Key Quotes for 2012

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Last update: Wednesday 25th March




Cost of borrowing has soared to a 42-month high. Families are being hit by the highest mortgage repayments in more than three years, according to figures released yesterday. The standard variable rates that at least 1.5million families are on now average 4.27 per cent - a level not seen since March 2009. Homeowners are automatically moved to SVRs at the end of their initial deal-such as a two-year fixed loan or a three-year tracker. Tomorrow, Santander, the country's second biggest mortgage lender, will increase its variable rate from 4.24 per cent to 4.74 per cent, hitting 400,000 customers. The upward move comes despite the Bank of England having kept its base rate at an his¬toric low of 0.5 per cent since March 2009.
Money	Daily Mail October 2nd 2012



A new 'smart' drug for breast cancer extends women's lives by six months while reducing toxic side effects including hair loss. Campaigners claim the drug offers a 'precious lifeline' for women with the most aggressive form of the disease, who have tried other treatments. Known as T-DM1, it combines the 'wonder' drug Herceptin with a potent chemotherapy agent. T-DM1 is designed to seek out and destroy cancerous cells while sparing healthy tissue from unnecessary damage. Results from a major trial show the drug prolonged the lives of patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer by 30.9 months compared with 25.1 months on standard therapy. Patients on T-DM1 had fewer, less severe side effects and reported a better quality of life. The results were released yesterday at the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna, Austria. Around 10,000 Brit¬ish women have HER-2 positive breast cancer diagnosed each year - about one in five of those affected.
Health	Daily Mail October 2nd 2012



Brussels has warned of an 'economic and social disaster' if unemployment continues to rise among young Europeans. The European Union said there was a ‘lost generation' of 18 to 25-year-olds emerging, as figures showed the number out of work in the eurozone had reached a record 11.4 per cent - the 16th straight monthly rise. Some 18.2milllon people are unemployed in the eurozone, the highest level since the euro was introduced in 1999. Almost 23 per cent of those without a Job are aged between 18 and 25.
World Issues	Daily Mail October 2nd 2012



The pension’s revolution affecting up to 1million workers began yesterday. It is the biggest shake-up of pensions for more than a century and was hailed by ministers as ‘a truly radical social change'. For the first time, every boss will be forced to pay into a pension for their workers, who will be automatically signed up to the scheme. Yesterday the first workers were 'enrolled' into the new pension schemes, with around 800,000 expected to be signed up before Christmas. Most workers aged between 22 and state pension age who are not members of a pension scheme will be signed up to a pension by their boss, known as 'automatic enrolment’… At present, the majority of private sector workers do not put any money into a pension. If they do have a pension pot, it is worth an average of just £26,000. Under the new scheme, if a 30-year-old saved £50 a month, the pot would be worth around £90,000 at the age of 65, if the fund grew by 7 per cent a year. A £90,000 pension pot, buys a 65-year-old man a pension of about £4,850 per year. A £26,000 pot buys an annual pension of about £1,500.
Work/Employment	Daily Mail October 2nd 2012



The Christian Institute (CI) held a briefing in London on September 11 to highlight the spread of shari'a law in the UK. While many British Muslims are content to live peaceably here, there are others who want to see the influence of Islam increase by the use of shari'a courts. To compound this, it was suggested that already Islam is being given preferential treatment. Alan Craig, spearhead of the campaign against the building of a mega mosque close to the Olympic Park, cited the instance of a local primary school whose staff complied with a request from the parents of Muslim pupils to deny food and drink to them during Ramadan, despite it being in the middle of a heat-wave. He also said that, following a recent minor operation, his wife was asked not to visit him on the recovery ward because of the 'religious sensibilities' of other patients on the ward. According to a report from Civitas in 2009, there are as many as 85 shari'a courts operating in the UK, often passing rulings which are largely incompatible with our national laws and inherently discriminatory against women. uknews EN
The Law	Evangelicals Now October 2012



Yousef Nadarkhani, the Church of Iran pastor sentenced to death for apostasy, was released in September and is at home with his family. During court proceedings that took place on September 8, Pastor Nadarkhani was acquitted of apostasy, but found guilty of evangelising Muslims. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for the latter charge, but released because he had already served this time. Pastor Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht in 2009 soon after questioning the Muslim monopoly of religious instruction for children, which he felt was unconstitutional. He was sentenced to death for apostasy in 2010, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011. Although the Iranian penal code did not specify death for apostasy, a constitutional loophole allowed judges to refer to shari'a law and authoritative fatwas to justify such a sentence. At court on September 8, Pastor Nadarkhani had been expected to face new charges for unspecified crimes, but was instead released. Christian Solidarity Worldwide
World Issues	Evangelicals Now October 2012



A federal court in August upheld a law defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman. Hawaii passed a marriage amendment in 1998 with 69% of the vote, and the August 8 ruling affirms that amendment. Religion Today
World Issues	Evangelicals Now October 2012



