A selection of the week's happenings to aid your prayers

Society & Politics

• NHS announces review into trans drugs for children: The use of controversial hormone treatments on gender-confused children will be reviewed as part of a wider appraisal of NHS gender identity services. Read more here.
  
• Record number of anti-Semitic incidents in 2019: The Community Security Trust’s annual report has found an increase in attacks of 7% on the previous year, taking the UK’s numbers to unprecedented levels. Read more here.
  
• Boris and Bibi discuss Israel-UK ‘free trade zone’: The two prime ministers have agreed to start talks on establishing a free trade zone between the two countries in the wake of Brexit. The UK is now Israel’s third largest trading partner, after the USA and China. Read more here.
  
• Sexually transmitted disease levels at all-time high: Cases of syphilis and gonorrhoea have reached record numbers in the UK, mostly affecting young people and gay and bisexual men. Half a million new STI cases were diagnosed in the UK in 2018, according to a new report. Read more here.

Church Issues

• All eight venues cancel on Franklin Graham: The preacher is facing the cancellation of his entire UK tour due to protests from LGBTQ+ activists. Read more here. Concerns are being raised about the implications for freedom of speech. Read more here.
  
• Gospel to be taken to 150,000 school children: The Message Trust has announced that its 2020 school tour of assemblies and RE lessons will take the good news to 150,000 children. Read more here.

World Scene

• EU rejection of Trump deal blocked: A resolution damning the Trump peace deal pushed by the EU’s foreign policy chief has failed to pass, after at least six member states voted against it. Read more here. Reports suggest that former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert will share a press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN next week, jointly denouncing the plan.
  
• Trump impeachment overturned: The Republican-majority Senate has voted 52-48 and 53-47 to clear Trump of the two charges laid against him. Read more here. Also this week, the US Secretary of State has launched a new International Religious Freedom Alliance. Read more here.
  
• 36 Christians murdered in DRC: Islamic militants stormed a number of Christian villages at the end of January, killing dozens as part of their declared intention to establish a caliphate in the area. Read more here. Also this week, around five million people have marched in Nigeria in protest against the ongoing persecution of Christians. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

• Spate of terror attacks follow peace plan unveiling: Amid escalating tensions, this week has seen three attacks on IDF soldiers, including a car-ramming in Jerusalem which injured 12. Read more here and here. The attacks come as the Palestinian Authority has announced the severing of all ties with the USA and Israel, including security co-ordination. Read more here. After a week of rocket and IED attacks from Gaza, Netanyahu has warned that military action in the Strip may be necessary before Israel goes to the polls in March. Read more here.
  
• Israel strengthens Arab, African diplomatic ties: This week the leader of Sudan, Abdel al-Burhan, has flown in to meet with Netanyahu during a visit to Uganda, marking a major step forward in Israel’s diplomatic relations with both African and Arab countries. Read more here.

Events

• Our Kids Are Being Taught What?! Part 2 (London): 22 February. The second in a series of conferences on sex, gender, relationships and young people, with a particular focus on how parents can respond to popular messages being levelled at children and teens. St Luke’s Church, Wimbledon Park, 10:30am-5:30pm. Find out more and book tickets here.

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