories. Pray that Christians may remain fervent for Jesus amid hardship and make a significant impact on their nation and beyond. Evangelicals now operate through underground networks in homes. Around twenty or more networks are known, but numbers are impossible to ascertain.
India: heatwave in the north
Brutal heatwaves are causing millions of people to struggle. Temperatures hit a record 49.2C (120.5F) in Delhi in its fifth heatwave since March. Officials in many parts of India are asking people to take precautions, as temperatures are set to remain high and could cause health concerns for the elderly, infants and people with chronic diseases. Pray for farmers whose wheat harvests have been affected. Pray for the poor who have fewer ways of keeping cool and fewer options to stay inside, away from the heat. They have to work outside during the hottest hours. Pray for the children in rural areas where schools are in sheds with tin roofs - unbearable in the heat. There are places in India where the temperature itself may not be that high, but when combined with high humidity, life is very difficult. These record heatwaves are a dramatic example of climate change: see
North Korea: over a million Covid cases
Last week we prayed for North Korea after Covid reached it. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has now warned of a major humanitarian crisis. There are rising Covid cases (currently 1.2 million) and 50+ deaths. 5% of the population is being monitored. The population is unvaccinated, and without adequate ventilators or other essential supplies the risk of an unprecedented death toll is very high. This outbreak greatly compounds the pre-existing humanitarian situation, particularly related to food insecurity. The WCC is calling for urgent humanitarian responses by the international community which are equal to the gravity of the crisis. In particular, newly developed antivirals such as Paxlovid must be provided as a matter of urgency, as well as diagnostics, ventilators, PPE, vaccines, and other medical needs, as well as essential food supplies. WCC wants centralised coordinated approaches through the UN, and for current sanctions to be lifted as a matter of fundamental ethical and humanitarian responsibility.
