Church Issues

• Asia Bibi’s husband conveys request for prayer: The Pakistani Christian has been on death row for ‘blasphemy’ against Islam since 2010. A judgment on an appeal has been delayed. Asia’s family are in the UK to raise awareness about her plight. Read more here. Meanwhile, the US has secured the release of pastor Andrew Brunson from incarceration in Turkey. Read more here.
  
• Myanmar pastors forced to stop praying in church: 100 Christian pastors from Myanmar’s Shan state were released from prison this week after signing a declaration saying they would only pray privately at home, not in church. Seven refused to sign the statement and remain imprisoned. Read more here.

World Scene

• Nikki Haley quits as US Ambassador to the UN: Israel will lose a staunch ally with Haley’s shock departure at the end of the year, which she says is for personal reasons. Read more here.
  
• US media coverage of Trump 92% negative: With November’s mid-term elections looming, the America’s three biggest news networks are piling on the criticism of the President, according to conservative media watchdog MSC. Read more here.
  
• New film to take on abortion industry: ‘Unplanned’ is a US Christian film that will tell the true story of Abby Johnson, an ex-clinic director for Planned Parenthood who became a passionate pro-life advocate. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

• Spate of Samaria attacks claim more lives: Last weekend, a shooting in an industrial park in Samaria claimed the lives of a 28-year-old mother of one and a 35-year-old father of three. Read more here. At time of writing, a manhunt is still underway for the 23-year-old terrorist. A separate stabbing attack on Thursday, also in Samaria, wounded an IDF reservist. The assailant has now been captured. Read more here.
  
• Iran spends $16 billion to destabilise the Middle East: Since 2012, Iran has spent enormous amounts propping up the Assad regime and funding terror groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and militias in Iraq and Yemen. Read more here.
  
• Egypt: 17 sentenced to death for attacking Christians: A military court has handed down the sentences to Islamic State militants for their role in planning suicide bombings in 2016 and 2017 which killed dozens of Coptic Christians. Read more here.

Upcoming Events

• Launch: International Federation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice (London): Monday 15 October. Speakers from a range of professional bodies will respond to the UK Government’s recent ‘LGBT Action Plan’ and assault on ‘conversion therapy’. Booking essential - click here for more details.
  
• Christian Concern’s 10^th anniversary celebration (Central London): Saturday 20 October. 4-7pm, Emmanuel Centre, Westminster. Join Christian Concern staff and clients to celebrate a decade of ministry, learn about their work, rejoice in past victories and look to the future. Booking essential, though places are free. Click here for more details.
  

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 also 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)