Displaying items by tag: Politics

All Covid restrictions have been removed in England. People are no longer legally required to self-isolate if they test positive for Covid - although they are still advised to do so. NHS England bosses have written to healthcare staff to say if they test positive, they should not attend work until they have had two negative lateral flow tests taken 24 hours apart, and at least five days after the positive result. Free testing will continue until 1 April - both PCR tests for people with symptoms and lateral flow tests for those without. Pray for people at risk to have quick and easy access to testing and medical help if needed after 1 April. Pray for the government to reconsider free testing for key workers, including NHS staff. The changes are part of the prime minister's Living with Covid plan, to ‘transition back to normality’. Mr Johnson wants a vaccine-led approach. 

A year after Donald Trump was banned from Twitter he launched his own social-media platform, Truth Social, in a limited form, on the US Apple app store. Commentators noted the app had similarities to Twitter. Some of those trying to register were told, ‘Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waiting list’. Project lead former congressman Devin Nunes said it was expected to be fully operational by the end of March. Created by the year-old Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), Truth Social had previously been made available to 500 beta testers. Truth Social describes itself as a ‘big tent' social-media platform that encourages an open, free and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology. Mr Nunes vowed it would be a ‘censorship-free experience’.

A court in Nicaragua has found seven critics of the government of Daniel Ortega guilty of conspiracy in what human rights groups have denounced as a ‘political trial’. Among those convicted are three opposition leaders who had planned to run in the 2021 election. Dozens of government critics were detained in the run-up to the poll, in which Mr Ortega won a fifth term. In a trial held at El Chipote prison behind closed doors, the judges found the seven guilty of ‘conspiracy to undermine national integrity’. The prosecution has asked for sentences ranging between eight and 13 years. This is the latest in a wave of trials against opponents of Ortega. Earlier in February, two of his most outspoken critics - Dora Téllez and Lesther Alemán - were also found guilty of conspiracy in trials dismissed by rights groups as a ‘sham’. Recently, another jailed opposition leader, Hugo Torres, died while awaiting trial.

On 10 February Boris Johnson met the head of the NATO defence alliance in Brussels and then travelled to Poland in support of NATO allies. He warned that the Ukraine-Russia crisis is at its ‘most dangerous moment’ and that war would be an ‘absolute disaster’. Russia is still massing troops on its neighbour's borders and in Belarus. In Moscow Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said that continued ‘aggression’ will lead to ‘severe consequences’, but at the same news conference her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov accused the West of ‘hysteria’. Moscow wants the West to rule out Ukraine ever joining NATO - but Boris Johnson said that every European democracy must retain that right. Johnson warned that the possibility of an invasion ‘remains grim.’

On 7 February President Macron travelled to Moscow and then to Kyiv, to meet the presidents of Russia and Ukraine and seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis. At the same time, German chancellor Olaf Scholz was in Washington aiming to convince Joe Biden to trust him despite being wishy-washy on Russia. On 10 February Boris Johnson went to Brussels. In the week beginning 14 February, Scholz will meet Vladimir Putin himself. Despite Scholz’s doveish approach to Russia threatening European unity, France, Germany, and the US are still allies. Many believe the scenario of Macron keeping Scholz and Biden out of the loop on his talks with Putin and Zelensky is as unlikely as the German chancellor cutting a deal with Biden behind Macron’s back.

A movement which started in January as a loosely organised convoy of truckers has now raised millions of dollars and is causing chaos.Trucker convoy demonstrations are spreading across Canada by protesters opposed to vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions. After days of chaotic disruption by trucks blocking streets and blowing their horns day and night, Ottawa’s mayor declared a state of emergency because the situation is out of control. Increasing resident frustration has brought confrontations, some physical. Some protesters drive vehicles on pavements and stunt drive and there are allegations of mischief, theft, property damage and hate crimes in many provinces. The protesters said they don’t want physical confrontation with the authorities, but are willing to be arrested for their beliefs. Supporters have donated portable toilets, tents, fully equipped kitchens, tables with toiletries, and portable generators. Truckers slept in their cabs while others used home rentals. On 9 February four provinces reduced coronavirus restrictions to bring the protests to heel. Protesters’ demands now include removing the PM.

Despite 2018’s change in leadership, Cuban churches face unrelenting pressure from a government that views churches as a threat to the revolution that began in the 1950s. Cubans are poor, and the government seeks to control every aspect of their lives. In April 2021, Miguel Diaz-Canel was announced as first secretary of the Communist Party, the first leader since the revolution who is not a Castro. Three months later Cubans protested over deteriorating living conditions and called for an end to dictatorship. Most Cubans are atheists and many engage in superstitious and spiritist practices, including Afro-Cuban Santeria. 11% are evangelical Christians. The government persecutes them and seizes churches. Believers meet in illegal house churches which are growing through active evangelism. Many Cubans have never owned a Bible. Many are closely watched and effectively under house arrest. Many are denied jobs. Pray for those distributing Bibles and supporting discipleship and evangelism.

The Government wants to ban what it calls 'conversion therapy', putting it on a collision course with the freedom to give and access appropriate support for unwanted same-sex feelings and gender confusion. The official consultation ended on 4 February, but the battle does not end. Civil servants will summarise the responses to the consultation and start drafting legislation. Unless the Government drops its plans, MPs and then the Lords will examine the proposed laws - some opposing them, but others might make the ban even more overbearing. At every stage, we need strong, principled Christian leadership working with parliamentarians and in the media to stop this ban - or to make sure it strictly applies only to genuinely harmful practices (these are already illegal and/or not happening in the UK anyway). 30 MPs are concerned about the proposals, and even the Equality and Human Rights Commission has criticised the plans.

The government's 332-page Levelling Up White Paper,published on 2 February, aims to ‘change the economic model of the UK’. The areas for improvement are as follows: pay, employment and productivity to rise; more investment in research and development; public transport connectivity everywhere to be closer to the standards of London; nationwide 4G broadband coverage, with the majority having 5G coverage;more primary school children achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths; more people completing high-quality skills training; the gap in life expectancy between highest and lowest narrowed; well-being improved everywhere; people engaging more in local culture and community; secure paths to ownership for renters; first-time buyers increasing; homicide, serious violence, and neighbourhood crime to fall in the worst-affected areas. Boris Johnson said levelling up would involve investing in towns, cities, rural and coastal areas. He has created a brand-new government department dedicated to these proposals. However, the Institute of Economic Affairs described them as dubious in quality.

The Metropolitan Police is investigating a number of events at Downing Street and Whitehall for potential breaches of Covid restrictions after receiving information from the Cabinet Office inquiry team and Commissioner Cressida Dick. Boris Johnson says he welcomes this investigation, saying it will bring clarity on the issue. A No 10 spokesman says the PM does not believe he has broken any laws. The Met will also investigate alleged threats that would ‘seem to constitute blackmail’. MP Christian Wakeford said ministers had previously threatened to withdraw funding for a new secondary school in his constituency if he voted against the Government. Twelve Tory MPs have similar allegations of whips threatening to withdraw funding for infrastructure or schools. This has happened much more over the past ten years, and it was suggested there had been ‘a steady erosion of standards in the way funding is allocated’. See