Armenia has begun handing over liberated territory to Azerbaijan as part of a peace accord that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Residents of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar district have been occupied by Armenian forces for decades. Now they begin a mass exodus of the mountainous province in the days leading up to the official withdrawal day at the end of November. Some set their homes on fire rather than leave them for Azerbaijanis. A Russian peacekeeping contingent has set up checkpoints and positions as part of the terms that Armenia yields territory which Azerbaijan's forces gained in the fighting. Putin told his Azerbaijani counterpart to take care of churches, monasteries and shrines in areas that Azerbaijan gets under this cease-fire agreement. Moscow's peacekeeping mission, which the military said included soldiers who previously were stationed in Syria, comprises some 2,000 troops for a renewable five-year mission.

At the Global Outreach Day, Christian felt that there was someone in the audience who had attempted suicide in the last couple of weeks. Using the microphone, he shared this word of knowledge and some other words of encouragement. A woman who was part of the outreach team then gave her testimony publicly for the first time. After the testimony, a young woman approached the ministry team and shared private details about her life. She said she had been raped several times in her life as a child and had already tried suicide several times: the last time was six days earlier. After the team shared the Gospel with her, she experienced the presence of Jesus and gave her life to him. She felt a wind blow on her back, not understanding what was going on. The team explained this could be the Holy Spirit who wanted to reveal himself and to touch her life. She said she will not attempt suicide again.

Only New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving interrupt the daily 6 am prayer meetings that Pastor David Galvan has held since 5 February 1996 at New Life Church in Dallas. On Thanksgiving, the church holds an annual baptism in an area lake, incorporating prayer into the meeting. On New Year’s Day, the church is in worship and fellowship from 7 pm on New Year’s Eve to the early hours of the New Year, including prayer. Other holidays, including Christmas, are included in the daily schedule. When Covid-19 restrictions briefly limited gatherings to ten people months ago, Galvan transitioned the daily prayer hour from the church’s 190-seat chapel to a conference call. Attendance has more than quadrupled. ‘All these years up to the pandemic, it attracted from 5 to 12 people on weekdays and on Saturday it was about 70. Now we’re averaging 35 to 50 daily’.

Ofsted's chief inspector revealed there was an alarming 20% rise in babies being killed or harmed during the first lockdown. Out of 64 babies which were deliberately harmed in England, eight died. Some 40% of the 300 incidents reported involved infants, up by a fifth on 2019. The ‘toxic mix’ of isolation, poverty and mental illness caused the March to October spike. Health staff and social workers were hampered by Covid restrictions. Many regular visits could not take place; others were carried out by telephone or video links. When schools closed in March, children's charities and teachers expressed fears that children at risk would be left even more vulnerable under lockdown. This was one reason why schools stayed open for vulnerable children, but babies can't tell an adult if there's a problem. Often, abuse is only uncovered when there's a critical injury, or it's too late - another young life damaged or lost.