British Isles
Thursday, 19 December 2019 23:39
‘Let the healing begin’
1 Timothy 2:2 tells us to ‘pray for all who are in high positions’. Boris Johnson’s first speech after the election urged ‘everyone, on either side of an increasingly arid three and a half year argument,…
Thursday, 19 December 2019 23:37
Quakers challenge the new government
Quakers in Britain are challenging Boris Johnson’s new government to give priority to its promise to take action on climate breakdown. They are urging him to ensure that the economic transition puts the most marginalised people…
Thursday, 19 December 2019 23:34
Children told not to sing ‘Lord’ in carol
The headteacher of a London primary school ruled that children should sing ‘baby boy Jesus’, not ‘little Lord Jesus’ in the carol Away in a manger (so that pupils of all beliefs could join in). Children…
Thursday, 19 December 2019 23:32
Many at risk of flu this Christmas
The flu season has started early this year. Doctors are predicting a rise in cases, with hundreds of thousands possibly having Christmas ruined by flu. GP consultations for flu-like illness were up by a quarter to…
Thursday, 19 December 2019 23:30
280,000 homeless in England this Christmas
Shelter revealed that 135,000 children are homeless in Britain, one in 200 people in England are without a settled home, and 280,000 people are recorded as homeless. However, the charity pointed out that these statistics could…
Thursday, 19 December 2019 23:28
Northern Ireland: strike and Stormont
On 19 December, 15,500 NI nurses began a twelve-hour strike over pay and staff numbers. The NI secretary, Julian Smith, believes the action illustrates why it is important that power-sharing is restored. He is leading political…