Turkey: Al Qaeda accused of planning to bomb churches
A large-scale Al Qaeda plot to bomb ‘all the churches in Ankara,’ as well as the Turkish Parliament and U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital, was made public today (Dec.9). According to Compass Direct News (CDN), the 50-page indictment, following the arrest of suspects last July, outlined the militants’ revised ‘jihad’ strategy to begin focusing their attacks against Turkey before waging war against the United States and other countries. Police seized 700 kilos (1,500 pounds) of explosives, along with assault rifles, ammunition, bomb-making instructions and detailed maps of Ankara. Among the CDs, detailed maps, sketches and building diagrams, police also discovered lists of the names and home addresses of Christian clergy and other church workers residing in Ankara. The news took Christian leaders in Ankara by total surprise, according to one Turkish Christian leader in Ankara. ‘No one has had any news about this until now,’ he said.
Pray: for the work of the authorities as they combat the Al Qaeda menace and protect those under threat. (Ps.32:7)
More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/turkey/article_124391.html
Lavish presents ruining Christmas
Parents should spend less on presents because commercialisation is ruining Christmas, according to David Cameron’s top adviser on childhood, who urged families not to give in to ‘pester power’ and resist the temptation to get into debt by buying lavish gifts. Mr Bailey, who is the chief executive of Mothers’ Union, a Christian charity, warned that commercial pressures threatened to undermine the message of Christmas. ‘Parents have high levels of anxiety about presents,’ he said. ‘They feel as though they have to purchase expensive gifts because that's what all the other children have.’ He said that children should not be treated as ‘mini-consumers’ and said they would benefit in the long run from having fewer possessions. ‘This is a stressful time of the year. There's pressure to buy expensive things. Children admit they pester their parents but it's terribly sad that we end up leaving parents feeling utterly guilty after Christmas, having desperately tried to make ends meet.’
Pray: for all those for whom Christmas merely presents a financial worry rather than a simple celebration of our Lord’s birth. (Pr.14:15)
BPAS to post morning-after pills out for free at Christmas
The morning-after pill will be posted out to women for free throughout December under a ‘vulgar’ new scheme which has been slammed by critics. BPAS, (British Pregnancy Advisory Service), is encouraging women to stock up ahead of the Christmas party season. A poster advertising the scheme shows the word ‘sex’ in Christmas-tree lights, and bears the slogan: ‘Getting ‘turned on’ this Christmas?’ And a dedicated website for the controversial service is entitled santacomes.org. Josephine Quintavalle, of the ProLife Alliance, has branded the campaign ‘incredibly vulgar’. Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, said: The pill was supposed to be a prescription-only drug under the control of doctors yet it is now being marketed as a ‘just-in-case’ drug and supplied free of charge. BPAS’s telephone service will inevitably lead to underage girls lying about their age in order to access it.’ A spokesman for BPAS has admitted that some children ‘will not be completely honest about their age’.
Pray: for proper and effective control over the issuing of such drugs. (Pr.4:11)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/bpas-to-post-morning-after-pills-out-for-free-at-christmas/
Government figures show that homelessness is up by 13%
The number of households declared homeless so far this year is up by 13 per cent from the same period last year, according to Government figures. According to Homeless Link, the umbrella group for over 500 charities, 35,680 households have been accepted as homeless by local authorities since the start of 2011 and the numbers of people placed in bread and breakfast accommodation has risen by 30 per cent to 9,240 compared with the same period last year. Jacqui McCluskey, of Homeless Link, said: ‘As a result of the recession, cuts and the high cost of living, the number of homeless people continues to rise. Especially alarming is the jump in number of people becoming homeless because they have had to leave their privately rented homes. We are concerned that this trend will accelerate as the government's changes to housing benefit bite. Becoming homeless shouldn't be inevitable. Urgent action is needed to keep more people in their homes.’
Pray: for all those who are homeless or likely to become so and that safeguards will be put in place by the Government to protect them. (Ps.70:5)