There are 2.3 million Christians in Syria, many of whom want to leave as conditions deteriorate and threats against them intensify, it was reported in September. Tens of thousands of Syrians have fled to neighbouring Lebanon, but, as the conflict between supporters and opponents of President Assad spills over that border, alternative places of refuge are being sought. Hundreds of Christian families have gone to Greece, putting themselves into the hands of human traffickers and enduring treacherous journeys to get there via Turkey. All borders into Turkey are now controlled by the Free Syrian Army, which does not permit Christians to cross. The Syrians are ultimately trying to get to another European country, chiefly Sweden or Germany, where many have relatives. The traffickers are exploiting their desperation, demanding thousands of Euros - typically €4,000 for adults, €2,000 for children - for the onward journey. Barnabas Fund
World Issues	Evangelicals Now October 2012



According to a study published in August by the church think tank Leadership Network, the number of congregations that host worship services at more than one physical location has grown to more than 5,000 in the last decade. Researchers say these 'multi-site' churches, which may share worshippers across town or many miles apart, are growing at a much faster pace than traditional megachurches. Without the burden of additional expensive buildings, congregations find they grow faster in new places, said Warren Bird, research director of Leadership Network. Multi-site churches — which come in different models, such as a different 'campus pastor' on each site or one senior pastor broadcast via video — have grown from fewer than 200 in 2001 to 1,500 in 2006 to an estimated 3,000 in 2009 to more than 5,000 today. In comparison, US megachurches have grown from about 50 in 1970 to about 1,650 in 2012. Religion Today
Church	Evangelicals Now October 2012



A district judge in Brighton on September 17 struck out all charges against Christian pro-life campaigner Andrew Stephenson, while the previous week the case against his fellow campaigner, Kathryn Sloane, was dismissed during the same trial. Andy and Kathryn were arrested in June 2011 for showing pictures of aborted babies outside the Wistons BPAS abortion clinic in Brighton. They belong to campaign group Abort67, which has held peaceful demonstrations outside the clinic for the past five years. Following the outcome of the case, lawyers representing the pair were seeking an urgent meeting with leaders of the Association of Chief Police Officers to examine how the Public Order Act is being interpreted and used by police with regard to public expression and demonstration, especially that motivated by religious belief. Christian Concern
Religious Persecution	Evangelicals Now October 2012



For over a generation, schoolchildren, students and the public have been told that there are two categories of DNA in our cells. By far the most important is the DNA that codes for proteins (in humans, genes occupy less than 2% of the total). The rest is non-coding DNA, commonly referred to as genetic junk….Following the Human Genome Project, (which mapped human genes), people realised that there are not enough genes to explain all the complexities in the human body. It seemed reasonable to infer that the genome was equipped with a regulative system that would allow genes to perform many different functions. A project was launched to probe the architecture of genetic control. This was ENCODE, and on September 6, after nine years' work, 442 scientists in 32 laboratories across three continents published 30 research papers about their findings. The findings were headlined around the world: at least 80% of the genome has some functionality; junk DNA is 'actually in charge of running the genes'; the concept of junk DNA will be 'consigned to the history books'. David Tyler, secretary of the Biblical Creation Society.
Health	Evangelicals Now/UK News October 2012



Labour leader Ed Miliband last night told union leaders that their members and the public did not want strikes, amid the growing prospect of industrial action against the Government’s austerity measures. Mr Miliband risked sparking an angry reaction from unions by speaking out against strikes just hours after teachers’ leaders announced a campaign of industrial action. The Labour leader attended a dinner with the TUC general Council in Brighton, where the annual TUC Congress is being held.
Politics	The Sentinel, September 11, 2012



The Department for Transport (DfT) did not follow its own rules over the bidding process for the West Coast main line franchise, Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has told MPs. The rail franchise system is ‘flawed’, Sir Richard told the House of Commons Transport Committee. He was giving evidence after Virgin Trains launched a judicial review of the decision to award a 13-year West Coast franchise to rival FirstGroup.
Travel/Tourism	The Sentinel, September 11, 2012



Optimism among UK businesses has hit a 20-year low, according to research. BDO’s Optimism Index, which predicts business performance two quarters ahead, fell to 89.1 in August from 93.1 in July. It is the sixth consecutive month that the data has registered a drop. However, there was some cheer from the latest Lloyds TSB Regional Purchasing Managers’ Index, which revealed higher levels of business activity in all the English regions – except the North East – during August.
Money	The Sentinel, September 10, 2012



Having a faith is good for you. Investigating the effects of religion on mental health, researchers at the University of Missouri have concluded that spirituality benefits mental health and a sense of wellbeing. The findings, published in the Journal of Religion and Health, indicate that ‘better mental health is significantly related to increased spirituality’.
Health	The War Cry, 8 September 2012

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