A final deadline has been declared in Gambia, a country in flux with two presidents and West African troops poised to take action. Outgoing president Yahya Jammeh has refused to step down since losing the December election to rival Adama Barrow, who has been sworn in as president in the Gambian embassy in Senegal. Troops from several West African countries, backed by the UN, have entered Gambia in support of Barrow, but have given Jammeh a few more hours to step aside before taking further action. Unless last-ditch negotiations are successful this morning, military intervention is regarded as inevitable. Jammeh has held power in Gambia since a military coup in 1994. See

The International Justice Mission operates in many places around the world, seeking to assist in the conviction of traffickers of adults and children. They currently seek prayer support for teams in Kenya, Uganda, Philippines, Guatemala, Thailand, and Cambodia. Their urgent request today is for a team in South Asia who are seeking to help anti-trafficking police rescue 20+ men from slavery. A recent success story is the conviction of eight men in India, after a three-year trial, for torturing and chopping off the right hands of two innocent men whom they tried to enslave. All eight were sentenced to life imprisonment, the longest sentences ever in an Indian bonded-labour case.

2017 is set to be fraught with challenges for the people of the Middle East, Christian and Muslim alike. A brief summary: 1) Iraq will remain precarious, even though the battle to retake Mosul is making progress: Shiite-dominated rulers in Baghdad face conflict with an unwilling Sunni minority. 2) Turkey’s stability is threatened by challenges from IS and from Kurdish militants, who have killed some 1,000 Turkish soldiers in the last two years. 3) There are hopeful signs in Iran, though changes could be slowed by the death of former President Rafsanjani and the expectation of more hostile US policies under Donald Trump. The poor health of supreme leader Ali Khamenei might mean a potential leadership change soon, which could have serious implications for the entire region. 4) The mood in Syria seems to be turning towards a ceasefire and acceptance of Assad staying on as president, at least in the short term. 5) Egypt is expected to see new protests and tensions with continued terrorism, and the economy will remain the number one challenge. The whole region remains in much need of continuing prayer: yet every challenging phase is also a chance for Christians to rise up as salt and light, and to offer reconciliation and restoration where they are desperately needed.

Last year’s maize crop failure is still proving debilitating: it takes more than a season to fully recover from the ravages of drought. Although the rains arrived on cue in November last year to plant this season’s crops, many farmers had either been forced to eat their seed, or had no harvest from the previous year to eat. Their livestock herds were decimated and the lack of jobs meant families also had no money to purchase their farming inputs, let alone food. Barnabas Fund has provided seed, fertiliser and training so that farmers could plant on time. Hope has returned, but the crisis still simmers and the outcome of the harvest will be critical. A new strain of stalk-borer insect attacking the maize is also a threat. How can farmers survive until the April/May harvest? Barnabas is working closely with local churches to ensure that they are not forgotten or left hungry during this crucial period. Violet, a farmer and mother of five, is appreciative: ‘We want to thank God for providing us with food for our family - our lives have changed. We have seen God’s hand through our brothers.’

The largest stained-glass window in the world, depicting scenes from Genesis to Revelation, is being built in Leawood, Kansas. The congregation at the Church of the Resurrection raised several million dollars to build the window, which will be the centrepiece of their new $70-million sanctuary. More than 160 panes of glass are being fused in California, and will then be shipped to Leawood to be put together like a puzzle. Pastor Adam Hamilton wants to make this new sanctuary a very holy place that attracts many families to visit the church. ‘We hope people say, we've got to go see what's inside there. They would've heard about the window at Resurrection and say let's go check it out because there's nothing else like it anywhere in the world.’ The new sanctuary, including the window, will be ready for the Easter weekend this year.

For some time now, Iran has had the infamous reputation of being one of the most dangerous countries to be a Christian. However, Christianity is taking root in an ongoing revival for Jesus. Hundreds of Iranians as well as Afghans were baptised in November. It is thought that twenty years ago there were 2,000-5,000 Christian believers in Iran: that number has grown more than tenfold since then. At least 300,000-400,000 former Muslims now live new lives in Christ. TBN Nejat TV, a broadcasting ministry, has also seen astounding harvests. Since its launch in 2006, as many as five million Iranian Muslims have begun a new life in Christ as a result of the network. TBN reports that it has helped to establish and disciple over 90 underground churches in Iran, Afghanistan, Kurdistan and other Farsi-speaking areas.

Colossians 4:2-3: ‘ Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.’ We discovered in the Talking Jesus research (www.talkingjesus.org) that one in five of the people we talk to about Jesus wants to know more. So join us as we each pray for five of our friends or family members who don’t know Jesus. You could set an alarm on your phone to remind you each day to pray for your five. Pray that you are given opportunities to share about Jesus with them and that they come to follow Jesus for themselves.

(Written by Dr Rachel Jordan-Wolf, Church of England)

It seems almost inevitable that there will be an election in Northern Ireland, following deputy first minister Martin McGuinness’s resignation on Monday. This was after first minister Arlene Foster refused to step aside temporarily while an inquiry took place into the controversial ‘cash for ash’ renewable heat incentive scheme, which has turned out to be much more expensive than expected. Unless Sinn Féin nominates a replacement for McGuinness, which it has refused to do, an election has to be called. It is not certain if McGuinness will be a candidate in the expected elections: he has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called hereditary ATTR amyloidosis, which affects the nervous system and the heart to varying degrees. Medical experts say the disease progresses slowly.

Millennials are too self-interested to be easily recruited into the military, according to General Nick Carter, the head of the British Army. In a recent speech at an event, hosted by telecoms giant BT, he laid out some of the problems with recruiting for the reserves. A recent £3 million campaign to get more people to sign up to the part-time military was unsuccessful. Carter said: ‘We are now dealing with a different generation, Generation Y, born after 1985, and they have a slightly different expectation of life, which tends to be slightly self-interested, very committed. They are much more adaptable to the information age than my generation; they want to know what’s in it for them.’ Whatever their ideals, said Carter, the army is determined to see Generation Y serve its nation. Carter also used the opportunity to re-launch the Military Covenant - a hypothetical agreement between military personnel and the nation which means they forego certain rights like free speech while in uniform, but are properly looked after in return.

It is ten years since the Church Times announced its first Green Church Awards. Since then, there have been great advances in scientific understanding and public awareness of environmental issues. Internationally, the new Paris Agreement was ratified in November, with 117 countries signing up. Domestically, recycling is far commoner than it was, and it is now possible to subscribe to clean-energy suppliers. However, globally the outlook is not good, with sixteen increasingly hot years damaging the natural environment and a number of influential voices still denying that there is a problem. The Church needs to play a greater part in this. Its national and global reach put it in a position to influence large numbers of people, even governments and power-brokers. But if its voice is to be heard, its own house must be in order. Fortunately, recent messages coming from the Pope and other faith leaders show how care for God’s planet and our common home is a priority around the world. Organisations such as A Rocha are leading the way in highlighting the issues, and around the country there are thousands of groups and individuals working sacrificially to change the climate - and the climate of opinion.