By a vote of 53-44, the Senate failed to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would have required doctors to provide medical care to infants born alive after an attempted abortion procedure. The bill needed sixty votes to overcome the legislative filibuster. Currently, medical professionals are not required to treat and save a baby that is still living after an abortion procedure. However, three days before the vote, the Trump administration issued a draft proposal to cut millions of dollars in federal funding to abortion providers, who currently receive $250m for clinics providing birth control and abortion services. The draft rule would also prevent funding being given to organisations that refer women elsewhere for abortions. See

The Christ-centred National Land Summit (28 February to 1 March) is calling South Africans with faith like Joshua and Caleb to contribute towards a national Kingdom consensus for addressing land reform and rural systemic poverty. Kingdom-minded, faith-filled, positive people who are active in their communities, building bridges and creating solutions to local challenges, have been urged to attend. Jan Oosthuizen, the organiser of the event and facilitator of the New Nation Movement agricultural think-tank, said, ‘We appreciate the obedience and work God has established in His people all over South Africa, and believe that a cross-section of their contributions for overcoming the challenges that face agriculture and rural poverty will be invaluable.’

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó was prevented from delivering aid across Venezuela’s border recently, and twenty-five wounded protesters were treated in Brazil. Now President Nicolás Maduro is seeking to raise capital amid tightening sanctions. Eight tons of gold were removed in government vehicles from the Venezuelan central bank’s vaults while its head was abroad on a trip. No security guards were present. The gold will be sold abroad to raise funds. Production of oil, the country’s biggest export, has collapsed, plunging the country into a deep economic crisis. Meanwhile, in Brazil, Mr Guaidó met EU ambassadors, then President Bolsonaro, in an attempt to drum up international pressure on Maduro to step down. He has vowed to return to Caracas soon despite the risk of imprisonment. See

Brother John and his friends met villagers playing music on a mountainside. John shared the hymn Amazing Grace with them and started talking about God’s grace, while a team member prayed silently. The team member said, ‘I think one of these older ladies has a painful knee’. One woman said, ‘Yes, I do, it’s terrible’, and her sister said, ‘Both my knees have problems.’ John said ‘The Creator God can heal those knees, can we touch them and ask Him to heal them? They agreed, and then John said, ‘In the name of Jesus, be well’. One elderly lady looked surprised and started doing deep knee bends. ‘What just happened? Is the pain gone?’ ‘Yes, the pain is gone!’ was the reply. The team prayed again and she was filled with the Spirit. Three ladies gave their lives to Jesus, received Bibles, and were taught how to study God’s word.

President Putin’s Faustian bargain with the Orthodox Church has allowed persecution to increase in Russia. Evgeniy, a Ukrainian believer, was imprisoned twice by pro-Russian separatists while attempting to deliver humanitarian aid. The first time was for fifteen days. ‘Then they found a Bible in my car and said I was an American spy. If you are a Christian or a spy it’s the same! They told me I should be killed! During my second time in prison, it was a miracle. On the third day we somehow escaped. It was like the book of Acts when an angel opened the doors of the prison cell,’ he told Mercy Projects. ‘Today, I am grateful that God continues to use me in this ministry. We can laugh now, but it was very dangerous and very serious then.’

The head of MI6 says that after spending four years with a bloodthirsty terror group, Shamima Begum is ‘potentially very dangerous’, because once someone has been in that environment they will have treacherous skills and connections. A ‘very significant level of resource’ is required to ‘make sure she doesn’t represent a threat’. The Home Office plans to strip her of British citizenship, stating that as her parents are Bangladeshis she can apply for Bangladeshi citizenship. The Syrian Kurdish forces are calling on the UK to take responsibility for its own citizens. If they are not taken back, the Kurds could try them in their own courts for partaking in IS activities. This push-and-pull keeps Shamima and many others in legal limbo, unwanted by either group. See

‘We love our country, and believe Britain deserves so much better than our broken politics. Read our statement and join us: http://www.theindependent.group/statement. #ChangePolitics’ was the tweet announcing a break in political parties. Three Tory MPs abandoned their seats on one side of Whitehall to sit with eight former Labour MPs who had themselves left Jeremy Corbyn’s party. These 11 independents might be the outriders of a new party. With Labour leaning further left and Tories shifting to the far right, the new group declare themselves free of extremes. We can pray that as winds of change blow through our Government, God’s Spirit will fill every fracture being created with kingdom values. Pray for Parliament to have at its heart the purposes of God’s Kingdom.

Scottish MP John Mason says that people’s conversations and prayers verge on panic at the thought of Brexit. Yet, in the light of eternity and God’s unchanging love for us, why is our relationship with the EU so very important? He quotes the hymn which says, ‘Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone, because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives’. He said, ‘We are in the world, but not of it. Even if those around us are worried or even panicking, we should be the ones who are at peace about the future.’ We can pray for those who are fearful about where their family’s future lies, or worried about their jobs or the future of their business. Pray for more people to know the peace that only Jesus can give.

National Farmers Union (NFU) president Minette Batters stated at their 2019 conference that the Government needs to convene a new commission of food and farming experts to establish the principles to maintain British food production standards post-Brexit. Mrs Batter wants this commission to ensure that food imports will have the same high standards as the ones British farmers adhere to, and trade deals will be scrutinised by Parliament and industry. Crucially, there must be a commitment that the Government will act on these recommendations. The NFU also has ambitious plans to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and for British farming to aim to achieve net zero by 2040 by investing in incentivising carbon capture from the atmosphere and biofuels to power carbon capture storage systems. See

A survey to understand ‘the impact of religious belief on people’s understanding and acceptance of their sexual orientation’ by a charity promoting equality and religious diversity found that 20% of conversion therapy patients attempted suicide. The scale, severity and age at which children are exposed to therapy are worrying. Both the Church and the NHS offer conversion therapy to reduce people’s attraction to others of the same sex. On 4 February gay Christian David Bennet’s autobiography was advertised as a book to challenge the Church. David holds the tension of an orthodox reading of the Bible with passages highlighting that homosexual people of faith are also part of God’s divine conspiracy to reveal His love to humanity. In his opening acknowledgements, Bennet says he hopes the book will change the pressures and prejudices faced by LGBs. On 15 February Mike Davidson spoke to the BBC about the film ‘Once Gay’, which had caused demonstrations at its première. See