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

Society & Politics

• BBC to up religious output: After a review which revealed higher levels of belief and interest in religion amongst the public than previously thought, the BBC has pledged to increase its religious broadcasting output, though concerns are being raised about its ability to achieve this. Read more here.
  
• Brighton Hanukkah event closed to public due to anti-Semitism fears: The event, held at Hove Town Hall, had to be held behind closed doors due to security threats posed by pro-Palestinian protestors. Read more here.
  
• Another street preacher acquitted: Nigerian pastor Oluwole Ilesanmi was arrested and charged with a hate crime after preaching in London in June, but all charges have now been dropped. Read more here.
  
• Pro-abortion bias at all levels: The Christian Institute has reported this week on the astonishing level of bias present in the Government inquiry into buffer zones around abortion clinics, as well as on a premature baby left to die at 22 weeks after being termed not ‘viable’ by doctors.

Church Issues

• Entire Bible to be read in Parliament Square in 2018: The #TruthtoPower campaign is urging churches and individuals to sign up to read passages of Scripture as part of the initiative to bring the Word back to the nation. Read more here and here.
• Report implies multi-faith services should be an option for ailing churches: The independent review, published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, suggests that listed CofE church buildings must be adapted for wider community use if they are to be kept open. Read more here.

World Scene

• UN General Assembly votes 129-9 to call Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem ‘null and void’: The resolution was introduced this week as part of a rare emergency session. 35 countries abstained and there were 21 no-shows. The UK voted in favour. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

• Assad blocks humanitarian relief, starves hundreds of thousands: The Syrian dictator is trapping 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, in increasingly dire conditions, as part of a siege on rebel forces. Read more here.
  
• Palestinians seek to replace US as peace mediator: After Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem, Palestinian leader Abbas has renounced the US’s historic role in the peace process and sent envoys to China and Russia to court a replacement. Read more here.
  
• Obama protected Hezbollah to win with Iran: Politico has reported that the Obama administration intentionally derailed a US effort to track Hezbollah drug trafficking, in order to curry favour with Iran ahead of signing the nuclear deal. Hezbollah’s billion-dollar, illegal drugs network funds its terror efforts. Read more here.

Upcoming Events

• The P Word Conference (Cardiff): 27 January 2018, 10:30am-4pm, Freedom Church, Cardiff. A practical Christian response to pornography for all leaders. In partnership with CARE. For more information and for tickets, visit pwordconference.com.
• Foundations 9 (Cumbria): 19-23 March 2018, Grange-Over-Sands. Theme: Into the lion's den: reaching a world gone mad. Steve Maltz's annual week-long Hebraic conference. £260 per person. Click here for more information and to book.