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

Society & Politics

• Labour pledges abortion up to birth, recognition of ‘Palestine’: Labour’s election manifesto promises the full decriminalisation of abortion up to full term, an even more extreme position than the Lib Dems. Labour has also pledged the immediate recognition of a state of Palestine and cessation of arms sales to Israel. Its manifesto makes no mention of anti-Semitism. Read more here.
  
• Christian Institute warns of legal action over NI bill: The lobby group has warned the Government that it will pursue legal action if proper protections for freedom of conscience are not included in the imposition of same-sex marriage on Northern Ireland. Read more here and here.
  
• Ex-police officer sues police over ‘hate speech’ policy: Former police officer Harry Miller from Lincoln is suing the police after being targeted for supposed anti-transgender ‘hate speech’, despite having committed no crime. Read more here. Miller has started a campaign called FairCop calling for fair and just policing.
  
• 22,000 UK FGM victims identified since 2015: The real number of victims is likely far higher, stretching into the hundreds of thousands. Read more here. Female Genital Mutilation is illegal in the UK but is particularly prevalent among North African communities.

Church Issues

• CofE calls for repentance over historic anti-Semitism: A new report highlights the Church’s complicity in stoking the anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust and calls on Christians to call out modern anti-Semitism when they see it. Read more here.

World Scene

• Measles claims 5,000 lives in DRC: The number of deaths in 2019 from the large-scale outbreak is double that of the deaths from Ebola in the last 15 months. Close to a quarter of a million people have been infected. Read more here.
  
• Chick-fil-A withdraws support from Salvation Army: The Christian fast food chain known for its biblical beliefs is withdrawing its long-standing support of the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, prompting some to fear that the company is caving to LGBTQ+ pressure. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

• Netanyahu indicted: The Israeli PM is being charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He will be Israel’s first sitting PM to be indicted while in office and is now facing calls to resign. Read more here. Also this week, Benny Gantz failed to fulfil his coalition mandate. If no new potential candidate for Prime Minister can be found by 11 December, Israel will return to the polls for an unprecedented third time in a year. Read more here.
  
• US recognises West Bank settlements: The Trump administration has reversed the Obama-era policy of considering the Israeli settlements ‘illegal’ and an obstacle to peace, recognising their legitimacy in international law. Read more here and here. The move has been condemned by the US Democrats, the UN and the EU, with the Arab League set to hold an emergency response meeting this coming week.
  
• Iran shuts down internet, cracks down on protests: As anti-regime protests continue to sweep the country, Iranian authorities have suspended internet access in a bid to curb the riots. More than a hundred people have been killed so far. Read more here.

Events

• Mark van Niekerk in Kurdistan (18-30 November): The Simon Initiative evangelist will be encouraging believers and dispersing funds to Kurdish refugees from Syria and the families of Kurds who died fighting ISIS. Mark sends his thanks to all Prophecy Today UK readers who have supported him financially or in prayer up to now. Read our last report on his work here.

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