A selection of recent happenings to aid your prayers.

Society & Politics

• Parliamentary anti-Semitism debate: We highly recommend watching the passionate and moving debate on anti-Semitism which took place in the Commons this week. You can watch the whole debate here. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was absent for a large part of it and later claimed that “no anti-Semitic remarks are ever done in my name”. He is due to meet with Jewish leaders this coming week.
  
• Thousands of underage girls receiving NHS contraceptive implants: Over 10,000 girls under the age of consent received an implant on the NHS in the last two years, new figures reveal. Read more here. Meanwhile, the UK’s largest education union passed a motion this week to lobby the Government to make ‘abortion rights’ a mandatory part of secondary education.
  
• GPs the new clergy? A new study has found that people are increasingly approaching doctors as they would once have approached their parish clergy, looking for spiritual answers or healing for their souls. Read more here.
  

World Scene

• Global debt hits highest levels ever: The IMF has warned that governments need to take action now, after 2016 statistics reveal that global debt stands at $164 trillion, or 225% of the world’s gross domestic product. Read more here.
  
• Canada Bible camp de-funded for not supporting abortion: An Alberta Christian summer camp has lost out on state funding for refusing to sign the Government’s pro-abortion attestation. Read more here.
  
• Hawaii legalises assisted suicide: The state signed medically assisted suicide into law earlier this month, becoming the seventh state to do so. Read more here.
  

Israel & Middle East

• Israel begins 70th anniversary celebrations: In the Hebrew calendar, Israel’s 70^th anniversary falls on 5 Iyar, meaning that this week festivities have begun (see, for instance, here, here and here) marking the Jewish state’s independence.
  
• Romania advances embassy move to Jerusalem: If the proposal is successful, Romania will become the fourth country to announce an embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and the first from within the EU. Read more here and here.
  
• EU offers to rebuild Gaza if Hamas disarms: If accepted, the proposal would see an EU-created body managing Gaza’s civic and humanitarian affairs in return for Hamas relinquishing armed struggle against Israel for five years. Read more here.
  
• Iran threatens nuclear activity ‘within a week’ if deal nixed: Rouhani has threatened that if President Trump pulls out of the nuclear deal, as is rumoured, Iran will reboot its nuclear activity straight away. Trump’s decision is due by 12 May 2018. Read more here.

Upcoming Events

• Moedim evening (London): Friday 20 April, All Soul’s Clubhouse; 6:30-9:30pm. An evening to introduce Christians to the Hebraic mindset, with Richard Teideman and Steve Maltz. Free entry. Click here to find out more.
• March for Life (London): Saturday 5 May, departing Connaught Rooms, London, 1:30pm. Join the annual pro-life march, the theme of which for 2018 is 'Every Life Deserves Love'. Find out more about the march and associated events through the day by clicking here.
• Israel 70: Celebration of Land and Life (Central London): Wednesday 9 May, Central Hall, Westminster, 7pm. Hosted by Tim Vince, friends including Gordon Pettie, Tunji Adebayo, Jacob Vince, Canon Andrew White. Tickets £12, click here to book.
• Celebrating Israel’s 70^th (Central London): Saturday 12 May, Emmanuel Centre. Praise and worship, prayer and teaching, hosted by Vision for Israel. Find out more and book tickets 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 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)