The internet can deliver inappropriate and illegal online bullying, self-harm advice, fake news, and data misuse to anyone, of any age. A Christian perspective upholds ‘human flourishing on strong foundations within agreed ethical frameworks’. These are lacking online, but things could change. The House of Lords has produced an agreed set of ten principles that shape and frame internet regulations, and a new ‘Digital Authority’ to oversee rules, with access to the highest level of Government to facilitate any changes needed. These principles are: - the same level of protection online as offline - accountability for actions and policies - transparency and openness to scrutiny - openness to innovation and competition - protecting the privacy of individuals - ethical design - ensuring that services act in the interests of users and society - childhood recognition to protect the vulnerable - respect for human rights - and education to enable people to navigate the internet safely. See also World article 6, on technology.

A legal challenge has been submitted regarding a Royal College of Physicians (RCP) poll on assisted suicide. The poll asked members where they stand on this issue, but the RCP said it would adopt a neutral stance unless there was a 60% majority either way. Until now it has been officially opposed to assisted dying. Four doctors have launched a crowdfunding page to fund a legal challenge to the poll, saying that a small minority who support assisted dying want to change the RCP's default position in an unfair way. Even if 59% of members vote to maintain opposition to a change in the law, the College will change to a neutral position anyway. The doctors argue that using a supra-majority to change a policy is, as far as they are aware, entirely without precedent. It is believed that Dignity in Dying, the campaign group for assisted dying, influenced the move.

Ahed Tamimi is a Palestinian provocateur who slapped Israeli soldiers while her mother filmed the incident and then sent film to the media. She later said, ‘The world should not panic or be appalled by a Palestinian slapping an IDF soldier. Everyone should do it, not just me.’ With such comments, she and her family incite suicide bombings and stabbings. She is to come to Britain for a three-month crash course in the English language. Tamimi says she is on ‘the path of the martyrs’ who are not aiming for a two-state solution, but for ‘the liberation of Palestine’, and for ‘Jerusalem to be the eternal capital of Palestine’. Jeremy Corbyn supports her, and Labour MPs have been lectured by her father inside the UK parliament. In an interview with Jordanian media she said that after her crash course in English she will visit her brother in Palestine when he is freed from prison, then return to the UK to study international law. See

The Trussell Trust has said that Philip Hammond has missed a chance to do the right thing by giving people on the lowest income financial support and certainty before Brexit. Our benefits system should ensure proper support is in place when help is most needed. But more people are struggling to make ends meet and face hunger. The trust said a record demand in foodbank use has resulted from benefits not covering the cost of essentials. ‘By failing to end the benefits freeze and the five-week wait for Universal Credit, thousands more people will become trapped in poverty and may be forced to a foodbank as a result.’ Financial experts said that Britain needs urgent spending reviews to address issues around benefits squeezes, education funding, and social care. The Chancellor promised to free up more money to help end austerity if there’s a smooth Brexit, and that a disorderly Brexit would deal a ‘significant’ blow to economic activity in the short term. See