Thousands of people are being treated ‘like cattle’ by modern slavery gangs who tattoo them and force them to work for a pittance. The number of victims smuggled into Britain has soared by a fifth as organised criminals cash in on the lucrative market in human misery. They are expanding their operations from the sex trade and drug factories into hand car washes and bogus doorstep charity collections. Victims are bought and sold for as little as £200 and put to work in fear of violence against them and their families. Many are Eastern Europe children brought into the country to join street begging gangs while their handlers steal their generous benefits. Adults are duped into travelling here, often through recruitment websites or even dating agencies, with the promise of better paid work or education. When  they arrive they are forced to work as prostitutes, on illicit cannabis farms, as construction labourers or on isolated farms

Twelve studies into the link between breast cancer and abortion have shown that on average, women who have had a prior abortion have a 54% greater risk of developing the disease. The President of the Population Research Institute (PRI), Steven W. Mosher, reports the findings from studies conducted in the Indian subcontinent between 2008 and 2013. He says the main reason the findings are so important ‘is that women in India and neighbouring countries are simply ideal subjects for studies; they marry early, do not use the pill, have multiple pregnancies, and breastfeed their babies.’ In other words says Mosher, ‘all of the other major risk factors for breast cancer are absent; such as marrying later in life, the use of oral contraceptives at a young age, the use of Hormone Replacement Therapy when older, having only one or no full-term pregnancies and not breastfeeding their babies.’

President Barack Obama admitted that U.S. intelligence underestimated the Islamic State's emergence in Syria and that breaking up the terrorist cell will be a complicated battle involving both military and political action. The president spoke about implementing the multi-national effort against terrorists and acknowledged that U.S. intelligence didn't take seriously enough what had been taking place in Syria, while overestimating the ability of the Iraqi army to fight militant groups. Islamic militants went underground when al-Qaeda was quashed in Iraq, but over the past two years, during the Syrian civil war when huge swathes of the country were completely ungoverned, they reconstituted themselves. He said we have to push them back, shrink their space, go after their command, their weapons, their fuelling, cut off their financing and work to eliminate the flow of foreign fighters. For facts and INSIGHTS to help your prayers into this subject click the ' Info'  button

The following is a segment of the Bishop of Baghdad’s Facebook page entry for Sept.30th. ‘Thank you for your prayers, we seriously need them. The good news is - IS has been halted 5 miles from Baghdad. People are very fearful the nation looks as if it has collapsed. The usual hectic streets are almost empty. The news from areas surrounding Baghdad is worrying. ISIS or DAASH as they are known locally are very close to Baghdad. This morning I was with one of the soldiers assigned by the government to protect me. When asked what he would do if he saw IS coming he said he would take off his uniform and run. I asked if he took seriously his role to fight and protect his people. He assured me he did not. He did it for the money. Meanwhile yesterday at Church I spoke on the subject of why we must love Israel.