Lead Story

• Biden reverses many core Trump policies. Joe Biden had no sooner became President of the United States when he signed as many as 17 executive orders, reversing many of his predecessor’s policies. He removed the so-called ‘Muslim ban’ limiting immigration from mainly Muslim-majority countries, signed America back up to the Paris Climate Agreement, reversed U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), cut off funding for the border wall with Mexico, and barred discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, claiming that the term ‘sex’ in law should now also refer to the gender someone has chosen to live as. Many of Biden's other executive orders focused on tackling the pandemic and its economic effects.

Society and Politics

• The professor who dared to challenge the trans orthodoxy sweeping Britain. Professor Kathleen Stock has long campaigned for academic freedom and, in particular, the freedom to examine the demands of influential trans pressure groups such as Stonewall. She was even awarded an OBE in the latest New Year Honours List for her work. Days later, she discovered that more than 600 people had signed an open letter denouncing her. These were “fellow philosophers who pronounced themselves ‘dismayed’ that the Government had chosen to honour me for my ‘harmful rhetoric’”, she stated. Read more here.
• UK applies for lucrative 11-country super-deal. Trade Secretary Liz Truss has reaffirmed the UK's commitment to joining a mega-trade bloc with 11 countries including Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore. The Government minister said the UK would formally request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) shortly. The group is made up of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Britain has already signed deals with a number of these countries, which may help improve its chances of being accepted. Read more here.
• Upbeat Brexit forecasts. Despite the gloomy Brexit reports prevalent on mainstream media, some experts claim the City of London will continue to thrive in Brexit Britain, with it remaining a top choice for firms. Julian Jessop, an economics fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, who has previously worked for the Treasury, said that despite predictions of 75,000 jobs moving to the continent after the UK left the EU, a relatively small number of people had relocated. Read more here. In a similar vein, a top executive at Nissan has stated that the Brexit trade deal is a positive development that could turbocharge sales for the Japanese carmaker and transform the British car industry. The chairman of Santander has also stated his belief that Britain's economic recovery this year could be stronger than most experts predict. He believes a return of business investment and consumers unleashing savings will drive growth.

Church News

• Scottish church leaders consider judicial action on public worship ban. A group of 30 church leaders from a range of Christian denominations in Scotland has sent a letter to the Scottish government calling on measures – which have seen Scottish churches closed during the current lockdown – to be urgently reversed. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, they state that if their request is rejected, they will face no alternative but to pursue a judicial review. The leaders call the closure of churches "arbitrary, inconsistent and disproportionate" and say it goes "too far" in the fight against Covid. Another letter, signed by over 200 other Scottish church leaders, calls for a similar reversal of the current ban, insisting that Christian worship is an "essential public service".

World Events

• 750 reportedly dead after attack on Ethiopia church. It is reported that many hundreds have been killed in an attack on an Orthodox cathedral complex in northern Ethiopia. The church, which reputedly houses the Ark of the Covenant, is located in Tigray, a region that is home to many churches and monasteries but also beset by conflict. Ethiopia is home to 36 million Orthodox Christians, the world's second-largest Orthodox population after Russia. Up to 1,000 people were believed to be sheltering in the church complex at the time; they were forced outside, and some of them fled on foot more than 200km to the regional capital, Mekelle. Read more here.
• U.S. declares China's persecution of Uyghur Muslims 'genocide'. Less than 24 hours before leaving Office, Donald Trump’s administration officially designated China's persecution of Muslim minorities in western Xinjiang Province − including mass internment, forced labour, and forced sterilisation – as "genocide" and "crimes against humanity." The statement, made by outgoing Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, makes the U.S. the first country to adopt these terms to describe the CCP’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Read more here. On the same theme, a group of UK conservative backbenchers have requested that a 'genocide amendment' be inserted into to the post-Brexit trade deal after becoming concerned about China’s treatment of the Uyghur Muslims. Sir Iain Duncan Smith insisted the amendment "is not anti-China, it is anti-genocide”. Read more here.
• Predictions of Christian outreach ban throughout India. Madhya Pradesh has just passed a law banning religious conversions. This is the ninth Indian state to pass anti-conversion laws. Uttar Pradesh imposed a similar law in November. There is concern it could lead towards a ban on Christian evangelism in the entire country. Read more here. The increased restrictions come alongside reports of increased violence against Christians all over the country. One group, the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), recorded 327 instances of discrimination and targeted violence against Christians in India in 2020, including five murders, at least six churches burnt or destroyed and many incidents of social boycotting.

Israel & Middle East

• Remarkable story behind chilling Holocaust photo. A photo survives of the very last moment on earth of a Jewish family, teetering on the edge of a death pit as Nazi executioners with rifles fire from behind at point-blank range. The mother is clasping the hand of a stumbling, barefoot boy. Surprisingly she stands upright because she is clutching in her lap another child. All three are about to be exterminated, put down as Untermenschen – literally, subhumans – whose lives have no value. The remarkably rare photograph shocked Holocaust historian Professor Wendy Lower when she first saw it. But it also spurred her to years of research into events of that day. The result is a spell-binding new book, ‘The Ravine’. Read much more here (warning – the graphic barbaric photo is also displayed on this page).

Upcoming Events

• Day of prayer for our needy nation, today Friday 22 January. Ian Christensen of New Life Church Wembley is calling for all believers across the UK to unite in prayer for one hour today, Friday 22 January. Christian Concern, David Hathaway, and other Christian leaders have been endorsing the event. Read more here.
• INVITATION – FREE ZOOM EVENT
  Dear Friend,
     In these difficult times, many of us have questions about what is going on in the world, such as whether God exists and cares about us.
  Issachar Ministries want to give an opportunity to think through those questions together, so we are warmly inviting our friends and their contacts to join us for a brief Bible talk and discussion on Sunday, 24 January at 15.45. We will aim to finish by 17.00.
     You will not be required to speak or to do anything, but please feel free to join in the discussion breakout groups at the end. You are also welcome just to listen.
     We look forward to welcoming you.
  Clifford and Monica Hill, on behalf of the Issachar Ministries Team
     Topic: Issachar Community Open Gathering
     Join Zoom Meeting
     https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83109130606?pwd=eG1ZQ0V4eG00STNwM3NhdDZVY1RWQT09
     Meeting ID: 831 0913 0606
     Passcode: 410577
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