General
A selection of the week's happenings to aid your prayers
Society & Politics
- No-fault divorce bill passes: MPs overwhelmingly voted last week to pass a bill making divorce much easier, further undermining marriages and families nationwide. Read more here.
- 129 lives lost in Northern Ireland: In the first two months since radical new abortion laws came into force in Northern Ireland, 129 babies have been aborted. Read more here. However, due to a lack of access to abortions through the lockdown period, nearly two million babies in India may have been saved. Read more here.
- Scotland’s LGBTQ+ history curriculum a world first: By 2021, Scottish schools will become the first in the world to be expected to include lessons on LGBTQ+ equality and history in their curriculum. Read more here.
- No progress in Brexit talks: Another round of talks ended in impasse this week as the 1 July deadline for extending a transition arrangement looms. Read more here.
Church Issues
- No communal worship until July: Churches are permitted from this weekend to open for individual prayer, but communal gatherings for worship will not be allowed until 4 July. Read more here.
- Tim Keller requests prayer after cancer diagnosis: The well-respected Christian pastor and author has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and begins chemo soon. Read more here.
World Scene
- Link between Asperger’s and gender dysphoria? An Australian psychologist is calling for more research into a possible connection between gender dysphoria and autism. Read more here. Also this week, the NHS has quietly changed its guidance on transgender treatments for young people to better reflect the dangers involved.
- Tony Blair calls for digital IDs to track disease status: The former UK Prime Minister is pushing for the greater use of technology in order to regulate daily life in the face of global diseases like Covid-19. Read more here. Also this week, the World Bank has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is driving the biggest global economic collapse in 150 years.
- Nigerian Govt denies genocide of Christians: The Nigerian authorities have said that the ongoing genocide of Christians at the hands of Muslim militants is nothing but a political smear. Read more here. Last week, Muslim Fulani herdsmen murdered a further nine believers, including women and children. Read more here. Nigeria is ranked second on Open Doors’ World Watch List of the worst countries for Christian persecution.
Israel & Middle East
- Record number of Jews seek to make Aliyah: Numbers of American Jews seeking to emigrate to Israel are double what they were this time last year, suggesting that global uncertainty and threats are driving Jews to return home. Read more here.
- Third intifada ahead? Evidence suggests that the Palestinians are preparing for an outbreak of violence against Israelis in protest of the proposed application of sovereignty to parts of the West Bank. Read more here and here. International pressure is building on Netanyahu to abandon his plans to start applying sovereignty next month. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has submitted a counter-proposal for statehood, in opposition to the Trump ‘Deal of the Century’. Read more 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:
- Christian Concern (UK)
- Christian Institute (UK)
- JNN News (Barry and Batya Segal, Israel)
- Worthy News (Israel)
- Family Watch International
- Barnabas Fund
- Kehila News (Israel)
For regular news briefings about Israel, the Jewish News Syndicate is also recommended.
