Europe has become seriously affected by the pandemic, and several countries are introducing restrictions amid rising cases. Two million Austrians not fully vaccinated are in lockdown as Covid-19 surges. Germany's Covid cases hit 65,371 and Angela Merkel said a fourth wave of Covid is ‘hitting us with full force’. New restrictions are expected. Holland’s ‘lockdown-lite’ measures are imposed to limit social contacts after a sharp infection increase. The measures include closing restaurants and shops early, and barring spectators from sporting events. Vaccination rates are significantly lower in some eastern European nations. Latvia has re-imposed a lockdown, Russians have shut shops, restaurants and schools in a partial lockdown and workers had nine days’ paid holiday to curb infections. The UK, with one of the highest infection rates, has yet to reintroduce restrictions.

On 17 November Belarus provided temporary shelter for 1,000 freezing hungry migrants camping on its border with Poland, wanting to enter the EU. For months, thousands of men, women and children have been amassing at Belarus's western borders. Belarus has been accused of pushing migrants, mostly from Iraq, to the border to destabilise the EU. Belarus's long-time authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has denied luring migrants to the border in revenge for EU sanctions. Iraqi Airways confirmed it would send a plane to Belarus on 18 December to take its citizens home. The EU has asked Middle Eastern countries to stop flights to Belarus; several have agreed. Poland, with EU backing, is determined not to let the migrants into the bloc and warned that the border and humanitarian crisis may go on for months. The situation will not be resolved quickly. See also

Syrian refugee and aid worker Yusra Mardini went on trial on 18 November with over two dozen other aid workers from various countries, for helping migrants reach Greece between 2016 and 2018. The defendants face charges including forgery, espionage, and the unlawful use of radio frequencies. Human rights groups have condemned the trial as being politically motivated; Amnesty International called the charges ‘farcical’ and said they should never have come to trial. If found guilty, the aid workers could face five-year prison sentences. Some remain under investigation for a number of other felonies, including human smuggling, which could lead to further sentences of up to 25 years. Irishman Sean Binder said, ‘I am happy to defend myself; I know I did nothing wrong, and we can prove that. I am charged with crimes that I am supposed to have committed a year before I was ever on Lesbos.’ STOP PRESS: the trial has been suspended, but will now be heard by an appeal court.

The World Food Programme delivering food in Afghanistan said, ‘The Afghan people need our support now more than ever before. 1 in 3 people are hungry and 2 million children are malnourished. With drought, pandemic, and conflict, the food security situation will continue to worsen, and hunger will rise. Despite security and logistics challenges, we deliver food and nutrition assistance to people uprooted from their homes, but we need your help to reach more.’ We can pray for an increase in donations to this mission which has been in Afghanistan for almost sixty years. See Save The Children reported that more Afghan children are going hungry than ever before. Almost 14 million children are expected to face crisis this winter. These millions of children are hungry, cut off from aid supplies, out of school, and facing the threats of violence and the approaching winter. Temperatures can drop to -16 C on some nights.