Displaying items by tag: Politics

Over a two-day debate MPs reversed or partially reversed 14 defeats on the EU withdrawal bill in the House of Lords. However, Teresa May only averted defeat on an amendment to give the Commons a ‘meaningful vote’ on Brexit by promising to rewrite the legislation in accordance with proposals drawn up by Tory rebel Dominic Grieve. At the time of writing the row is not fully defused, and further rebellion next week seems quite possible. Rebels want to force the Government to prioritise single market access in the final Brexit deal. Theresa May said the Government’s own amendment could not allow MPs to bind its hands or open it up to the risk that Brexit could be reversed. She intends not to allow parliament to overturn the will of the British people. She said, ‘Parliament gave the decision to the British people, the British people voted to leave the European Union, and as Prime Minister I am determined to deliver that.’

Donald Trump appears to have succeeded in negotiations with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un where his predecessors failed. However, the lesson of previous deals (in 1994 and 2005) is ‘it is easier to reach agreements than to implement them’. Pray for practical progress towards disarmament and a united Korean peninsula. North Korea state media said Donald Trump had told Kim Jong-un that he would ease sanctions on Pyongyang, in language that suggested a different interpretation from the one put forward by the US president. Pray for clarity of communications and unity of thought and purpose in future decision-making. Trump said the US agreed to suspend military exercises with South Korea. However, US military in South Korea said that they had received no updated guidance on stopping training exercises. The announcement raised fears in South Korea that Washington was making concessions too fast, and a curt statement said that it was trying to figure out Mr Trump’s intentions. For a media report, click the ‘More’ button.

One of the underlying motivations for the American Revolution was to industrialise, and reverse the crippling trade deficit with Britain. Protectionism and trade barriers were the USA's de facto policy for trading until 1947, when it switched to free trade after most of its industrial competitors were wiped out by the war. It signed up to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas, ‘on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis’. GATT morphed into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995, but its original text is still in effect. Pray that current international debates will draw countries back to the roots of GATT and WTO, to reduce or even eliminate trade barriers.

Intellectual and religious freedom in North Korea is atrocious, but God could use Trump and Kim’s meeting to initiate freedom from the constant oppression Christians receive for following Jesus. They are imprisoned for their faith, often entire families confined for generations. They are banned from being part of a church, or expressing their religious beliefs to their children, out of fear that they will say something to the wrong person. There are about 300,000 Christians in North Korea who hide their faith and meet in extreme secrecy. An estimated 50,000 Christians are imprisoned in labour camps or detention centres or banished to remote regions. Government propaganda calls Christians ‘deceitful and evil people, to be avoided at all cost.’ The abuse they endure is reminiscent of people being forced by Nebuchadnezzar to worship idols or be thrown into a furnace. Also, see the article in the UK section.

Al Quds day (Jerusalem Day in Arabic) was initiated by Iran in 1979 to support Palestinians and oppose Israel’s existence and rights to Jerusalem. Rallies are held globally: England’s march will take place on Sunday 10 June in central London. At last year's march Hezbollah flags were flown, exploiting a hole in UK law, which allows support for Hezbollah's political wing whilst banning its military wing. Hezbollah itself makes no distinction. On 30 May police said they could not stop people flying Hezbollah flags (adorned with machine-guns) on the London march, even though Hezbollah is a recognised anti-Semitic organisation. Those leading the march last year declared publicly, ‘The state of Israel must go’, ‘Everyone knows that Israel and IS are the same’, and ‘Zionist supporters of the Tory Party are responsible for the murder of the people in Grenfell’. See

A new government has to be formed after the anti-immigrant Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) won 25% of the vote in the general election. The centre-left, anti-establishment party, Marjan Sarec List (LMS) came second with 12.7%. SDS is led by former PM Janez Janša, a vocal supporter of Hungary's nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban. The SDS said the door for talks and coalitions is open to all other parties. It would need to join at least two other parties to gain a majority. Most other parties have ruled out a coalition with Mr Janša because of his extremist views. They could form a centrist coalition. SDS believes money spent on migrants would be better used for Slovenia’s security forces. Mr Janša wants Slovenia to ‘become a country that puts wellbeing and security first’. The banking system, the health sector, and pensions will become key issues on the next government's agenda. Post-election negotiations are expected to be difficult.

Demonstrations against President Ortega’s corruption, his autocratic style, and his control over congress, the courts, the military, and the electoral board started on 19 April and are being met with violence. The church tried to intervene, but called off peace talks after police killed 16+ people on a peaceful march led by victims' mothers. There are now 113 dead. The Pope said, ‘I am united with my brother bishops in Nicaragua and their grief over violence committed by armed groups. The Church is always in favour of dialogue, but for that it requires an active commitment to respect freedom and, above all, life.’ On 2 June residents hid indoors as pro-government snipers shot people in the street. A local church later opened its doors to offer refuge and medical care to 21 individuals who had been detained and reportedly abused by police. Ortega accuses ‘right-wing groups’ of terrorising the country. Seven weeks of violence have made daily life dangerous for a population increasingly in open rebellion against the government. See

A survey of 2,195 GPs in England found that 39% were likely to leave by 2022, and 61% of those over the age of 50 planned to quit within five years. Pressures in general practice have reached an all-time high. Workload has escalated by at least 16% over the last seven years, but the share of the NHS budget general practice receives is less than it was a decade ago. GP numbers are falling, and many GPs are burnt-out. GPs have increasing workloads, too little time to do justice to the job, and a pile of paperwork to meet external bodies’ requirements and increasing patient demands. A representative from hospital trusts said that the figures reflect a gap between what the NHS is asked to deliver and the resources available, following almost a decade of austerity. There are not enough staff, ambulances, community and mental health capacity or hospital beds to cope. Also see the next article.

Many are saying the ‘hostile environment’ policy is damaging the NHS. The current visa rules place a cap on how many non-EU workers can come to the UK, and this ceiling has been hit for six months in a row, preventing more overseas doctors from coming. Many believe the visa rules aren’t working in the best interests of NHS patients, and think that ministers ought to do more to ensure hospitals get adequate numbers of staff. Labour’s shadow health secretary said that we are turning away trained doctors who want to come and work in the UK while the NHS has a workforce crisis with 100,000 posts unfilled. Vacancy rates for nurses and doctors are rising every year. Health trust bosses raised concerns over the visa scheme recently when it emerged that 100 Indian doctors had been denied visas to work in the UK. See also the previous article.

Following difficult negotiations after the 4th March election Italy has agreed to have a coalition government. Ministers are drawn from both the anti-establishment Five Star (M5S) and the right-wing League. Their newly chosen minister, Giovanni Tria, is in favour of Italy's continued membership of the single currency. But the populists' conflict with the EU is not entirely over. The M5S and the League have promised both new welfare spending and also tax cuts - which may run into conflict with the EU's spending rules.Army general Vincenzo Santo believes 80% of the flow of Mediterranean migrants is controlled from Italy’s coastlines by its Mafia. With a new government pray that the migration issues will be dealt with. Many are anxious about immigration and afraid of migrants. Italians no longer trust in the EU protection of borders, the principle of Schengen zone and the solidarity principle in general. See