Kevin Zeller, Mission Network News

Soldiers and officials have harassed four Protestant churches in Russian-occupied Eastern Ukraine. They conducted searches, demanded to see documents, and stole equipment. In one case, they even forced church members out of their building. All these incidents took place between June 12 and 16.

Registration

Pastor Eric Foley with The Voice of the Martyrs Korea, who has contact with these churches, says they have something in common that would cause officials to harass them: registration with the Ukrainian government.

Gang wars in Haiti killed 200 and displaced 16,000 in the month of May alone. Heavily armed gangs continue battling across the capital city, Port-au-Prince.

Haiti lost its president in an assassination last year, creating a power vacuum.

Despite a ceasefire in the civil war earlier this year, the humanitarian crisis continues in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia.

The agricultural system, which employed three-quarters of all Tigray people, has been effectively destroyed by the war. Hospitals have run out of drugs for cancer patients, and often simply send them home.

In 2021, Kenya saw the deaths of pregnant women increase by 300 per cent compared with 2020. Many of these pregnancies come from sexual assaults.

Bruce Allen with FMI says this mostly represents girls aged 10 to 19. “Sometimes, these young girls don’t even understand what’s happening to their bodies, in terms of menstruation. COVID-19 has played havoc with the lifestyles of Kenyans in recent years. A lot of families relied on school for their kids’ reproduction education.”

What are you doing at 1:11 PM today? What about tomorrow? The Alliance for the Unreached invites you to set aside 1:11 PM for 33 days in a row to pray for the unreached.

About 3 billion people have no way to hear the story of Jesus.

In late May, Northern Bangladesh saw the worst flooding in two decades. Millions found themselves stranded as their villages and cities were inundated with water.

Millions of people remain without electricity or clean water as well. Many are desperately thirsty. The situation might get worse if water-borne illness begins to spread.

Violence erupted in northern Nigeria on Friday. In the state of Bauchi, extremists attacked a pastor and several other Christians, burning down homes and shops. The incident started after an allegedly blasphemous social media post.

It follows the murder of a Christian student, Deborah Samuel, for blasphemy earlier this month.

After seizing control of Myanmar in February 2021, the military continues to attack civilians.

Brian Dennett with AMG International says the junta has also arrested many pastors across the country. Some have been released, but others have been killed. “One of our network pastors from Homalin City particularly asked for prayers. His church members are now in hiding after being bothered by the army.”

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of a former dictator, has been elected as the next president of the Philippines. His family fled the country in disgrace after a popular uprising in 1986.

From 1972 to 1981, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. controlled the Philippines through martial law. He died three years after the uprising, but his family retained their wealth, returned to the Philippines, and became influential politicians.

The Haitian gang that kidnapped several Christian missionaries last year took at least 17 more hostages from a tourist bus. The attack took place outside Port-au-Prince and involved eight Turkish nationals.

Kidnappings in Haiti have greatly increased over the past two years. Over 1,200 people were taken in 2021 alone.