An attack on 28 November by Boko Haram terrorists on farmers working in rice fields in northeastern Nigeria killed at least 110 people. ‘The incident is the most violent direct attack against innocent civilians this year. Many women are also believed to have been kidnapped. Security forces and volunteer vigilante groups are searching to find people still missing. Locals say they recovered 43 bodies in villages near Maiduguri, the capital of the restive Borno state, which has been plagued by an armed campaign for over ten years. A local resident said, ‘Nobody knows the exact number of people killed. We can’t account for farmers who were there; we don’t know if they are hiding in the bush or if they were kidnapped.’ Pray for God to comfort the mourners. See also

On 27 November, around 7:30 am, Nei was having breakfast with her husband, Yasa, and saw about ten unknown people visiting Naka, at a nearby house. Soon after that terrorists Ali Kalora and Jaka Ramadan entered the house and took Yasa and Nei outside. Yasa was tied up, stabbed in the back, then decapitated with a machete. One of the terrorists, near Yasa’s house, gave a signal to villagers to flee, allowing several witnesses and children to escape. Naka and his son Pedi were set on fire, as was their house and eight other homes. Terrorists also torched the Salvation Army house of worship. Another Christian, Pinu, was stabbed to death. Approximately 750 people fled their homes after the attack. Police suspect militants with allegiance to IS carried out the violence, as the leader of the outlawed group was seen at the scene of the crime.

The police forces in Turkey’s Kurdish region resemble occupying armies. Government-appointed mayors, police brutality and armies of imams have altered society’s fabric. Allegations against Special Forces of rape and sexual harassment are ignored. If such accusations are publicised, officials will dismiss it as affairs between soldiers and girls who want to marry them. A former mayor commented, ‘It is better that they are involved in prostitution than protesting the government.’ A young Kurd who photographed a policeman killing an innocent Kurd in 2017 now faces twenty years in prison, while the policeman goes unpunished. Also recently hundreds of army officers, pilots and civilians were jailed for life for taking part in the 2016 attempted coup to overthrow President Erdoğan. The acquittal of the police officer and the hundreds jailed comes when Erdogan is trying to attract foreign investors. Even the simplest reforms would demand drastically altering the way Turkey polices, prosecutes, judges, and  imprisons its residents. See

Electors from each state meet on 14 December to nominate the next president formally, but Trump wants to overturn the result, and challenges the Pennsylvania result. His legal team claims voters in Democrat-leaning areas were given more opportunities to correct mistakes on their postal ballots than elsewhere, and over 680,000 postal ballots were counted without proper oversight from poll watchers. They lost the case but then took it to a federal appeals court where it was also rejected. The judge said, ‘Calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and proof. We have neither here.’ The team intends taking the case to the Supreme Court. The government's top lawyer, William Barr, said, ‘We have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.’ Challenges are dropped or settled in most other states as 14 December looms.

India has made ’impressive gains’ in its fight against malaria. The number of cases and deaths caused by the mosquito-borne disease has seen a marked drop, according to the WHO. From nearly 20 million cases in 2000, there were just 5.6 million in 2019. In the past two years India has reduced cases by 18% and deaths by 20%. Malaria is now limited to some hilly parts of India, with most of the districts able to reduce it to almost nil. While nearly a billion Indians live in malaria-endemic areas, 80% of cases are reported by just 20% of the population living in the forest-fringe, tribal, and foothills hard-to-reach areas of the country. The people in these places have low awareness of disease prevention and access to health care. India’s prime minister has pledged to eradicate malaria by 2030.

Katy Perry went back to her Christian roots for her performance at the American Music Awards. The pop star was joined by country music star Darius Rucker to sing their duet ‘Only love’, but she began the performance with a short version of the hymn ‘As the deer’ that is based on Psalm 42:1: ‘As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.’ Perry’s parents are pastors and started their daughter’s career as Christian artists. She got her big break in 2008 with a secular song. Then in 2018 she said, ‘My mum has prayed for me my entire life, hoping I'd come back to God. I never left him, I was just a little bit secular, I was more materialistic and more career-driven. But now it's more about spirituality and heart wholeness.’

The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged people to return to church on Christmas Day, as social distancing rules are relaxed over the festive period. Justin Welby said that people should not be put off physically attending worship on 25 December. He told BBC’s Newsnight, ‘Yes, of course they should go to church. Go to church online. Go to church physically. You'll find that far fewer people will be there, because we're keeping people two metres apart. Go to church, pray. Remember at the heart of Christmas is the gift of Jesus Christ, by God, to give us hope and life and a future. And it's that hope that's at the centre of Christmas.’ The archbishop added, ‘I will certainly be in church. That's one of the safest places going at the moment, and it will be permitted from the end of lockdown. But there will be very few people there.’

25 November was dedicated to drawing attention to persecuted Christians. A Twitter account advertised the date and invited comments. Archbishop Eamon tweeted on behalf of Catholic News Ireland, ‘Covid-19 restrictions remind us to pray for those who are never free to worship and who are imprisoned for their faith’ Fr Michael J Kane tweeted, ‘Our Church lit up in red to mark Red Wednesday, showing support & solidarity with our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters around the world.’ Dominic Raab tweeted, ‘The UK stands in solidarity with those who suffer for their faith or belief, as we continue to strive for freedom of religion or belief for all. We join churches & landmarks around the world, turning red in support of persecuted Christians everywhere.’ The Carmelite Nuns GB tweeted, ‘Today is #RedWednesday. We pray especially for persecuted Christians throughout the world and for the important work of Aid to the Church in Need.’

British / Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca has announced promising results in developing a vaccine. An early analysis of some of its late-stage clinical trials, conducted in the UK and Brazil, showed that its coronavirus vaccine was 70.4 percent effective in preventing Covid-19, suggesting that the world could eventually have at least three working vaccines - and greater supply - to help curb the pandemic. However, doubts are being expressed about the results of the trials, mainly because they are based on a very small sample of people. British scientists are defending the validity of the findings, and look forward to further evidence becoming available in December. See

Paul Lamb is paralysed below his neck apart from limited movement in his right arm after a car crash in 1990. He said he was ‘devastated’ after a Court of Appeal refused him permission to bring a legal challenge over assisted dying. He argued the current law, banning assisted suicide, is discriminatory and breaches his human rights. He said he felt ‘powerless’ and urged the government to launch an inquiry. The Ministry of Justice said any change in the law would have to be considered by MPs. In an open letter to justice secretary Robert Buckland, Mr Lamb said he was writing ‘to urge you to take notice of this decision and launch an inquiry into assisted dying, and ask if you might meet with me to discuss this important matter’. Humanists UK are supporting Mr Lamb in his case.