Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

Richard Webber from the College of Paramedics said that members with thirty years’ service have never experienced anything like this. Lives are at risk because patients face unacceptably long waits for 999 emergency callouts for heart attacks and strokes, with some seriously ill patients waiting up to nine hours for an ambulance. Numerous investigations are going on into deaths linked to delays. The problems have forced all ambulance services to be put on their highest levels of alert - meaning that patients who can make their own way to hospital are told to do so. A number of services have brought in the military to support crews, and patients are taken to hospital in the back of police cars. Cases involve waits for crews to reach patients and delays when they arrive at overcrowded A&E‘s and spend hours queuing outside. Also hospitals cannot discharge patients fit to leave because of a lack of community support.

Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said Oxford University should explain to Jewish students why it took a total of £12.3 million from the Mosley family, as anti-Semitism is not simply a historic debate. The Mosley charitable trust houses the fortune of Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists. The university is now facing a donor backlash. One benefactor vowed not to give St Peter’s College another penny, and four British Nobel laureates have urged the university to reconsider giving a professorship in the name of Mosley’s grandson, saying that doing so ‘dishonours’ their subject. On 9 November police were called to the London School of Economics, where activists carrying Palestinian flags demonstrated against Israel’s ambassador, who was addressing the university's debating society. They chanted that Israel is a ‘terrorist state’. Next week the debating society is hosting Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission to the UK.

A new project is planning to regenerate 15 percent of the UK's church land in a bid to cut carbon emissions. According to a Christian conservation charity, A Rocha, approximately 500,000 acres of land across the UK is owned by churches in the form of churchyards, conference centre grounds, urban community farms, and agricultural estates. A Rocha’s initiative aims to transform 75,000 acres of this land into wildflower meadows, native woodlands and food forests over five years. Regenerating certain types of ecosystems can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and lock it up safely in soil and vegetation. The scheme will also involve the restoration of peatlands to help to soak up carbon emissions with native mix forests, protecting soils from drought and floods. These nature-based solutions can make a significant contribution to lowering the amount of carbon dioxide that is being stored, held, and taken up across the country.

After speaking on climate change Boris Johnson told the media he ‘genuinely believes the UK is not a corrupt country’. But sleaze accusations continue. MPs' second jobs are under scrutiny after Owen Paterson was found to have broken lobbying rules. Questions are raised about the Conservative MP and former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox who earned around £900,000 last year through his work as a lawyer, while International trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said it would be ‘wise’ to review the rules around second jobs. Although MPs are allowed second jobs, they are not allowed to use taxpayer-funded resources, or premises, to do so; this rule is being broken consistently. Meanwhile MP Andrew Bowie has decided to take a step back from his role of Tory vice-chair and focus on his constituency where he holds a narrow majority of 843 votes. A friend was quoted saying, ‘He doesn’t want to make a fuss but he’s unable to support the Government after the sleaze events of recent days.’

British scientists have identified a gene that doubles the risk of dying from Covid-19, opening up possibilities for targeted medicine and providing new insights into why some people are more susceptible to the disease than others. Researchers at Oxford University found that 60% of people with South Asian ancestry carry the high-risk gene. The discovery partly explains the high number of deaths seen in some British communities, and the effect of Covid in the Indian subcontinent. The scientists found that the increased risk is not because of a difference in genetic coding of the proteins, but because of differences in the DNA that makes a kind of ‘switch’ to turn a gene on. That genetic signal is likely to affect cells in the lung. The study shows that the way in which the lung responds to the infection is critical. This is important because most treatments have focused on changing the way in which the immune system reacts to the virus.

Hundreds of ‘climate pilgrims’ have trekked miles from across the UK and Europe to Glasgow’s COP26. Some waved flags, others played musical instruments; many carried religious banners. Numerous intercessors prayed as they journeyed and will continue praying in Glasgow streets throughout the two weeks of COP26. We can pray along with them. Pray for world leaders to agree to act swiftly and justly transitioning the global economy from fossil fuels toward renewables. Pray for communities already affected by climate change to be fairly compensated. Pray for delegates to have the wisdom, compassion, humility and courage necessary to work in unity to safeguard the future of all life on this fragile planet. Pray for the Holy Spirit to inspire political leaders to embrace every single change needed to cultivate a more sustainable society, and may we all acknowledge the responsibilities God has placed upon us as stewards of His creation.

The Earth is sending a message to COP26. Delegates must commit to zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. China, the world's largest emitter, committed to achieve this by 2060 and India, the third largest emitter, by 2070. Ask God to convict delegates of greed and pride. May they re-assess all commitments and actions according to Micah 6:8 and act justly, love mercy and walk humbly under God’s authority. The Least Developed Countries group said, ‘Raising global ambition and increasing climate finance is paramount to our survival’. Pray that after COP26 the actions of powerful nations will reaffirm their positive pledges. In recent years more than two out of three deaths in the least developed countries were caused by droughts, wildfires, and floods. Pray that this crisis is treated like a crisis, and in the midst of the many voices clamouring to be heard important issues will be understood and positively acted on by decision-makers.

The UK’s work to tackle modern slavery in developing countries has had limited long-term impact. Its strategy did not build on existing international efforts and experience, and failed to adequately involve survivors - though the Government played a prominent role in raising the profile of the issue globally. Consequently the Government is now reviewing its strategy, to shape how the UK tackles modern slavery in years to come. Civil society organisations were consulted on the development of this strategy. Parliament scrutinised the situation at a hearing on 14 April. Now there are follow-up discussions on government responses to various recommendations. Please pray that key points on access to justice will form part of the Government’s strategy. This process is a key link in the accountability chain, providing Parliament and the public with an account of how well government departments have responded to reviews.

Malachi 4:6 says, ‘He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers’. We pray for this to happen in these days. May fathers and mothers rediscover their roles and lead their families with God’s wisdom, love, peace and righteous values. We pray that parents will raise their children with loving discipline and counsel that reflect Christian values. Father in heaven please help the fathers in this nation to re-discover the power of strong love, the kindness of Godly discipline and the blessing of patient encouragement, raising a generation of children fully equipped for their future. We cry out for the children across this nation to experience Godly discipline from fathers balanced with the nurture of mothers. Father, please heal the hearts of parents where regret and failure have caused them to feel guilty, and will you help those living in poverty, particularly single parent families.

England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, predicted that there are hard months to come in the winter because Covid levels are running very high. Too many people believed the pandemic was now over, and winter could ‘potentially be problematic’. He also said there were signs that infections were starting to ‘penetrate’ older age groups, and how Christmas is affected would depend on a whole range of behaviours. We can pray for the nation to recognise that caution is still needed around the elderly, and face coverings should continue to be worn in appropriate places along with social distancing. Meanwhile the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation, which provides advice to the Government, said that while the infection rate is high, the current case numbers are not ‘out of control’ although we are at a ‘relatively important crux point’. The total of UK infections recorded on 3 November was 41,299, higher than most of Europe.