Speaking at a party conference, Kim Jong Un has told citizens to prepare for hard times ahead, following warnings from rights groups that the country faces dire food shortages and economic instability. North Korea has shut its borders due to the coronavirus pandemic, and trade with China, its economic lifeline, has come to a standstill. This is on top of existing international economic sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear programme. In a rare admission of looming hardship, the authoritarian leader of the single-party state called on officials to ‘wage another, more difficult Arduous March in order to relieve our people of the difficulty, even a little’. The Arduous March is a term used by North Korean officials to refer to the country's struggle during the 1990s famine, when the fall of the Soviet Union left the country without crucial aid. The total number who starved to death is not known, but estimates range up to three million.

John Sentamu, the former archbishop, said, ‘There was an unbelievable depth of Prince Philip’s rootedness in Christ, and Her Majesty is exactly the same. I have not met a couple that are so free.’ He said he had prayed with them both; their prayers were never said aloud, but they would say amen. The royal family are proving they are no ‘different in grief from anybody else. They want to be part of the grieving for the nation, for the many people who died from Covid-19, and for those who have not been able to be present when their loved one is being buried.’ Dr Sentamu joked that Philip would have appreciated his shortened funeral service, because ‘the duke could not stand what he called “long church”'.

Sejun’s parents sent him to an Indian Buddhist monastery when he was 4 years old. For nine years, he studied Buddhist texts eight hours a day in the hope of becoming a monk. When he grew tired of being beaten for not perfectly memorising the texts, he went home to Nepal and enrolled in school. Whilst there, he heard about Jesus and started attending church. He said, ‘I found the Christians to be loving, kind and caring. I saw how if people love Jesus they learn to love and care for others.’ Two years later, he placed his faith in Christ and received a Bible from someone at school. He learned what Scripture teaches about sin and forgiveness. He had learned a similar concept of sin from Buddhist texts, but the idea of forgiveness was new to him. ‘In the Bible, I found that our sins are forgiven by the blood of Christ.’

He dressed as a woman, wore makeup, called himself Danielle and competed in drag queen pageants. But there was no happiness in the gay lifestyle. ‘I looked into the mirror and couldn’t recognise myself. It scared me.’ Could God forgive him? He stepped away from pageants and went to church one Sunday. At the end of the service, Daniel walked forward to the altar to receive Jesus into his heart. The pastor gave him a warm, welcoming handshake. ‘I wept on his shoulder and he kept saying, “The Father loves you. He loves you. He loves you”. My heart began to break and I said, “Jesus, I submit, I surrender to you”’. Daniel cut ties with the LBGT community and destroyed every vestige of his former lifestyle. ‘I knew that the Father loved me. I've never felt so at home in my skin.’ He is now with Living Waters Ministries, helping people around the world to overcome brokenness through Christ.