Society & Politics

• Govt to consult on making DIY abortions permanent: The UK Government intends to hold a consultation with a view to making home abortions, legalised temporarily due to Covid-19, permanently legal. Read more here.
• Scottish hate bill will be used to criminalise the Bible: A prominent atheist activist has said that if the bill is passed, he will use it to report the Bible and church sermons to the police for ‘spreading hatred’. Read more here.
• Record 400-plus migrants cross Channel in one day: 409 people, including young children, on board 27 small boats crossed the English Channel on Wednesday 2nd Sept. More than 1,468 migrants made the crossing by small boat in August. Read more here.
• Sturgeon announces plan for National Care Service: Nicola Sturgeon, who has come under considerable attack over the number of coronavirus deaths in Scottish care homes, has announced the SNP’s aim of creating a National Care Service in Scotland. Read more here.

Church Issues

• Wycliffe celebrates 700th Bible translation: The Bible translators have reached a milestone which will enable 5.7 billion people to have access to the entirety of Scripture in their native tongue. They are working on translations in a further 2,617 languages. Read more here.
• Bank accounts of Christian ministry closed: In what is seen as a very disturbing development for Christian organisations, a ministry offering help to people who want to move away from same-sex attraction has been dropped by multiple service providers, and has now been told by Barclays Bank that its accounts will be closed, after being targeted by activists. Read more here

World Scene

• Hundreds of Ethiopian Christians slaughtered: An Ethiopian Christian leader has called for an international inquiry into the slaying of over five hundred Christians since the end of June, including pregnant women, children and entire families. This is part of ongoing extremist Muslim attacks in Oromia state, to the south and east of Addis Ababa. Read more here.
• US billboards urge ‘Black Preborn Lives Matter’: A pro-life billboard campaign in the US is drawing attention to the biggest threat to black lives: abortion. Read more here. Also this week, 100 pro-life black leaders have signed an open letter to Planned Parenthood confronting its hypocritical support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Read more here.
• Second historic Turkish church to be turned into a mosque: Just a month after his controversial repurposing of the UNESCO world-heritage recognised Hagia Sophia basilica, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered another ancient place of Christian worship - St. Saviour in Chora Church in Istanbul - to be turned back into a mosque. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

• Historic Israeli flight lands in the UAE: The first official flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates has landed, a major step in normalising relations after the announcement of a peace deal. The flight was allowed to cross Saudi Arabian airspace, normally blocked to Israeli air traffic. Read more here