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News in Brief, 21 December 2018

21 Dec 2018 General
News in Brief, 21 December 2018

A selection of the week's happenings for your prayers.

Society & Politics

  • ‘No deal’ petition gains traction: A petition calling on the Government to take Britain out of the EU without a deal has already garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures. Read more here.
  • Cashless revolution threatens vulnerable millions: A new report argues that Britain is going digital too quickly, with millions of elderly and disabled people facing exclusion from shops and restaurants. Read more here.
  • ‘Boys can have periods too’ says school guidance: Guidance approved by Brighton and Hove City Council says teachers should tell children that all genders can have periods. It also requires sanitary bins to be provided in male female toilets. Read more here. Meanwhile, a Scottish survey has revealed that if male doctors and nurses are allowed to self-identify as female, women may be deterred from accessing important medical care. Read more here.

Church Scene

  • Anti-Christian ‘bigot’ posters are OK, say Scottish police: Police Scotland investigated themselves over the posters following complaints and have exonerated themselves from wrong-doing. Barnabas Fund may take the complaint further. Read more here.
  • Bulgaria drops articles restricting Christian freedoms: A new religion law was amended drastically just before being voted through. The amendments removed articles considered to curb the basic freedoms of evangelical Christians. The last-minute concessions follow several weeks of internal protest and international pressure. Read more here.
  • Christian brothers sentenced to death in Pakistan: Two brothers, imprisoned since 2014, have been sentenced to death for ‘blasphemy’ after allegedly posting online material ‘disrespectful’ to Mohammad. The recent acquittal of Asia Bibi apparently makes their predicament worse. Read more here. Meanwhile, the number of Christians being arrested in Iran has spiked to ‘unprecedented’ levels.

World Scene

  • ECHR rules against forced application of Sharia law: The European Court has ruled in a case involving a Greek Muslim woman that Greek domestic law should be applied rather than Sharia. Christian Concern intervened in this case, highlighting the increased influence of Sharia across Europe, including in Britain. Read more here.
  • Turkey continues efforts to revive Ottoman empire: Turkey intends to continue annual meetings of Arab nations until 60 Islamic countries can be united into a global superpower, governed by Sharia law, with a common market and a ‘common will’, headed by Erdogan. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

  • UN fails to condemn Hezbollah tunnels: Four attack tunnels have now been uncovered by the IDF amidst an increasingly tense situation on Israel’s northern border. The UN peace-keepers UNIFIL have confirmed the tunnels’ existence and that two of them contravene the demarcation line agreed to end the 2006 war. A special meeting of the UN Security Council failed to agree action or condemn Hezbollah. Read more here and here.
  • UN and PA ask for terrorist payment budget to be donated: A joint statement from the PA and the UNOCHA asks the international community to donate $350 million to cover ‘critical humanitarian needs of Palestinians’ in 2019. The sum is equivalent to the amount budgeted by the PA this year for stipends to terrorists and their families $355 million). Read more here.
  • US withdrawal from Syrian prompts concerns: Trump’s announcement this week that American troops will leave Syria soon is a win for Iran, leaving the way open for it to establish a land corridor through to Lebanon. Israel has vowed to step up its attempts to prevent this. Read more here and here.

Upcoming Events

  • Next 'Moedim' meeting (London): Friday 11 January 2019, All Soul's Clubhouse, 141 Cleveland St, W1T 6QG. 'Head of the month' Hebraic meeting with worship and teaching. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
  • A Day of Prayer and Fasting for God to Deliver our Nation from Chaos! Saturday 26 January 2019, The SSE Arena, Wembley, 10am-6pm. Organised by David Hathaway. Dr Clifford Hill will be speaking. Tickets now available. Click here for more information and to book.
  • Issachar Ministries conference: Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 March. ‘Brexit: Hardship or Harvest?’. Swanwick, Derbyshire. Call the office for more details and to book: 01767 223270 (currently closed for Christmas - re-opens Wednesday 2 January).
  • A Day of Prayer in Westminster: Friday 29 March (Brexit Day). The Emmanuel Centre. Organised by Issachar Ministries. With Dr Clifford Hill, David Hathaway and others. Click here for more information and to book tickets.

 

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: