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

Society & Politics

• Pilgrim’s Progress in cinemas now: John Bunyan’s classic is being brought to the big screen as an animated movie, featuring the voices of John Rhys-Davies and Kristyn Getty. For showings local to you, click here.
  
• Jewish Labour Movement withdraws support of Labour: For the first time in its 100-year history, the Jewish Labour Movement has withdrawn its support of the Labour Party in the run-up to the December general election, blaming Corbyn for allowing a Party “culture of anti-Semitism to emerge and fester”. Also this week, veteran Jewish Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge has survived an attempt by far-left activists to oust her from her seat. Read more here.
  
• Scottish census to list 21 sexualities: The 2021 Scottish census will give citizens 21 different sexualities to choose from, in a move prompting criticism from politicians, church leaders and academics. Read more here.
  
• Women reveal pressure to abort Downs babies: A new report reveals systemic prejudice against Downs babies and their parents, the majority of who report being misinformed and pressurised by medical professionals to abort. Read more here.
  
• 55,000 young people are ‘problem gamblers’: A new report from the Gambling Commission estimates that tens of thousands of 11-16 years olds in England, Scotland and Wales fall into the category of ‘problem gamblers’, while one in ten have been targeted directly online by gambling companies. Read more here.
  
• Dawkins admits: a world without God would be immoral: Speaking to The Times, the famed atheist has admitted fearing that removing religion from society would be a bad idea because it would increase immoral behaviour. Read more here.

World Scene

• ISIS head al Baghdadi killed: The Islamic State group has confirmed the death of their leader during a US special forces raid, naming his successor Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi, who may claim his lineage from Muhammad. Read more here.
  
• 900 abortion clinics lose federal funding: Thanks to new Trump administration policy which rejects abortion as a method of family planning, nearly a thousand abortion centres in the USA are losing out on federal grants. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

• Lebanese PM resigns amid protests: Saad Hariri has resigned after two weeks of anti-government protests that have brought the country to a standstill. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest economic problems and corruption. Read more here and here. Violent protests have also erupted in Iraq, complaining (not least) of growing Iranian influence in the country. Iran has a powerful grip on both Lebanon’s and Iraq’s governments and may already be intervening to crack down on protestors. Read more here.
  
• Israel: back to the polls again? Israel’s political impasse continues with no sign of resolution, as Benny Gantz fails to form a unity government. Gantz’s mandate ends on 20 November, following which the country could return to the polls for a third time within a year. Read more here.

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