Justin Welby is urging the UK’s financial watchdogs to ‘practise what they preach’ amid concern that regulation aimed at preventing another financial crisis is weakening. The Archbishop, who sits on the advisory board of the think-tank New City Agenda, is backing its report on the need for improvements in the regulatory culture of the Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. The New City Agenda report warns that without this, the UK will be ‘sleepwalking into the next financial crisis’, and that ‘crucial change’ following the 2008 financial crisis ‘is already being watered down’.
Refugee children and UK response
28 Oct 2016
The Calais clean-up mission is accomplished. In May the Home Office confirmed that 3,000 child asylum seekers had been returned to conflict-torn countries in the past decade: today many single-minded children are back, trying for a second time. On Thursday, British charity Calais Action said ‘We are begging the French authorities to actually do something about the refugee children, but nothing is done.’ 1,500 minors have been processed; the remaining under-16s are in a small fenced-off ‘container village’. Hundreds are to be brought from Calais in coming weeks, but one in four UK local authorities ‘cannot take responsibility for them’. On 19 November the bishops of Manchester and Stockport will host a conference aiming to equip churches and communities to respond practically to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers. The Church of England said that the ‘conference will help people explore how they might welcome more effectively people who have been displaced and are seeking refuge.’ See:
‘The equality law needs to change'
28 Oct 2016
Ashers Baking Company was asked to make a cake saying 'support gay marriage' but declined, saying it would compromise their Christian beliefs. LGBT activists launched a civil action against Ashers. Throughout legal proceedings Ashers repeatedly said their refusal to bake the cake had nothing to do with discrimination. On Tuesday they lost the case and said, ‘We’re extremely disappointed with today’s ruling. If equality law means people can be punished for politely refusing to support other people’s causes, then equality laws need to change. The judges accepted that we did not know Mr Lee was gay and that was not the reason we declined the order. We have always said it was never about the customer, it was about the message. The court accepted that. But now we are being told we have to promote the message even though it’s against our conscience.’
Winter night shelters
28 Oct 2016
Night shelters supported by Church Urban Fund (CUF) are to increase their provision to nearly 4,000 bed spaces this winter in response to growing homelessness. Over 800 volunteers will work in shelters in Manchester, Salford, Birmingham, Mansfield, and Great Yarmouth, backed by CUF and Church of England dioceses. Night shelters are often more than just somewhere to sleep. For example, a night shelter in Manchester offering twelve beds for seven nights a week will double the length of time it operates to six months when it opens at the end of October. Another Manchester night shelter, based in seven locations, will offer 24-hour care to homeless guests including an evening meal and bed and breakfast,with advice and support available during the day. Guests and volunteers eat together each night; sometimes they play pool or table tennis together and develop positive relationships.
Spain: storm in a petrol pump?
28 Oct 2016
Russia withdrew its request to refuel its warships in a Spanish port, so Moscow and Madrid both found a diplomatic way to get themselves off a difficult hook. However, the passions aroused by Spain's willingness to refuel Russian vessels were real, especially since this time the Russian task group was on its way - as the British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon put it - ‘to bomb Syrian civilians in Aleppo’. How would it look, just as NATO defence ministers met to strengthen their forces in the Baltic, Poland and around the Black Sea, if one of their members was helping a Russian task group on its way to a conflict where many Nato governments have accused Moscow of carrying out war crimes through its indiscriminate bombing?
Hungary: government influence on media
28 Oct 2016
For decades Europe has maintained an exemplary level of respect for democratic standards and human rights, and has generally continued to do so in recent years despite serious economic turmoil. Nevertheless, many countries have developed problems related to their treatment of immigrants and minorities, and press freedom faces threats in a number of states. Through its presence in Brussels, Freedom House (an independent watchdog organisation) works to address these issues and to increase Europe’s role in supporting the spread of democracy abroad. In response to a businessman close to Hungary’s prime minister purchasing the country’s most prominent opposition newspaper, Nepszabadsag, last Tuesday, Freedom House said that the action shows the government’s growing influence over Hungary’s media. The sale took place two weeks after its previous owner unexpectedly suspended publication, blocked its journalists’ access to their emails and offices, and pulled the paper’s online edition.
Iraq: what you need to know about Mosul
28 Oct 2016
It was from Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, that IS took to the world stage in 2014. It is now the last major IS stronghold, so the battle for Mosul is a critical and decisive one. Thousands of lives hang in the balance: innocent civilians, Iraqi soldiers, Islamic State fighters - Jesus died for each one. What happens in Mosul directly impacts the lives and eternities of many. Up to 1.5 million civilians are still in Mosul. Up to 5,000 IS fighters also remain. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers, Kurdish fighters, and Shia militiamen are involved. It is feared that IS will use human shields and chemical weapons. Those who escape Mosul face ill-equipped refugee camps unable to provide for their basic needs. Beyond the desperate humanitarian realities, these masses are largely unprepared for eternity. Awaiting a military deliverance, most remain unaware that their only true Deliverer is Jesus.
Four Arab guests who came to visit Efrat Local Council head, Oded Revivi, at his ‘Sukkah of Peace’ last week during the Jewish festival of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) were imprisoned for their neighbourly act by the Palestinian Authority They were released on the start of the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, after intervention by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who appealed to world leaders on behalf of the Palestinian Authority citizens who had done nothing more than act as good neighbours and who were punished by their government in response. The four were accused of ‘meeting baby killers’ the day after visiting the sukkah, where they sat with Jewish neighbours and talked about peace. ‘Where is the intervention of human rights organisations?’ Netanyahu asked world leaders. ‘These groups prove again and again that they have no real interest in human rights, but are interested only in shaming Israel.’