The UN warned of ‘unprecedented’ malnutrition among women and children as fears of mass starvation grow in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region. Ethiopia has expelled seven senior UN officials, including the head of UNICEF, for ‘meddling’ in its affairs. They suspended the operations of Doctors Without Borders and the Norwegian Refugee Committee, accusing them of spreading ‘misinformation’ about the war. Last November the prime minister sent troops to topple the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in response to its attacks on army camps. UN aid chief Martin Griffiths reported a three-month ‘de facto blockade’, restricting aid to 10% of what is needed for six million people. 400,000 people have ‘crossed the threshold into famine’. Federal officials blame TPLF for obstructing deliveries, but the US State Department said access to essential supplies and services was ‘being denied by the Ethiopian government’ and there were ‘indications of a siege’.

The Pandora Papers are 12 million documents revealing hidden wealth, tax avoidance, and money-laundering by the world's rich and powerful obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). They worked with 140+ media organisations in the biggest-ever global investigation. 600 journalists in 117 countries trawled through files for months to find a) the prominent Tory donor who was involved in one of Europe's biggest corruption scandals; b) the King of Jordan's £70m spending spree on properties in the UK and US through secretly-owned companies; c) Azerbaijan's leading family's hidden involvement in property deals in the UK worth more than £400m; d) the Czech prime minister's failure to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase two French villas for £12m; e) how the family of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta secretly owned a network of offshore companies for decades. The files exposed over 330 politicians from 90 countries using secret offshore companies to hide their wealth. See also UK article ‘Tory donations disclosures’.

80 persecuted women in northern Iraq are experiencing three days in a Help The Persecuted spiritual retreat this weekend. They will have a safe place to stay, hear from Godly speakers, receive biblical counseling, and worship together. Cala has lived in a refugee camp since IS invaded in 2014. She always believed in God and tried desperately to draw near to Him, but never knew what was missing. She heard about Jesus through the internet, asked a visiting pastor about church, and accepted Christ in 2020. Her Yazidi community persecutes her, and she has been kicked out of the camp several times. Cala feels very isolated, and her heart’s cry is to serve the Lord. Pray that she and her 79 companions will be encouraged as they build relationships with other Christian women, accepting each other now in unity as members of the Body of Christ.

Mobs are targeting Christian households, led by aggressive Hindu vigilantes known for their hardline approach. Churches are vandalised, pastors are beaten or abused. Congregations are broken up by mobs and believers hospitalised with injuries. The police raid church services to threaten and arrest congregations. This persecution coincides with renewed attention on a longstanding claim that a string of forced conversions are taking place in Chhattisgarh. Speeches, rallies and press statements have openly attacked Christian pastors and believers for allegedly converting tens of thousands of people from tribal communities and poor, lower-caste Hindu families. They are alleged (without evidence) to have been lured into churches by proselytising pastors offering cash payments, free medical assistance, and foreign trips, funded by foreign donors. Dozens of ‘anti-conversion’ rallies have been held in the past month.

The idea that Nigeria is well-intentioned but under-resourced to contain religious violence is incomplete. The government may be under-resourced, but is not blameless in the matter of sectarian violence. Government forces have fought to quell the violence in some instances, but in others they exacerbated the problem if not created it in the first place according to a report by International Christian Concern. The report considers ways which Nigerian states contribute to discrimination and violence against Christians: in particular, twelve northern states which adopted Sharia criminal law, leading to problems for Christians in the region and impacting their ability to participate as equal members of society. Using Sharia to adjudicate on criminal matters has done significant real-world harm, and the departure from secularism has harmed Christians in northern Nigeria.The report recommends the US government to establish an official stance against non-secularism in northern Nigeria, rework aid delivery to Christians, and appoint a special envoy to address each region’s issues.

An antiviral pill has cut the chances of Covid-19 patients being hospitalised or dying by 50% in late-stage trials, raising hopes of a new weapon in the arsenal against the virus. The pill, Molnupiravir, was initially developed to tackle influenza but is also effective at reducing deaths and hospitalisations from Covid, the data from human trials showed. The manufacturers will now seek emergency authorisation in the United States as soon as possible and submit their data to regulators worldwide. A simple pill that can be taken at home to stop the disease in its tracks has been a key aim throughout the pandemic. Until now, Remdesivir, another existing antiviral, was the only one licensed to treat Covid - but it has to be administered intravenously and results have been modest. Other antivirals are also in development, including some specifically targeted at Covid-19, such as a pill currently being tested by Pfizer.

Many Afghan Christians have fled from cities to remote regions to escape Taliban detection; others are hiding in communities. World Mission’s Greg Kelley learned of a Christian leader caught by the Taliban, who publicly tortured and executed him. Continue to pray for Afghan believers, in hiding and meeting in secret locations. Now, with the borders to neighbouring countries closed, they have nowhere to turn. With winter approaching they face extreme difficulties. It is exceedingly difficult to get aid into Afghanistan to meet their needs. Many want to leave because they are known to the Taliban or other extremists. Ask God to protect them and help mission agencies to arrange for their safe escape. Things are changing dramatically in Afghanistan, and those who suffer the most are the weak and vulnerable. Pray for wise short-term strategies to address the needs of elderly, sick and frail refugees.

A new milestone has been reached by Wycliffe Bible Translators as the Bible is translated into its 700th language. The acceleration that is happening in the work of Bible translation means it is impossible to state which translation was actually the 700th, as there were several launches of physical Bibles as well as several being made available online and via apps, all at about the same time. Every time the Bible is translated into another language, we know that people in that language group can fully access the complete picture of God’s story. Now 5.7 billion people who speak 700 languages have the Bible in the language that speaks to them best. That is a remarkable figure, which continues to grow.

Filipino Manny Pacquiao announced his retirement from boxing on social media, expressing gratitude to God, saying his boxing career would not have been possible without the Lord. He is the only boxer to hold twelve world titles in four different decades. In his retirement post he says, ‘God is good all the time. I give all glory to God. I always believe that in God, all things are possible. Without Him, I am nothing. He is the one who gave me the ability to train and accomplish all those things. The Lord gave me overflowing blessings.’ Meanwhile when Ukrainian boxer Oleksander Usyk became world champion this week by beating Anthony Joshua, he told the media, ‘The only thing I wanted to do with this fight is to give praise to my Lord Jesus Christ and to say that all I have comes from him.’ See

Retailers and hauliers say the government's plan to offer temporary visas to foreign lorry drivers will not solve supply chain issues. The transport secretary said there is ‘plenty of fuel’ in the refineries and 47 storage centres, but ‘the Royal Haulage Association triggered panic buying by reporting a shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers. To limit disruption before Christmas the Government will give temporary visas to 5,000 lorry drivers, encourage HGV licence holders back into the industry, and use MOD examiners to increase testing for new drivers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58698998 These measures will not fix the short-term problems caused by panic buying, so the business secretary said 150 soldiers will be delivering fuel. The managing director of fuel supplier Portland Fuel said the UK was over the worst of the situation and that sending in the army would ‘generate more panic’.