Worldwide
China: pray for jailed pastor
11 Jan 2019
In December around a hundred Chinese Christians from a church in Chengdu, including the pastor and his wife, were imprisoned on allegations of ‘inciting subversion of state power’ (see). In a public letter, Pastor Wang makes…
Three elections on 24 February 2019
11 Jan 2019
On this day a national referendum to ratify Cuba's new constitution will take place; the government says that gay marriage protections will be removed from the draft, but this is still being argued by politicians. Moldova’s…
Turkey: Erdogan and USA clash on Kurds
11 Jan 2019
President Erdogan has snubbed US national security advisor John Bolton, who was visiting the region to discuss the withdrawal of US troops from Syria and future US involvement there. Bolton asked for assurances that Turkey would…
Since Donald Trump became president, people are talking of renewed Christian political advocacy. With Democrats retaking Congress, and headline-grabbing activism around the migrant ‘caravans’ on the Mexican border, religious liberals could sway policy debates in 2019.…
USA: the wall - the shutdown – the people
11 Jan 2019
Donald Trump is prepared to prolong the current government shutdown because the ‘humanitarian and national security crisis on the southern border’ necessitates funding a wall. This plan is popular with his fanbase, but most Americans oppose…
Israel: early elections could lead to violence
04 Jan 2019
On 26 December the Knesset disbanded and called elections for 9 April. The same day, Mahmoud Abbas disbanded the Palestinian legislature, with a view to 2019 elections. Many say it is hard to see how new…