There have been repeated raids on churches by the Luhansk People's Republic. Authorities announced the ban of the “destructive activity of the extremist Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Churches”.

It would be good to penalize the blatant human rights abuses in Qatar rather than applauding them by letting bonded labourers build the new stadiums for World Cup 2022.

Players at the World Cup are not allowed to express religious messages on the field. But Thiago Silva, Neymar and other stars of the Brazilian team used Instagram to thank God.

A team of Steiger mission is starting conversations about the gospel in the middst of the football celebration in Russia.

Christians set up a fan zone in a church in the city centre. A Steiger mission team will start conversations about Jesus through creative activities.

A church leader speaks about the opportunities and challenges after the fall of the government. “All my friends have actively participated in the protests and all of us have the same hopes for our country”.

Several EU countries and the USA show their opposition to Vladimir Putin. “We will not tolerate Russia’s continued attempts to undermine our values”, says UK Prime Minister Theresa May.

“In 20 or 30 years’ time, mainstream churches will be smaller, but the few people left will be highly committed”, says British social of religion professor Stephen Bullivant.

The president got 75% of the votes, his biggest electoral victory. The future of religious freedom for the evangelical minorities is very much dependent on the course of East-West relations.

Polls say the President will win again with at least 70% of the vote. Evangelicals hope the state’s efforts to stengthen national unity will not further restrict the freedoms of faith minorities.

The REA wants to be a lay movement of church people concerned about inter-denominational cooperation.

In their own quiet way, Russia’s Protestant denominations are continuing to evangelise.

Called in Russian the “Youth Business Prayer Breakfast”, its primary supporters are Russian businessmen and politicians.

Around 300 representatives participated in the annual Baptist World Alliance gathering in Thailand. The Venezuela humanitarian crisis and the needs of refugees were also highlighted.

“Except for a few Orthodox extremists, I do not hear a single voice expressing approval for the prohibition of the Jehovah’s Witnesses”, says Russian church historian Constantine Prokhorov.

Around 130 delegates from different parts of the country reflected on the role of Christians. A manual for counselling the victims of violence has been published.

People in France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Sweden are more interested in “spirituality” than in “religion”. A global survey shows that China and Indonesia have a great interest in religion.

The criminalization of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia is a mistake, says the Italian Evangelical Alliance. Freedom of worship should be guaranteed for everyone, “even for those who, in our view, are completely wrong.”

The government will close down the central offices of the religious organisation. The pressure on non-Russian Orthodox groups makes evangelical Christians wonder who will be targeted next.

Russian authorities speak of 49 injured after blast near central metro station. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev described it as a “terrorist attack.”

“This kind of precedent is highly frightening and raises the question of who’s next”, says Evangelical-Baptist leader Vitaly Vlasenko.

A coalition government will be needed in a country where citizens tend to trust EU politicians more than their own.

Gavin Matthews on Arkady Ostrovsky’s The Invention of Russia.

Dozens have died in Poland, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Russia. The European Commission warns about the situation of many refugees.

“Pilot error or a technical fault, but not terrorism, were likely to have caused the crash”, Russia’s transport minister said. 92 have died.