With insecure land rights it’s almost impossible for the poor to overcome poverty. A house and a small patch of land are their shelter, food and desperately needed income. But for widowed women and orphaned children even this fragile foundation is not safe. Powerful relatives or neighbours often steal their meagre property with violence or lies. However, we can praise God for a conviction in Gulu, achieved through plea-bargaining. This relates to the case of an 82-year-old woman who was physically threatened and then had false charges made against her, putting her and multiple children on her family’s compound at risk. This is the first time an International Justice Mission team has achieved a conviction through plea-bargaining. Please pray for more convictions to be attained in Uganda through this effective and time-saving method.

Iraq is home to 3.4 million displaced Iraqis and provides sanctuary for a quarter of a million Syrian refugees. Agencies can get children who have fled from war back into school, but many children suffer from toxic stress and find it difficult to learn. Standing in front of her class of Syrian refugees, teacher Shirin asks her students to close their eyes. The children oblige and begin taking deep breaths in and out. Shirin describes how they should picture themselves blowing out five candles, inhaling the scent of a flower, and then when exhaling ‘imagine you are blowing out a candle.’ She repeats this five times, until the children have blown out five candles. Emotional learning techniques rebuild healthy brain structures and neurological connections damaged by trauma-induced 'toxic stress'. Benefits include improved academic performance, better social skills, positive self-image, as well as decreased aggression and emotional distress. Across the region, there are 6.5 million child refugees like Shirin's class.

Jerusalem municipality will authorise the construction of 1,400 apartments in the Ramat Shlomo neighbourhood in the wake of Donald Trump’s election. Previously they said that fears of antagonising Washington delayed their approval of wider construction plans for Jerusalem. In addition to the 1,440 homes, further plans include 3,000 units in Gilo and 2,600 in the Givat Hamatos neighbourhood. The international community regards these neighbourhoods as settlements, Israel considers them as neighbourhoods of annexed East Jerusalem and argues that it will be part of Israel in any negotiated peace agreement. Trump’s vocal support is at odds with traditional US opposition to construction beyond the Green Line. Trump has called Jerusalem ‘Israel’s capital’ and vowed to move the US Embassy there, essentially offering support for Israeli moves there. But the Palestinian Authority promised to ‘make life miserable’ for Donald Trump if he moves the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. see: http://www.cufi.org.uk/news/palestinian-authority-threaten-us-over-trumps-promise-to-move-embassy-to-jerusalem/

The arrival of hundreds of thousands of mostly Muslim refugees in Europe have drawn renewed attention to the continent’s Muslim population. In many European countries, including France, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, concerns about growing Muslim communities have led to calls for restrictions on immigration. Germany and France have the largest Muslim populations. The Muslim share of Europe’s total population has been increasing steadily. By 2030 Muslims are projected to make up 8% of Europe’s population. The average age of Muslims throughout Europe is eight years younger than the median for all Europeans. Views of Muslims vary widely across European countries, but ten nations in eastern and southern Europe have prevailing negative views while respondents in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands gave Muslims a favourable rating. We can pray for the Church to develop culturally relevant and powerful evangelism tailored specifically for our Muslim neighbours.