Our pick of the week's news to inform your prayers.

Society & Politics

• New NHS guidance encourages spiritual care for the dying: End of life care should go beyond medical assistance and include opening up conversations about life after death, says the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Read more here.
• Parliament to debate abortion up to full term: a new bill to decriminalise abortion up to birth, for any reason, will have its first reading on 13 March. Read more here.
• New genetics test could mean more sex-selective abortions: bio-ethicists warn that new prenatal screening, which would reveal the baby’s gender at 9-10 weeks, could lead to a rise in abortions of girls. Read more here.
• Exeter student leader under investigation for anti-Semitic tweets: Malaka Shwaikh, Vice-President of the University of Exeter’s post-graduates, posted that she is “proud to be called terrorist” in the latest of a series of anti-Semitic slurs. Read more here.

Church Issues

• Street preachers convicted of public order offences: Mike Overd and Michael Stockwell were fined and told that quoting the King James could be a “criminal matter”, in what Christian Concern are calling a modern-day heresy trial. The case against Adrian Clark was dropped. Read more here.

World Scene

• White paper lays out 5 pathways for EU future: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker presented the suggestions, which include ‘business as usual’, ‘single market only’ and fuller political integration options, this week in Brussels. Read more here.
• Islam largest religion in world by 2070: New statistics from the US-based Pew Research Centre say Muslims will outnumber Christians and make up 10% of Europe’s population. Click here for more details.
• New Disney film features ‘exclusively gay moment’: Disney’s remake of classic Beauty and the Beast, out this month, includes a sidekick character being re-modelled as gay. Read more here.
  

Israel & Middle East

• Exchange of fire continues at Israel-Gaza border: Another rocket fired from Gaza on Wednesday night and gunfire on IDF troops on Thursday prompted a retaliatory strike from Israel. Border clashes in the last month are prompting fears of escalation. Read more here.
• Egyptian Christians fleeing Sinai: Targeted killings of Coptic Christians in recent months by IS and its affiliates are forcing many believing families to evacuate the area. Read more here and here.
  

Upcoming Events

• UK Purim Celebration 2017 (11 March): London event. Special guest speakers, live worship, Jewish music and dancing. The Emmanuel Centre, Westminster. Book your ticket by calling (01793) 279111, or click here.
• ‘As One’ National Prayer Conference (13-15 March): Swanwick, World Prayer Centre. “Listen to God and pray in the new season.” Click here to find out more.
  
• Hope for Our Nation (18 March): Christian Concern host a day event at the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster. “Do you want to see society changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ? Come and understand today's challenges, and be equipped to bring hope to our nation.” Find out more and buy tickets here.
  
• ‘What are we teaching the Children?’ Conference (25 March): Find out how current education policy is influencing children in Britain and how Christians can respond, with Voice for Justice. Emmanuel Centre, Westminster. Click here for information and tickets.

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)
• Family Watch International
• Barnabas Fund
  
• Kehila News (Israel)
  
• Saltshakers (Steve Maltz, UK)