Russia says no progress on Ukraine ceasefire
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says no progress has been made in Berlin talks on establishing a ceasefire between government and rebel forces in the east of Ukraine. Following the talks between Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine on Sunday, Lavrov said all issues related to sending a humanitarian convoy to Ukraine have been resolved. ‘One place where we cannot report positive results is in, first and foremost, establishing a ceasefire and [starting] a political process,’ Lavrov told a Berlin press conference that was carried live by Russian state television. Talks concluded with an agreement for the sides to meet again and continue trying to de-escalate the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. Lavrov accused Kiev's new pro-European leaders of continually changing demands over what it would take to establish a truce after more than four months of fighting with pro-Russia separatists that has claimed more than 2,000 lives.
China: Receiving and rejoicing with God’s Word
Picture this: you arrive at a venue, and people are lined up on both sides of the street, cheering, waving, smiling, taking pictures, and reaching out to shake your hand as you pass. If you are with a Bibles For China (BFC) team, this is what greets you when you arrive at a local church in rural China. Chief Operating Officer Barry Werner is quick to note that the hoopla is less about the team and more about what’s coming. ‘It’s a spontaneous celebration the moment you arrive with a Bible. It’s God’s Word: the most precious thing they’re ever going to receive. They don’t want to miss one moment. Let the celebration and the praise begin!’ When word gets out that a team is on its way, people will walk all day to a church and wait for hours for the team to arrive and give them their own copy.
Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes
The Evangelical Alliance has launched a new outreach programme specifically targeted at the UK's growing Asian population. 'Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes' is aimed at presenting the Gospel in a way that addresses many of the issues and questions that Asian people may have about Christianity. It was trialed in churches last year before being officially launched this week in London. Sanjay Rajo of Naujavan, a Christian organisation dedicated to serving 16 to 30-year-old Asians, said that until now there has been a real gap in the market for outreach designed for young British Asians. ‘In the last forty years Asians came to the UK from overseas but now we are seeing more young people, who are born here are confused about their identity and hungry for something spiritual,’ he explained. ‘This course will attract a younger generation such as university students and young professionals in their 20s and 30s.’
China: Receiving and rejoicing with God’s Word
Picture this: you arrive at a venue, and people are lined up on both sides of the street, cheering, waving, smiling, taking pictures, and reaching out to shake your hand as you pass. If you are with a Bibles For China (BFC) team, this is what greets you when you arrive at a local church in rural China. Chief Operating Officer Barry Werner is quick to note that the hoopla is less about the team and more about what’s coming. ‘It’s a spontaneous celebration the moment you arrive with a Bible. It’s God’s Word: the most precious thing they’re ever going to receive. They don’t want to miss one moment. Let the celebration and the praise begin!’ When word gets out that a team is on its way, people will walk all day to a church and wait for hours for the team to arrive and give them their own copy.
Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes
The Evangelical Alliance has launched a new outreach programme specifically targeted at the UK's growing Asian population. 'Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes' is aimed at presenting the Gospel in a way that addresses many of the issues and questions that Asian people may have about Christianity. It was trialed in churches last year before being officially launched this week in London. Sanjay Rajo of Naujavan, a Christian organisation dedicated to serving 16 to 30-year-old Asians, said that until now there has been a real gap in the market for outreach designed for young British Asians. ‘In the last forty years Asians came to the UK from overseas but now we are seeing more young people, who are born here are confused about their identity and hungry for something spiritual,’ he explained. ‘This course will attract a younger generation such as university students and young professionals in their 20s and 30s.’
Thousands of domestic workers are slaves in UK
2,255 potential victims of human trafficking were encountered in 2012 in the U.K. Recent statistics from the Human Trafficking Foundation released on 22 April 2014 stated that ‘14,000 visas are issued each year to migrant domestic workers accompanying employers to the UK. There is little evidence as to what happens to the majority. Research since the 2012 visa changes warns that tying Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs) to employers facilitates their abuse. Most recently the Report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Modern Slavery Bill recommended that the 2012 changes be reversed. Many victims come from countries in Southeast Asia and indebt themselves to an agent in order to secure a job in the Middle East. MDWs then accompany the employer to the UK, live Live in their employer’s house and depend on them for all information about the UK as well as their immigration status. They are vulnerable to abuses of forced labour and servitude.
Tilbury Docks container stowaways
A man has died. He was one of 35 adults and children found in a shipping container at Tilbury Docks. The former head of UK Border Force said those inside the container were victims of international organised criminals. They want to migrate to the UK or to Europe but they're being exploited by criminal gangs who are probably taking their entire life savings away on the promise of a passage to the West. We really need to get a message out to migrants that if they want to come to this country there are legal routes that they need to explore and they need to apply for visas and permits. The chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation said people are desperate to improve their economic situation, leaving their own homes and countries, hoping to arrive somewhere that's more accommodating, more kinder and offering them a better quality of life. Usually, they're sadly wrong.
Future of the British Isles: Referendum
The debates surrounding the future of the UK and Scotland are increasing and heating up. At last weekend’s festival of politics academics explored the theme of 'What next for Scotland?' The latest Oxford Review of Economic Policy featured the work of Professor David Bell and his University of Stirling research team who focused on the economic dimension of the independence debate, 'Taxing and Independent Scotland.’ Also last week The Commission on Strengthening Local Democracy published its proposals on rebuilding Scottish democracy, regardless of the outcome of the referendum. Although there is considerable public interest in the referendum campaign, almost seventy per cent (69.5%) of voters do not believe that either the Yes or No campaigns can predict the consequences of independence. Many voters are relying on their own research and reaching their decision based on what they consider to be certain key risks. See:
David Cameron says policies must pass 'family test'
All government policies will have to pass a ‘family test’, David Cameron has announced. He argued that parents and children were too often overlooked and could be left worse off by reforms. He said online music videos could be given age ratings and more money would be put towards relationship counselling services. Labour said he did not understand families' needs, as more households were now dependent on food banks. From October, every new domestic policy ‘will be examined for its impact on the family’, the prime minister said. Mr Cameron told BBC Breakfast that no politician wanted to be ‘accused of being judgemental’ over people's personal relationships, but added that government would ‘help people who come together to stay together’. In his speech he said: ‘I want every government department to be held to account for the impact of their policies on the family.’
Pensioner families to suffer social security cuts
Pensioner families across the UK will suffer social security cuts worth £6.38 billion a year by the time the government’s welfare reforms have taken full effect, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) warned yesterday (18 August) ahead of a new report on the impact of social security cuts to be published later this week. In the run-up to the last general election, David Cameron pledged to protect pensioner benefits. However, the TUC-commissioned analysis of welfare cuts, undertaken by Howard Reed of Landman Economics, shows that this pledge has been broken as a result of changes announced by the government over the course of this parliament. The analysis looks at annual cash losses to a number of benefits. It shows that a quarter of all social security cuts implemented between 2010 and 2016/17 will fall on pensioner families.