Catastrophic Antibiotic Threat: 'Untreatable Infections' Coming
Health officials in the United Kingdom are warning of possible catastrophic consequences after the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. One of the reasons antibiotic resistance is on the increase is the fact that bacteria are adapting quicker than researchers can develop new drugs to fight them, according to England's chief medical officer. "Antimicrobial resistance poses a catastrophic threat. If we don't act now, any one of us could go into hospital in 20 years for minor surgery and die because of an ordinary infection that can't be treated by antibiotics," Sally Davies, the chief medical officer for England, told Reuters. She added that there have only been a few drugs successfully developed and made available on the market in the past few decades which led to the current situation. It also means that procedures that were once thought to be routine may pose a serious health risk to patients.
Pray: for the work of medical researchers as they seek to find new solutions to this problem. (Ac.10:38)
More: http://global.christianpost.com/news/catastrophic-antibiotic-threat-untreatable-infections-coming-uk-and-us-doctors-warn-91611/
Majority of UK children 'living below the breadline by 2015', says TUC
Government welfare and tax changes, together with lower than forecast wage growth, will leave the majority of children in the UK living in families below the breadline by 2015, according to new Trades Union Congress research. Tax and welfare reforms alone - both existing and future changes - will be responsible for nearly half a million more children living below the breadline, says the TUC. In 'A Bleak Future For Families', the research finds that the cumulative impact of government policies and slower than forecast wage growth over the course of this parliament will mean that 690,000 more children will be living below the minimum income standard - the level of income needed to achieve a minimum acceptable standard of living in the UK - by 2015. TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Families are suffering the tightest squeeze in their living standards in nearly a century.” See also last week's Prayer Alert 'Archbishop of Canterbury attacks Government welfare reforms'.
Pray: for Government to ensure that children are not adversely affected by economic policies. (Pr.19:17)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18176
Season of change for Wycliffe Bible Translators
2014 will be a big year for Wycliffe Bible Translators with the relocation of their headquarters and celebrations to mark their 50th anniversary in the UK. The charity has announced the sale of the Wycliffe Centre in Buckinghamshire, where they have been based for the last 40 years. Wycliffe executive director Eddie Arthur said the facility, with its training and conference centre, was larger than what was needed for its operations. There are plans to move to office space nearby and change the way they engage with supporters. "The Wycliffe Centre has been a wonderful home for our mission, providing us with office space, a training centre and allowing us to host church groups and conferences. "However, changing patterns in missionary training worldwide mean that we no longer need such a large facility for our own needs. From this August, Wycliffe training courses will be available to a wider audience through Redcliffe College in Gloucester.
Pray: for the staff and work of the Wycliffe Centre especially during the period of transition. (Lk.4:43)
More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/season.of.change.for.wycliffe.bible.translators/31805.htm
MPs attack Government’s 'downgrading’ of religious education
Religious education in schools is to come under attack in a report which will warn that more than half of those who teach the subject do not have any expertise. A cross-party group of MPs, peers and bishops will claim that “a raft of recent policies” have undermined the teaching of RE in schools. Their report, includes a survey of 430 schools, which found that 10 out of 130 secondary schools broke the law by not teaching RE to some pupils. In a quarter of the primary schools surveyed, pupils were being taught by teaching assistants, rather than qualified teachers, while 43 per cent of staff teaching RE in primary and secondary schools did not have any specialist training in the subject. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Religious Education described its findings as “unacceptable”. “A raft of recent policies have had the effect of downgrading RE in status on the school curriculum, and the subject is now under threat as never before.
Pray: for those with control over the content of schools' curriculum will recognise the vital importance of R.E. In our multicultural and multi-faith society. (Dt.6:5-8)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9934940/MPs-attack-Governments-downgrading-of-religious-education.html
Police corruption in Wales
No police officer in Wales has been prosecuted for police corruption in the last four years despite scores of complaints .In Freedom of Information responses to questions from Plaid Cymru the four Welsh police forces disclosed none of their officers ended up in court after internal inquiries found them culpable. While three of the forces went as far as disciplining officers who had allegations upheld against them, Dyfed-Powys Police failed to take any action against officers.’ Between April 2008 and December of last year they recorded 80 allegations of improper disclosure, 36 allegations of corrupt practice and 141 allegations of irregularity in evidence/perjury. Only 16 were upheld. In answer to the question about what disciplinary action or criminal prosecutions have resulted from the upheld allegations, the force replied, ‘I can confirm that there is no information held by Dyfed-Powys Police. This is as a result of the fact that none of the ‘upheld’ allegations resulted in disciplinary action or criminal prosecutions.’
Pray: that the Police would not see themselves as above the law, may they see fit to discipline officers found guilty of wrongdoing, and may all that is hidden be revealed. (Is.5:1)
Right now, the situation in Nigeria is incredibly tense and urgently needs your prayers. AT least 60 people are thought to have been killed yesterday in a car bomb attack in Kano City. Most of the victims are likely to have been from the predominantly Christian Igbo tribe, who are constantly targets of religion-related violence.
