Sudan's ruling military council and civilian opposition alliance have signed a landmark power-sharing deal and Khartoum civilians have celebrated in the streets, dancing and waving their national flag. Omar al-Bashir, the former president of Sudan, will now face a long jail term if his high profile corruption trial finds him guilty of possessing foreign currency, corruption, receiving gifts illegally, and systematic human rights abuses.

In 1940 Britain faced her darkest hour with troops trapped at Dunkirk. Then a call for help went out, prayers were offered and 338,000 men lived to fight another day - ten times more than Churchill and the generals expected. It was a miracle. The sea was becalmed. Hitler uncharacteristically ordered his troops to halt, even though they surrounded the British in a pincer-like movement. Cloud covered Spitfire pilots, and 800 fishing and pleasure boats mounted an extraordinary rescue. Today we’re in a Dunkirk-like dark hour: Christ’s light is dim in the chaos of our nation. But prayer changes things. Intercessors are the ‘little ships’ crossing the currents of secular culture to rescue Britain. We must remember that it is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit’ (Zech. 4:6) that the enemies of God will be defeated. For the source of these thoughts click the ‘More’ button.

University students are attending chapel services at a higher rate than the rest of the population, challenging the notion that young people aren't interested in church. When 54 college chapels in Durham, Oxford and Cambridge universities were surveyed, the figures showed that there were twice as many students making their way to church on Sunday than there were adults in the rest of the population attending services at regular churches. Meanwhile a separate study showed that from 2017 to 2018, the total number of young people sitting the Religious Studies GCSE fell from 282,193 to 253,618, and 701 schools in England stopped entering students into the subject altogether. However, GCSE reforms now state that pupils must study at least two religions, so the subject has a more secular ethos and is not particularly relevant to Biblical Christian study. 

There have been calls for protection for churches in Northern Ireland after 445 incidences of criminal damage to religious buildings, churchyards, or cemeteries in the last three years. Belfast’s synagogue and Islamic centre have also been damaged in the last ten years. The leaders of all the political parties have been urged to make more support available to religious buildings and to commit to setting up an initiative like the ‘Place Of Worship Fund’, which helps to protect religious buildings in England and Wales. Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler said, ‘Places of worship, no matter what faith or denomination, should be a cherished place of peace and sanctuary. Attacking a church is an attack against its entire congregation.’