Who would have believed that the group that is beheading, burning alive and drowning in cages the supposed enemies of Allah would be afraid of girls? It is an oxymoron. On the one hand, IS fighters buy and sell teenaged sex slaves - 3,000 Iraqi women and girls have been forced to service IS fighters at sex slave brothels. On the other hand, these 'brave' fighters all have a recurring nightmare that they will be killed by a girl. For them, that is a shame that Allah cannot excuse. Therefore, the Kurdish army has 7,000 female fighters, all trained and dressed in uniforms of battle, taking combat to IS. They are brave and determined and will never forget the powerful role they played in saving their people. IS beware, Kurdish girls are coming after you! See also

Textbooks in Pakistan’schools have become more antagonistic to Christians. A new report says, ‘The trend towards a more biased curriculum against religious minorities is accelerating. These grossly generalised and stereotypical portrayals of religious minority communities signal that they are untrustworthy, religiously inferior, ideo slogically scheming, and intolerant.’ The report, released on 12 April in Washington, is sponsored by the Commission on International Religious Freedom, an advisory body to the US Congress and state department. By law, the commission’s assessments of religious freedom in other countries are required to figure in American diplomatic relations around the globe. The report says that school textbooks represent the political perspectives and national ideologies of whole educational and government systems. As such, they are one of the most important indicators of official and popular perspectives of the cultural and political communities they depict, both in words and images.

Healing broke out in morning worship at Coastlands Church in Sussex. Nurse Julia Abbotts had injured her right shoulder through lifting elderly patients. For three months she had been ‘in agony’. Then in a Sunday morning church service Julia found herself raising her arm above her head - an impossible feat for the past three months! Beaming, she asked to share her good news with the church. Then, after Julia had testified to healing, church member Chris McCanna thought he should share his good news too. Chris had hurt his arm two weeks previously while moving a heavy ladder. Moving his arm was painful and restricted to shoulder height. Then while singing with the church’s worship group about God’s ability to ‘break every chain’, he raised his arms in worship and realised that all pain in his arm was gone. Chris had been looking to God to heal him and was not disappointed.

‘As the generation that will become the leaders in our two countries in the future we, as young people, can tread paths to increase our understanding of one another, in a way that no adult politician can.’ This is a statement of a participant in a German-Israeli youth exchange programme. More than 9,000 young people and students from both countries each year take part in exchange programmes, which the Family Ministry supports financially. On behalf of many interested partner organisations in Israel, the German Youth Exchange Coordination Centre ‘ConAct’ looks for youth workers and organisations in Germany who want to set up exchange projects with Israel. This year partners will be introduced to each other in a two-part seminar. The first part is from10 to15 April in Israel, the second part in Germany from 29 May to 3 June.

From 29 April to 1 May there will be a Nordic Apostolic-Prophetic Watchmen gathering in Norway, where intercessors will be calling on the Lord to fulfil his prophecies for their land.Here are just four of the countries’ cries prior to the event. Sweden: Let’s pray that in every city the Lord will lift up someone He has chosen, often in prophetic calling, to blow the trumpet summoning believers to come together from different churches to pray for their city. Norway: We pray that the Lord will raise up those blowing the shofar in the cities and towns of Norway for intercessors to come together for their city, and that those whom God has called to start a prayer centre will seek the Lord and be bold in the work. Denmark: for mobilising God’s army in Denmark and preparing the Body of Christ to rise up to its destiny. Finland: for God to place the five-fold ministry gifts in the Body of Christ throughout Finland. See http://kingsministries.fi/europe/?lang=en

Iceland's coalition government has appointed a new prime minister, a day after Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson stepped aside in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal. It is unclear whether the move will satisfy angry Icelanders. Protesters, already fed up with the financial and political elite after the 2008 banking crisis wrecked their economy, have gathered on the last three nights in Reykjavik, some pelting parliament with yoghurt and eggs. Iceland has struggled to recover from the 2008 collapse of its highly indebted banks, the fall of a government, and the jailing of many bankers. Many Icelanders still harbour a strong distrust of their leaders. Pray for Iceland’s Christian radio Lindin as it reaches 90% of the population.

A German intercessor says that the influx of refugees presents a challenge for the president of the Federal Office for Homeland Security, Hans-Georg Maassen. He sees three problem areas: 1) Active supporters and members of terrorist organisations entering Germany as refugees. 70% of migrants have no valid identification document. 2) Migrants become radicalised from accessing the Internet. 3) The attempts by Salafist Islamists to recruit migrants for terrorism activities. The situation has also led to a rise in right-wing extremism.

In March, Rev Malcolm Duncan spoke at the World Prayer Centre (WPC) WATCHING 2016 prayer conference. It was a time of envisioning, watching and hearing what the Lord is saying in these times: there were also four workshops to equip people in prayer, evangelism and the prophetic. Malcolm brought a significant prophetic word to Christians in these islands. It builds on words spoken by Smith Wigglesworth (1947) and Jean Darnell (1967) of God’s call on Great Britain. The WPC believe it is right to release this Word to the wider Church. You can download the transcript of Malcolm’s prophetic word at: Please study and pray about this word, asking God for wisdom, direction and guidance, asking, ‘Lord, how are You calling me to respond to this? Show me Your heart for my neighbourhood, town, workplace or community.’ You can listen to the podcast talk on being a watchman by clicking the ‘more’ button.

Students reading theology at Oxford University have overturned an 800-year-old tradition of studying Christianity throughout the course. Changes are being made to the undergraduate degree to ‘keep up with the changing face of Britain’. Students will have a broad choice of areas to study in their second and third year. One module is thought to be 'feminist approaches to religion and theology'. The move was instigated by students and lecturers challenging the lack of curriculum diversity, saying that the way religion is seen and practised in the UK had changed over recent years. Oxford University's theology faculty board chairman said, ‘The dominance of the Church of England has been receding, but religion hasn't disappeared. We want to offer students what is interesting for them.’

A national prayer call, promoted by Pray for Scotland (PfS) and Parliamentary Prayer Scotland (PPS), started on 27 March and will finish on 5 May, with a focus on Scotland’s elections. They are encouraging the Church in each city, town or rural community to come together in unity ‘As One!’ raising a shield of prayer over their area. This already happens in a few areas, but they believe God is calling the Church throughout the nation to do this on a regular, ongoing basis as part of His plans for changing Scotland’s spiritual atmosphere. Ask God to raise up leaders with integrity and wisdom who will act justly, care for the vulnerable, advocate for the weak, and work for the common good.