Macmillan Cancer Support says that there have been nearly 50,000 fewer cancer diagnoses across the UK since the start of the pandemic. This risks an increase in late-stage diagnoses, reducing survival chances. Past surveys have suggested people are reluctant to come forward during surges in Covid cases because they did not want to be a burden to the health service. NHS England cancer director Dame Cally Palmer added it was vital people did not delay now even though hospitals were under huge strain. ‘NHS staff are working hard to ensure that those who are coming forward for checks can be seen quickly so that cancer can be caught at an earlier stage.’ Health minister Maria Caulfield added NHS staff had gone ‘above and beyond’ to keep cancer care going. ‘The NHS is open.’ The plea comes as pressure on hospitals has started to ease a little.

In a paper published on 18 January, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) said the Government should develop infrastructure to allow it to mobilise new vaccination campaigns within 48 hours. With the likelihood of more Covid variants emerging, a fourth vaccination may soon be needed. TBI says the ability to respond to future outbreaks would depend on a better approach to command and control through a strong, coherent public-health emergency operations centre. Currently governments react, rather than work to ‘stay ahead of the curve. A renewed effort to inoculate 6.2 million still unvaccinated is needed. The unvaccinated are 43% of hospital admissions. TBI suggests using anthropological research and behavioural science to understand why people are not adhering to public health guidance and getting their Covid shots. See

‘Sovereign citizen defence’ uses obsolete ancient law to challenge Covid regulations. They distribute fake legal documents to teachers, parents, and health workers outside schools and hospitals, accusing the Government of ‘vaccine genocide’. ‘Sovereign citizens' and ‘freemen on the land’ wrongly believe they possess legal power to bring politicians, civil servants and scientists before ‘common law courts’, claiming Covid restrictions and vaccinations are illegal. Now a newly-formed group, ‘Alpha Men Assemble’ (AMA), combines anti-vaccine and sovereign citizen beliefs. It trains members in ‘direct action’ in breaking through police lines, marching formations and sparring. They post training sessions online for UK members. Believing they are immune from government rules, they have violently confronted police in Australia and the US. UK’s AMA only started in December, but numbers swelled to 7,000 after a recent training session for recruits.

Conflict between Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine and the Ukrainian military has continued since 2014, with a shaky ceasefire in place. Western and Ukrainian intelligence suggest an invasion or incursion could happen sometime in early 2022. In December Russia amassed 100,000 troops on the border - so Ukrainian army reservists took part in exercises. On 18 January defence secretary Ben Wallace told MPs the UK is supplying Ukraine with short-range anti-tank missiles for self-defence, with a small team of British troops to provide training. He said there was ‘legitimate and real cause for concern’ that the Russian troops could be there for an invasion. Dozens of British troops have been in Ukraine since 2015 to train the armed forces, and the UK has also committed to help rebuild Ukraine's navy following Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea. Now the UK will provide extra help with security in the light of Russia's ‘increasingly threatening behaviour’.

How should we respond to a world that is increasingly estranged from Christian beliefs? This is a question that Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola are confronted with. Last year, Ms Räsänen was accused of “hate speech” for publicly voicing her deeply-held beliefs on marriage and human sexuality. The former minister of the interior, mother of five, and grandmother of seven now faces a daunting trial on 24 January in Helsinki. Rev. Dr Pohjola, who was consecrated as a Lutheran bishop in August 2021, assumes his new role at a very challenging time. He faces criminal prosecution with Ms Räsänen for publishing the pamphlet she wrote on human sexuality for his church congregation. Pray for a just outcome of their trial, that no one would be intimidated into silence, but that people would be encouraged to share their beliefs with confidence.

An undersea volcano eruption in Tonga on 15 January triggered tsunami waves flooding coastlines from Japan to America. By 20 January volcanic ash had been removed from the runway and the first humanitarian supplies arrived. The aid - water containers, kits for temporary shelters, generators, hygiene supplies and communications equipment - was contactless to ensure Tonga remains free of coronavirus. Limited communication restoration revealed horrendous destruction. Pray for swift and safe clean-up efforts. Australia’s high commissioner said the loss of property had been catastrophic. Along beaches is a moonscape where once beautiful resorts and many, many homes stood. Pray for aid to reach the homeless and for the vulnerable to be relocated to secure places. Pray for the 105,000 people still without any communication to be reconnected and for full internet services to resume sooner than the predicted month. Pray for the missing to be found alive and for the injured to be healed.

As the eyes of the world turn toward Beijing and the Olympic Winter Games, we are invited by Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) to join believers around the globe in praying for our Christian brothers and sisters suffering persecution by China’s Communist government. Though they are not considered Olympians, many Chinese Christians walk or bicycle great distances to deliver the gospel, lift countless boxes of Bibles for delivery to new believers, and endure great suffering for the name of Christ - even in Chinese prisons and concentration camps. VOM have suggested specific ways to pray for Chinese Christians during the Olympics: a) that pastors and church leaders will stand for biblical truth despite government pressure to compromise, and b) that Chinese believers will be encouraged, experiencing unity and fellowship as members of the body of Christ. For more ways to pray and to join Christians around the world who are committing to pray for China’s Christians during the Olympics, click here

The Nigerian government says efforts are under way to release Leah Sharibu, the Christian teenager who was one of 110 girls abducted in 2018 by the Boko Haram group ISWAP. Her classmates were released, but Leah refused to convert to Islam and was declared a ‘slave for life’ by ISWAP while remaining in captivity. The federal government announced it is using the military to ensure Leah and all captives regain their freedom, and armed groups operating in Nigeria’s northwest are now called terrorists. Reacting to the announcement, Dr Kathaza Gondwe, advocacy director for CSW, said, ‘It is belated news as Nigeria’s president has been promising Leah's parents since 2018 that he would work quickly to ensure her release. But it's a welcomed development. We can only pray the government will honour this commitment.’ CSW believes that categorising ISWAP as terrorists will help in how the armed forces deal with them.