World Scene

• Iowa passes fetal heartbeat law: The state now has the strictest abortion law in the US, criminalising abortion once a heartbeat can be detected. Meanwhile, both Oklahoma and Kansas have approved bills this week to protect faith-based adoption agencies.
  
• Disney introduces rainbow Mickey Mouse ears for Pride: The pro-LGBT merchandise is being released in time for the US ‘Pride’ month in June. Read more here. Disney World Florida has also cancelled its annual Christian ‘Night of Joy’ after 34 years – see here.
  
• Youtube bans pro-life channel: Heartbeat International has been suspended after posting videos showing how babies can be saved even after abortion pills have been taken. The pro-Israel Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has also had similar problems with Youtube this week.

Israel & Middle East

• Trump pulls out of Iran nuclear deal: In what has been a stunning week for Middle East politics, Trump's move has provoked strong views worldwide - including in Iran, where parliamentary members burned the US flag and shouted ‘Death to America!’. Read more here, here and here. Since, an Iranian rocket volley from Syria has provoked sustained Israeli retaliation. Read more here.
  
• Palestinians announce violence over coming week: To coincide with Israel’s celebration of independence and the moving of the US embassy, and as the culmination of weeks of protest, Hamas has called for thousands to break through the Gaza border fence and storm Israel. Read more here.
  
• Paraguay announces embassy move: On the same day as signs go up in Jerusalem for the US embassy, Paraguay joins the ever-growing group of nations planning to follow suit. Read more here.
  
• Multimillion-dollar Christian centre planned for Jerusalem: The Global Fellowship House, to be built near the new US Embassy, will provide an education centre for visiting Christians. Its building comes at a time being hailed as a ‘golden age’ in Jewish-Christian relations. Read more here.

Upcoming Events

• Celebrating Israel’s 70^th (London): Saturday 12 May, Emmanuel Centre. Praise and worship, prayer and teaching, hosted by Vision for Israel. Find out more and book tickets here.
• Moedim evening (London): Friday 18 May, All Soul's Clubhouse, 6:30-9:30pm. To introduce Christians to the Hebraic mindset. Steve Maltz, Richard Teideman and special guests. Free entry - bring a friend. Click here to find out more.

Recommended Sources

At Prophecy Today UK we are aware that the world is moving very quickly and it is difficult to keep up with all the latest developments – especially when the material circulated by our mainstream media is increasingly far from reality and definitely not devoted to a biblical perspective!

Though we are not a news service, we want to help keep you informed by passing on updates and reports as we are led. This will be a selective, not an exhaustive, round-up, which we hope will be helpful for your prayers. Click here to browse our News archive.

We also recommend the following news services for regular updates from a Christian perspective:

• Christian Concern (UK)
• Christian Institute (UK)
• JNN News (Barry and Batya Segal, Israel)
• Worthy News (Israel)
• Family Watch International
• Barnabas Fund
• Kehila News (Israel)