Deep snow left by Storm Filomena turned to ice, disrupting transport and lowering temperatures to -25C (-13F). The elderly are warned to stay at home. At least seven people have died due to the weather. ‘We are going to have this cold for a few more days, but we all pull together’, Yoli Asensio said, ‘Day-to-day life is difficult, access to homes and roads are blocked.’ There were 1,200 fracture cases in one day, caused by accidents on the ice - an average of fifty an hour. 1,300 snow-clearing vehicles managed to push snow off 12,100km of roads, to keep them ice-free. In contrast, Greece is basking in unusually warm weather, with Athens recording temperatures of 23C (73.4F) - the average January temperature is 10C.

After the storming of the Capitol building when President Trump incited aggressive moves to overturn the 2020 election result, the House voted for an article of impeachment against him. Nations are commenting on US events. The Archbishop of Wales said that Trump is a person of questionable morals, judgment, and wisdom who believes he can ignore democratic processes and the will of the people. ‘No politician has a right to be unaccountable for their behaviour.’ See Meanwhile the FBI have called for assistance in securing Washington as the inauguration nears. They believe the attack on the Capitol will potentially motivate additional follow-on attacks by extremists throughout 2021 and will very likely serve as a significant driver of violence for domestic extremists.’The range of potential future targets of attack was varied, extremists could zero in on government officials and institutions, as well as racial and religious minorities, journalists and more.

On 8 January Karnataka state police banned a community of fifty Christians from having worship services indefinitely. They claimed that none of them were Christian by birth and must have been coercively or fraudulently converted to Christianity. They were also accused of collecting government benefits as both Christians and Hindus. Hindu radicals use the state police to clamp down on Christian activities. They have tried social boycotts and physical beatings. However, local Christians remain faithful in the midst of continued harassment.’ One of the biggest threats to Hindu nationalist ideology is the gospel of Jesus Christ, which frees Hindus from the bondage of trying to appease or earn the favour of millions of false gods. If the gospel continues to spread, India cannot become the land of the Hindus. Hindus believe Christians must be treated as enemies. However the constitution states that citizens have the freedom to profess, practice, and propagate the religion of their choice. See also

Just days before he leaves office, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo asserted, ‘Al-Qaeda has a new home base in Iran.’ He said ties between Tehran and al-Qaeda vastly improved in 2015, when the Obama administration finalised the deal that saw Iran limit its nuclear enrichment in exchange for lifting international sanctions. In his speech Pompeo urged more international pressure on Tehran, but stopped short of calling for military action, saying, ‘If we chose to do that, there’s a much greater risk in executing it’. The speech could represent an escalation in the US’s ability to use force against Iran; the Trump administration could say it already had congressional approval for an attack on Iran, if al-Qaeda were proved to be on Iranian territory. Several incidents have brought Iran and the USA to the brink of conflict during Trump’s term. The Iranian foreign minister accused Pompeo of ‘warmongering lies’.