North Korea’s dictatorship says Covid-19 is not a problem, but the people secretly call it the ‘ghost disease.’ North Korea has reported no Covid cases and rejected millions of vaccines. However, reports on the ground tell a different story. Covid has been deadly, especially to the many North Koreans who are malnourished. Meanwhile Kim Jong-Un promises to expand his nuclear arsenal. Behind these issues are 25 million souls living and dying without the hope of Jesus. For a North Korean to have a chance to hear about that hope, it takes an act of God, and God is moving. North Koreans are being drawn to Jesus in daring and ingenious ways - through the underground Church, Christian radio broadcasts, and even covert balloon drops carrying Scripture. No nation is too closed for God to move. Ask God to deliver the people from the regime's indoctrination and lies and for truth to reign throughout the nation.

Nigerian Christians have experienced horrendous violence against their communities in recent years. Many have been killed, thousands have fled homes and land, and many live with the trauma of seeing loved ones killed or brutalised. Their needs are now being met by trauma-healing workshops that help them express their pain, face up to it, and to bring it to Christ so that feelings aren’t buried deep within. The workshop seeks to bring victims to a point where, by the grace of God, they are able to forgive those who hurt them. They then have a foundation on which to rebuild their lives. Each workshop helps forty people over a five-day period. They equip church leaders with biblical principles to respond to suffering – their own and the suffering of others. There is also a separate youth version of the workshop, for young people traumatised by violence.

Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, the Taliban's notorious former head of religious police and now in charge of prisons, said that extreme punishments will resume but may not be meted out in public, as they were previously. Human Rights Watch said the Taliban in Herat are searching out high-profile women, denying women freedom of movement outside their homes, and imposing compulsory dress codes. Amnesty International blamed Taliban fighters for the cold-blooded massacre of nine members of the Hazara, a minority persecuted people. A Taliban judge said, ‘In our Sharia it is clear, for those who have sex and are unmarried, whether male or female, the punishment is 100 lashes in public. Anyone who is married must be stoned to death. Anyone who steals, his hand should be cut off.’ Mullah Turabi said that the Taliban would now allow televisions, mobile phones, photos and videos.

A panel of hundreds of international scientists has released a report on climate change. The UN secretary general described the report as ‘code red for humanity’ the alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable.’ Words like ‘unprecedented’, ‘widespread’, ‘rapid’, and ‘irreversible’ abound in the report. We will reach a 1.5°C temperature rise in ten years, and however fast we act now, melting ice caps and rising sea levels will continue for thousands of years. Alongside this three senior Christian leaders have released a ‘Joint Message for the Protection of Creation’. The document quotes scripture frequently, emphasising our calling to ‘choose life, so that you and your children might live’ (Deut. 30:19), linking our care for the poor and the planet, and concluding with the challenge, ‘To whom much is given, much is required’ (Luke 12:48).

Australia is the most carbon-polluting nation in the world per capita, yet prime minister Scott Morrison may not attend the November landmark climate conference. He said he had not made any final decisions on attending, saying, ‘I have to focus on things here and with Covid. Australia will be opening up borders around that time. There will be a lot of issues to manage and I have to deal with those competing demands.’ Australia is expected to present its updated 2030 emissions cuts at the conference. It is one of the world's top exporters of coal and gas. Mr Morrison said he wants Australia to achieve net zero emissions ‘as soon as possible’, but he has not outlined any measures to do so and has not committed to net zero by 2050. A UN report ranked Australia last out of 170 member nations for its response to climate change.

Numerous factors are pointing to a presidential meltdown. At home, Biden’s handling of the pandemic attracted growing criticism during a summer Covid surge. There has been continuing mistreatment of Mexico border migrants, which he promised to end. A Biden-backed police reform bill, prompted by George Floyd’s death, was rejected in Congress. His reputation for foreign policy competence was shattered by the Afghan withdrawal and deaths of Americans and Afghans. The row with France over a US-UK-Australia defence pact deepened disillusion over his commitment to multilateralism. While international perceptions matter, it is Americans who will make or break this presidency. Before next year’s midterm elections, Mr Biden wishes to enact an extraordinarily ambitious legislative agenda including a $3.5tn social spending plan and a $1.1tn infrastructure package. A new survey gives Donald Trump a 48% favourability rating to Biden’s 46%.

On 18 September the Queen's granddaughter, Princess Beatrice, gave birth to a baby girl weighing 6lb 2oz, at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Buckingham Palace said the princess and her daughter were doing well, and the baby's grandparents and great-grandparents were ‘delighted’. The baby will be 11th in line to the throne and the Queen's 12th great-grandchild. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, the baby’s father, will pass on the official Italian title of Nobile Donna, which translates to Noble Woman.

A missionary planted a church in Nicholas Lebey’s village in Ghana. Now Nicholas has done the same in south-east London and Bradford as a pioneer evangelist. In 2013 he came to Woolwich, and planted a church with young people who had no former connection with church. He launched a Friday night youth club, a Tuesday night gathering, a Youth Alpha course and from this, a youth congregation which met on a Sunday evening. He also worked on a local estate, running football and lunch clubs focussed on getting young people off the streets and into a place where they could belong, connect with friends, and build relationships, Nicholas was able to mentor them, with Christian teaching. ‘As relationships deepened, we began to see a community emerge. It came from the young people themselves. I believe we don’t do things for people, we do it with them’, explained Nicholas. 

Rt Rev Hugh Nelson is the new Bishop to the Armed Forces: he was formally licensed by Justin Welby on 20 September. This role will be in addition to his work as Bishop of St Germans in the Diocese of Truro. Speaking to Premier Christian Radio, Bishop Hugh said, ‘One of the commitments that I make as Bishop to the Forces is that I will pray for two things, every single day while I'm in this post. One is that the day will come and come as soon as possible when there's no need for any armed forces, when peace breaks out and the kingdom of God fully arrives. And in the meantime, I will continue to pray every single day for our men and women who are out there on the frontline trying to keep peace and justice in the name of this country.’

Rising gas prices caused fertiliser factories to close on 20 September, cutting 60% of the supply of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the food and drinks industry. There were warnings of supermarket shortages, because CO2 extends the shelf life of packaged fresh foods and keeps transported food fresh as dry ice. There were also concerns that the UK may have to close its six advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactors which use CO2 . Big meat suppliers were prioritising how they use CO2 as they had just three days' supply, while supermarkets had ‘limited stock’ of frozen items. On 22 September the Government promised to give tens of millions of pounds to restart production of CO2 at a fertiliser factory for three weeks ‘whilst the market adapts to global prices’. There will be a cap to the overall cost. The Food and Drink Federation said shortages may be felt through to the end of the year.