Displaying items by tag: Politics

Let us pray that, as the Commonwealth members enter a new season of advancement, the ‘wealth of these nations’ will be revealed and released in God’s own timing. May He reveal His Isaiah 60 glory in the Commonwealth, and draw on all righteous heritage in the spiritual, governmental, and economic dimensions. May new trade partnerships as well as new quangos be formed to expedite heaven’s plan, and new interdisciplinary committees formed to develop areas of growth, with national governments working together. May this be a new day for the nations of the Commonwealth as a group and as individual nations: not empire-building as in the past, but growing healthy, interdependent partnerships which benefit each member nation. For the full text of Passion for the Nation’s declaration for the Commonwealth, click the ‘More’ button.

Ireland needs to form a new government after election results showed Fianna Fáil winning 38 seats, Sinn Féin 37, and Fine Gael 35. The numbers indicate that negotiations to establish a government could be prolonged. The prospect of the left-wing, nationalist Sinn Fein entering Ireland’s government looks likely. This could make some people uncomfortable when they recall all the ‘Troubles’ of the past. In a world of fragmenting politics with Ireland’s Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, onlookers say it was only a matter of time before Sinn Fein found a route to power. Before the election, both the other parties had ruled out forging a coalition with Sinn Fein, citing its tax policies and IRA past as deterrents. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she would ask the EU to support Irish reunification if she was part of the next government.

Newly-elected Conservative MP Stuart Anderson explained in his first Commons speech how going to church and finding faith helped him ‘see light out of the darkness’. He said he considered taking his own life after he was left ‘broken’ by his time serving as a rifleman for the Royal Green Jackets in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and Kosovo. He finished his compassionate speech by saying, ‘When I was trying to do something right by my family, I found faith. For the first time in many years, I could see hope and a future.’ Danny Kruger, in his maiden speech, told listeners, ‘Look to Britain’s Christian past to address future problems. We are children of God, fallen but redeemed, capable of great wrong but also of great virtue.’ See

Britain has legally entered a 'transition period', and is free to pursue trade deals with other countries immediately while hammering out terms of future EU relationships. Boris Johnson said that Britain will not obey Brussels rules to get a trade deal while Brussels demands that the UK give access to fishing waters. They are on another collision course. Before trade talks can begin in earnest they must agree a negotiating mandate, spell out their red lines and be finalised by early March. Meanwhile, trade tensions rise as the UK hires more patrol boats to keep out EU fishing fleets ahead of a potential showdown over access. Pray for the 40 officials, called 'Taskforce Europe', leading negotiations for the UK. They are led by one-time business lobbyist and diplomat David Frost, who will negotiate directly with Michel Barnier. In April/May UK trade talks with the EU and other nations are expected to intensify even more. See also

When their tents were burned, Iraqi protesters replaced them with concrete structures. When influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew his support, even more protesters turned out despite fears of a crackdown by security forces. On 1 February al-Sadr ordered his followers back to Tahrir Square, where they clashed with demonstrators and forcibly took over the main part of the square. The nomination of Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi as the new prime minister has been received negatively by the protesters, who see his choice as a plot by al-Sadr and his Iran-backed allies to end the protests in Baghdad. The parliament needs to hold a session to vote on the nomination. The Sadrist group is now cooperating with the security forces to end the sit-in at the square.

Thousands of Salvation Army members, officers and supporters are joining forces to warn the Government that, unless urgent action is taken, it is on course to break a manifesto pledge on rough sleeping. The pledge was to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament, but since 2010 there has been a 165% increase in people sleeping on the streets. The church and charity has called on its members, officers, employees and supporters in England to ask their local MP to lobby Government to prioritise funding to tackle homelessness. The campaign coincides with a recent poll which found that 68% of the public did not think the Government would deliver on its commitment to end rough sleeping. Anyone can take part in the campaign by going to the Salvation Army campaign page:

Thirteen churches in Algeria have been closed since 2018. Hope Evangelical Church is the latest to be ordered to shut down as the government’s crackdown on houses of worship continues. A 2006 law is being used as a pretext to clamp down on churches, even though the commission it created is yet to meet to consider the requests it has already received. The law requires non-Muslim places of worship be authorised by the National Commission for Non-Muslim Worship. Concern is growing for Algerian Christians, as it is unable or unwilling to fulfil this essential part of its mandate. The government should either reconstitute it entirely, or the law itself should be repealed in order to ensure the right to freedom of religion or belief for religious minorities in the country. Pray for churches to know the Lord's peace, wisdom and guidance in the face of the growing pressure. Pray also that Christians are not discouraged by this fierce campaign against them.

Democrat managers began their opening arguments on 22 January in an impeachment trial of President Trump, laying out their case as to why they think the President should be removed from office. Onlookers notice that House Democrats could not wait for the courts to decide on witnesses, as they said impeachment was urgent. Many now believe the senators are admitting their case is weak, so they are demanding more witnesses. The latest Politico / Morning Consult poll reveals that 47% are in favour of Trump's removal from office, with 45% opposed. President Trump's lawyers now have three days to make their case that the commander-in-chief did not commit a crime. But first up are Democrat prosecutors who get the same amount of time to prove that he did. The crux of their case is the allegation that Trump withheld military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate former vice-president Joe Biden, a political rival, and his son Hunter Biden.

Boris Johnson has said that the Iran nuclear deal should be replaced with a ‘Trump’ deal. He recognised US concerns that the 2015 deal was ‘flawed’, but there had to be a way of stopping Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. His comments come amid reports that the UK, France and Germany intend to try to rescue the situation by triggering a dispute mechanism in the 2015 deal - which was abandoned by the US in 2018. Boris said, ‘Somehow, we have to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. If we're going to remove we need a replacement. From the American perspective, it is a flawed deal negotiated by President Obama. Let's work together to replace it with the Trump deal. That's what we need to see. President Trump is a great dealmaker by his own account, and by many others.’

The leader of the German Evangelical Alliance, Reinhardt Schink, spoke out against the tragedy of Christian refugees and migrants who are sent back to Afghanistan and Iran, even though they could face prison, torture and death. He cited statistics about asylum-seekers who have converted to the Christian faith in Germany, but later been rejected by the authorities. ‘Behind all these nameless figures are devastating personal destinies, and risk us harming our own values system. Authorities should use the “know-how” of the Christian churches.’ He said that experts should engage with church leaders, who guarantee that a person has effectively been baptised, taken a Christianity course, and become an active member of a church community. Schink added, ‘It looks as if pastors are suspected of not telling the truth. We hurt ourselves as a country when precisely those migrants who had integrated well and had become bridge builders between cultures are expelled.’