Victims Burned Beyond Recognition
The busy motor park in the Sabon Gari area was a prime target for a suicide bomber. Suspected to be a member of the militant Islamist sect Boko Haram, the attacker, reportedly rammed his car into a bus full of passengers as it was moving off. The victims were heading for southern Nigeria. The death toll is likely to increase since the explosion caused four other buses to catch fire. This vicious attack was clearly meant to stoke tribal divisions in Nigeria. Tensions are now rising in the south with reports of northerners either fleeing or taking refuge in military barracks. Lift up prayers ¬¬for peace right now. Please pray:
• For comfort for the families of the victims.
• That reprisal attacks will not take place.
• For wisdom for the authorities in Nigeria as they handle this situation.
• For God to stop the devastating violence and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers.
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Chinese state media recently reported that the government is looking to consolidate several ministries in order to streamline processes and reduce bureaucracy. One proposal that appears to be on the table is the potential folding of the Family Planning Commission, which enforces the One-Child Policy, into the Ministry of Health.
The potential outcome of such a merger is unclear, but there are two possible scenarios: (1) the One-Child Policy will be enforced with greater brutality as the Family Planning Commission gains access to hospitals and clinics; or (2) the merger will effectively eliminate the Family Planning Commission and strip all of its workers of their authority to carry out forced and coerced abortions.
All Girls Allowed is urging churches around the world to join in unity with the Chinese church to pray that the Lord would effectively eliminate the Family Planning Commission through this merger, thus beginning the process of ending the One-Child Policy. Should such a historic move occur, it would follow several reports that the Chinese government is contemplating moving to a Two-Child Policy in March, 2013. It would also fulfill what began last summer when provinces representing 87% of China declared bans on late-term forced abortions.
China’s government has come under greater international pressure to end the One-Child Policy following the gruesome image of Feng Jianmei’s forcibly aborted baby that surfaced last June. The pressure continues as Feng recently revealed in a television interview that she has yet to receive the compensation and justice that was promised to her by the government. Another recent tragedy in which an over-quota child was run over and killed by Family Planning Officials has brought further embarrassment to the Chinese government around the One-Child Policy.
Chai Ling, Founder of All Girls Allowed, says: “Come, join us as we take a front-row seat to view God’s deliverance of his people in China! We prayed before the blind attorney Chen Guangcheng escaped, and the Lord delivered him. We prayed for policy change, and the vast majority of Chinese provinces banned late-term forced abortion. Our Lord Jesus clearly hears us, and he so desires for us to come before him in thanksgiving and intercession, that he might send his redemption on China.”
“Our God is an awesome God. Let us ask him to give courage to China’s leaders to do what is right and just. May he continue to part the Red Sea and release his people from the yoke of slavery!”
All Girls Allowed (http://www.allgirlsallowed.org) was founded by Chai Ling in 2010 with a mission to display the love of Jesus by restoring life, value and dignity to girls and mothers in China and revealing the injustice of the One-Child Policy.
“In Jesus’ Name, Simply Love Her.”
Contact:
Kat Lewis
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53% of children don’t know the meaning of Easter
If an alien happened to land its UFO in the car park of your local Tesco sometime in the next few weeks and popped in for something to eat, would it have any idea if it was asked, why the shelves were stacked high with chocolate eggs? This is obviously a ridiculous scenario, but how about if you asked the same question to any children who happened to be in the supermarket being dragged round by their parents? Would they be able to tell you the answer? Last year Travelodge ran a survey to find this out. It found that 53% of the children surveyed didn’t know the meaning of Easter and one-quarter thought that it is about celebrating the Easter bunny’s birthday. Easter like most other annual festivals has turned into an excuse for the retailers to sell as much as they can to us with little interest in the meaning behind it. (See Prayer Alert 10-2013)
Pray: that the gospel message will be creatively adopted to market Easter eggs, etc. (Ps.145:18)
More: http://godandpoliticsuk.org/author/godandpoliticsuk/
Trafalgar Square demonstration
You may remember that in January around a million people – including many thousands of students and young people – demonstrated on the streets of Paris against their government's proposals to redefine traditional marriage to include same sex couples. Hundreds of the demonstrators were UK-based French residents who boarded the Eurostar to Paris to join their compatriots. What is less well known is that on the same day a further 600 French residents refrained from travelling to Paris but demonstrated instead outside the French Embassy in west London. These UK-based French protesters are now organising another London demonstration, but this time in Trafalgar Square. As before, they are planning this to take place on the same day as the next Paris demonstration, Sunday 24th March, at which 2 million protesters are expected to march along the Champs-Elysees!
Pray: that a strong message will be sent to the French and British Governments that they must not redefine marriage. (Heb.13:4)
France: Islamists suspected of planning attack
Three suspected Islamist militants arrested in southern France appeared to be planning an attack in the days ahead, the Paris prosecutor said on Monday, the anniversary of an a-Qaeda-inspired shooting that rocked France. Police found weapons and explosives at the home of one of the suspects in the town of Marignane, near Marseille, and intercepted communications between the men suggested they were close to going into action, prosecutor Francois Molins said. The three men, who were taken in for questioning last week with a fourth man who was later released, were to be placed under formal investigation later on Monday. ‘The investigation showed we were faced with a veritable laboratory for making improvised explosive devices and, even if we had no evidence of a precise plan, the messages exchanged by the participants suggested the timetable could be accelerated,’ Molins told reporters.
Pray: that all those with radical militant ideas will be confounded. (Job.6:23)
More: http://news.yahoo.com/arrested-islamists-suspected-planning-attack-france-133743655.html