Displaying items by tag: restrictions

Theresa Villiers MP asked Sajid Javid, ‘Now that thousands of people are allowed to gather together at a football match to shout and cheer as much as they want, is it not time that we allowed congregations in church to sing hymns together?’ The new health secretary replied, ‘I can tell you that that is certainly what I would like to see; it is my intention to allow that to happen as soon as possible. When it does, I hope we can sing a hymn together.’ During the debate, one exasperated comment was, ‘As a member of the parliament choir, I want to meet with other members in a socially respectable way to sing the music that inspires us and to lead our lives as close to normality as we can. What we want is a road map and a timescale.’

Days after a ‘mutant’ coronavirus strain ruined Christmas plans of holidaymakers on both sides of the Channel, red tape and confusion have raised hurdles for Britons attempting to return to their homes in several European countries. They are now regarded as ‘third-country nationals’, and some were barred from boarding flights bound for the countries where they live. Others have complained of difficulties accessing the social benefits to which they are entitled. Most complaints involved flights to Spain, home to the largest number of registered Britons in Europe, though the Spanish authorities claimed that the issue had been resolved by mid-Sunday. Italy, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands all experienced travel problems for UK residents trying to return home, and there were reports of violations of the withdrawal agreement guaranteeing their rights.

On 14 October England’s chief medical officer said a three-tier alert level system would not be enough to get on top of the coronavirus, and local authorities on very high alert would likely have to introduce further restrictions. On 21 September the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) warned that failure to implement tighter coronavirus restrictions would have ‘catastrophic consequences’. SAGE recommended the imposition of a two-week ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown to curb coronavirus spread, but the Government ignored this advice (see) Meanwhile England’s three-tier restriction system has begun, with most areas currently in the lowest tier. Northern Ireland will extend the half-term holidays for schools, as well as other new measures aimed at curbing the virus spread. Wales is considering a short circuit-breaker lockdown.

The draft religion law now in parliament would, in defiance of human rights, continue to ban all exercise of freedom of religion without state permission, banning teaching about religion without state permission, continuation of compulsory censorship of all religious materials and to ban sharing of faith. ‘There's not much difference between the draft law and the current one’, commented human rights defender Bahodyr Eliboyev. Although the draft reduces the number of adult citizens required to apply for a community to be allowed to exist from 100 to 50, it would retain the registration process and most of the restrictions. ‘The state must not be afraid of giving full religious freedoms,’ insists Abduvohid Yakubov, an independent rights defender from Tashkent who is also critical of the draft law.

Dozens of foreign Christians in Turkey have been forced to leave the country or been banned from returning, in what appears to be government targeting of the Protestant Christian community. Many, like Carlos Madrigal of Spain, had been serving in Christian leadership roles in Turkey for decades, forming families and buying property. At the airport in November 2019, Carlos was given a stamp in his passport that would keep him from returning to Turkey, so he cancelled his trip and appealed the decision. He was told, ‘We must inform you that since 2019, it has been made increasingly difficult for foreign Protestant clergy serving in Turkey to be resident in our country’. An estimated 35 Christian workers received similar bans in 2019 and 16 more since the end of June. 10,000 Turkish Protestants attend 170 churches, many of them house churches. Turkey ‘officially’ allows freedom of religion, including conversion from Islam.

As a statue in Lisbon is ‘jokingly’ and ‘inappropriately’ fitted with a face mask, new restrictions have been imposed on the city following a spike in coronavirus cases. Portugal has gone from a European ‘miracle’ to a partial outcast in a matter of weeks, amid a series of setbacks to the country's reopening plans. The capital, Lisbon, and the surrounding metropolitan area woke up on 23 June to increased restrictions and more power for police to enforce them, following a series of illegal parties with as many as 1,000 revelers in recent days. Prime minister Costa imposed new controls just days after celebrating his government's Champions League final phase coup.

Over 200 female Muslim refugees gathered in a highly restrictive Middle East country, where Hana, a Christian, addressed them. Four officers sat in the front row, watching her. ‘I had to be very careful,’ she said. ‘We had called this meeting without a permit.’ She said to her audience, ‘I know how devoted you are to Islam, how much you respect and love God, how honest you are in your worship. You fast and pray so faithfully. But on the other hand I feel sorry for you because you can never be sure of your salvation. You can never know if your destiny is heaven or hell.’ Then Hana boldly asked the officers, ‘Would you please leave the room? I need to speak to these women in private.’ The officers complied. God poured out His Spirit on the women. Hana recounted, ‘I asked those who wanted to follow Jesus to stand and pray. They all did, the entire group, every one of them!’ For the full story, click the ‘More’ button.