UK to take thousands more child refugees
22 Apr 2016
The UK is to take in up to 3,000 more refugees - most of them vulnerable children - from the war-torn Syria region. Several hundred are expected to be resettled by April 2017, and the rest by 2020. The Government called the move the ‘largest resettlement programme for children in the world’. It is in addition to Prime Minister David Cameron's earlier pledge to take 20,000 refugees by 2020. The scheme will target unaccompanied children as well as those considered at risk of abuse and exploitation: these will include children threatened with child labour and child marriage. There are more than 4.5 million refugees across the region - half of them children in need of food, education and a home. The UN has warned that a whole generation of Syrian children is at risk.
Greece: sun's rays spark Olympic Games flame
22 Apr 2016
Yesterday, in southern Greece, the flame for the Olympic Games in Brazil was lit, using the sun's rays, by an actor performing the role of a high priestess. The torch will be taken by various runners on an international relay that will culminate at the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August. This ritual was established eighty years ago for the Berlin games, based on a ceremony in ancient Olympia where games were held for more than 1,000 years. Actor Katerina Lehou, who lit the torch, offered a mock prayer to Apollo, the old Greek god of light and music, at the ceremony. The flame burns continuously until the closing ceremony. Records reveal that the pagan Olympic Games and rituals still used today began in 776 BC in Olympia in Greece and are totally rooted in pagan religious symbolism and declarations. Christians are encouraged to pray for the Holy Spirit’s protection and blessings for the Olympic torch route to Rio in the coming months.
The migration crisis and economic problems are threatening both the survival of the European Union and the stability of Eurasia’s entrenched dictatorships, according to an annual report on democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Eurasia. It says the EU’s response to the migration crisis has left the door wide open to those who reject democracy. Renewed nationalism and the erosion of freedom of movement and other fundamental principles are threatening the emergence of democracy. The goal of a Europe ‘whole and free’ has to be updated. The biggest challenge is the spread of xenophobic rhetoric denouncing migrants. Claiming that Europe faces a Muslim invasion has become standard fare for a range of politicians and political parties in Europe, and it undermines a fundamental principle of equality before the law. There is a danger that this kind of hate-filled speech will lead to violence against minorities and refugees.
The Queen turns ninety
22 Apr 2016
Yesterday the Queen became the country's first nonagenarian sovereign. She celebrated with a walkabout with the Duke of Edinburgh to meet members of the public and at midday gun salutes were held across the UK. Later in the day she lit the first in a chain of a thousand beacons across the UK and worldwide. We can thank God for the life of Queen Elizabeth II and celebrate the love that she has for her people and for the grace and commitment with which she carries out her duties. We can thank God for her open declaration of her Christian faith and we can ask God to bless her health, giving her strength and vigour. We can also ask God to bless Prince Philip and all her family, their marriages and their relationships, with health, strength, peace and joy.
Watch and pray for the EU referendum
22 Apr 2016
The vote, and the actions the nation takes after the vote, need soaking in prayer. We are entering a time of political and economic uncertainty. The World Prayer Centre believes this vote is an individual decision and encourages people to pray and listen to God, seeking His will and purpose for this nation and the countries of Europe, believing that God’s heart is that none should perish and all should come to a knowledge of Him. The referendum is happening at a time of great spiritual challenge and opportunity, so we can look beyond the political and economic issues and pray for God’s Kingdom purpose, His mercy and deliverance. The WPC are calling for a season of prayer and fasting from 14 May to 2 July (40 days of prayer up to voting day and for 10 days after). For further information and prayer resources, click the ‘more’ link.
Sexual violence and harassment in schools
22 Apr 2016
After a freedom of information request the BBC revealed 5,500 sexual offences were recorded in UK schools between 2011 and 2014. Over 600 were rapes, and 1/5th of offences were carried out by children on children. As a result of this publication there will be a Commons committee inquiry to establish who is offending and whether incidents are rising. The committee wants teachers, students, parents and youth organisations to share experiences and knowledge. It has already gathered the views and experiences of 300 UK youngsters in a pilot study, and found that in school corridors and playgrounds sexually charged behaviour drives young people's physical interactions: it permeates their life online 24/7. They're feeling pressurised into sex, with fear of being branded 'frigid' by their peers if they detach themselves from the moral belief scene. Some reported 'being bullied for being a virgin'. Some teachers brush off incidents of sexual assault because of the young age of students.
Pope warns against fortune-tellers
22 Apr 2016
In his morning Mass homily on 18 April Pope Francis said that those who listen to seers do not follow Jesus. The Pope said, ‘Jesus warned us that there will be others who will say the path of the Messiah is this or that. Jesus said, do not listen! Do not hear them. I am the way! Jesus is the gate and the way; if we follow him, we will not be mistaken. Some might say “Yes father, but things are difficult. So many times I don’t see clearly what to do. I was told that there was a seer and I went here or there; I went to a fortune-teller, who read the cards.” If you do this, you do not follow Jesus! You follow another who gives you another path, a different path.’
Fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) are electronic roulette machines where players can bet on a variety of different games. There is a maximum stake of £100 every twenty seconds, meaning £300 can be lost in a single minute – more than a week's wages for many. A poll of MPs showed 72% want tougher regulations on high stake FOBTs. 81% of the cross-party MPs say FOBTs are having a negative effect on society, and 67% say the current maximum stake is too high. Christian charity CARE's chief executive Nola Leach said that this poll is encouraging and shows there is real appetite for action from MPs all across the House of Commons. Reducing the maximum stake in the first instance would help limit the harm caused to people's lives.