An artwork was unveiled in London on 11 December, to coincide with the climate change conference taking place in Poland. Centuries-old Greenland icebergs weighing between 1.5 and 6 tonnes keep melting. This installation seeks to bring the effects of climate change closer to home, putting people in direct contact with its effects. The icebergs remind us we have only twelve years to limit the worst effects of climate change, and they also represent another 10,000 blocks of ice which are falling from the same ice sheet in Greenland every single second. ‘People need to face the tangible consequences of their actions’, states the artist on his website. Meanwhile NASA has detected new signs of large glaciers in East Antarctica losing ice. This area has long been considered more stable than West Antarctica.

In addition to all Europe’s other problems, falling birth rates pose a huge threat to family and national life. At present there is no EU member state that has a birth rate high enough to enable the renewal of the population that is ageing. The demographers and political decision-makers need to pay attention to this situation and find solutions through policy-making. Last year, more deaths than births were recorded across the EU, meaning that the natural change of population was negative. Pray for a political and social environment that favours marriage and family. The Gospel is the profound response to change people’s hearts and convert corrupt systems in our societies.

A World Generation Gathering is about to see the Holy Spirit poured out in Jakarta between 23 and 26 January 2019. A similar event in South Korea in 2016 saw a wonderful move of God inspire and anoint all who attended and the ministries and the countries they represented. For an exciting report on that event, click the ‘More’ button. Please pray for all who will be in Jakarta’s prayer and worship celebration to hear God’s wake-up call on their lives. May every follower of Jesus have a heart prepared by the Holy Spirit, so that they share all that God is doing in their life boldly and powerfully in a way that millions more will be inspired to be Christ-followers. Pray for the anointing of intercession to fall on every speaker, musician, and delegate. Pray for all technology to be trouble-free, and for the funding and travel arrangements of all involved. See

Although Donald Trump and President Xi recently announced a trade agreement between the US and China, some believe 5G mobile networks might yet spark a further ‘trade war’. These mobile data networks will be rolled out commercially over the next decade, preparing the way for driverless cars and smart cities. Some say 5G technology, 100 times faster than today’s connections, could be a bigger leap forward than the original internet, and countries using it successfully will dominate 21st-century trade and commerce. Whoever builds and controls the new networks will take on huge political and economic importance. The US now wants to stop Chinese technology companies from taking a lead in this field. China is racing to gain a head start in these new technologies, and views 5G as potentially the key to 21st-century superpower status. See also UK article 3.

In France the security alert system is at its highest level, after an extremist gunman opened fire at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, killing two people and injuring at least twelve. Christmas can be a dangerous season for many. Last year suicide bombers killed nine and wounded over 50 people attending pre-Christmas church services in Pakistan. In Nigeria, Boko Haram have often carried out Christmas attacks. In the West, Christmas can mean financial strain, pressures, loneliness or simply a time with relatives where old tensions come to the fore and explode, sometimes with devastating results. For example, last year in Canada a father who had custody of his daughters (aged six and four) on Christmas Day killed them both and attempted suicide. Pray for peace to replace turmoil, restraint to replace violence, and harmony to replace disagreement wherever it threatens. Pray that police and other agencies can detect and remove danger from vulnerable community spaces.

In Beijing, police have detained dozens of churchgoers and leaders of Early Rain Church in Chengdu, one of China's most prominent Protestant ‘house’ churches, in the latest government action against unregistered religious groups. Members of the church have been unable to contact pastor Wang Yi, the church's founder, or his wife, and church groups on the instant messaging platform WeChat have also been blocked. China's constitution guarantees religious freedom, but since President Xi Jinping took office six years ago, the government has tightened restrictions on religions seen as a challenge to the authority of the ruling Communist Party. The law requires that all places of worship register and submit to government oversight, but some churches have declined to register, for various reasons.

Wielding an iron bar in one hand and holding a Quran in the other, a 22-year-old Muslim extremist shouting ‘Allahu Akbar - death to the apostates’ broke into an eastern Cairo church in an early morning attack on 11 November. He assaulted staff preparing bread for morning communion. After injuring two people with his weapon, he was overpowered by church members who restrained him until police arrived. He showed no remorse in police custody, shouting, ‘Give me your gun so I may kill them. If you don’t, you’d be an infidel like them.’ Egyptian churches are becoming targeted more frequently. On Palm Sunday 2017, suicide attacks on churches in Tanta and Alexandria claimed the lives of 50 and injured 90. Pray for the protection of all Christians from such attacks, especially at Christmas.

Hundreds of millions of the poorest people in the developing world are abused by police who extort bribes and brutalise innocent citizens, or are held in abusive pre-trial detention. In many countries, parents teach their children to run from the police to stay safe from harm, rather than running to them for help. Recently IJM received a prayer request from the Kenya team which facilitates dialogues with the family members of victims of extrajudicial killings. These dialogues create an opportunity for communities to share the realities of police abuse, bringing attention to the issue and creating an opportunity for leaders to recognise the need for change and improved policing. Please pray that the stories of these families will inspire leaders to take the necessary steps to ensure that corrupt police no longer abuse their power, but protect the citizens of Kenya.

After a two-year battle to re-register their work, World Vision has been expelled from Pakistan, along with Catholic Relief Services and 16 other organisations, for ‘deliberately spreading disinformation’ and ‘non-compliance’. World Vision has handed over responsibility for poverty-reduction and health programmes to the state and has complied with a 60-day deadline to leave. They regret the effect that the cessation of their work will have on the vulnerable communities where they worked, but respect the Government's decision as to who may work in the country. They have worked in Pakistan for thirteen years, helping 800,000 youngsters. They are currently discussing the possibility of re-starting work under new legal frameworks which the government may introduce at a later date. Catholic Relief Services, a charitable arm of the US Catholic Church, had been helping provide food, education and clean water in Pakistan since 1954.

Preachers at the Bethel Church in the Hague have been holding a round-the-clock service for over a month to stop a family of Armenian asylum seekers being deported. The family has lived in the Netherlands for nine years, integrated into the community, and made friends. But a court ruled on 25 October that they must return to Armenia. A centuries-old tradition states that authorities cannot enter a church while a service is taking place, so a service has continued since 26 October. The Tamrazyan family - mother, father, two daughters and a son - are staying inside the church, and therefore avoiding immigration authorities. The family’s asylum issue is still unresolved. The Dutch ‘children's pardon’ grants asylum to children who have lived there for over five years while their asylum application is processed. This action also calls attention to the fate of 400 children in similar circumstances.