Lithuania’s foreign minister has said that Russia represents the biggest obstacle to the peace process in Ukraine, as it represents itself misleadingly as a ‘neutral party’ in the conflict while actively participating. Ukrainian armed forces have fought Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine since 2014 and killed over 13,000 people. Moscow denies providing weapons, training and personnel to support the separatists, but independent observers, journalists and official monitors have substantial evidence to the contrary. Lithuania, with an ethnic Ukrainian population of 44,000 people, has sent military equipment to back Kyiv’s efforts in the war, and hosts 500 American soldiers to bolster NATO's eastern flank near Russia's borders.

In 1949 the UN agreed a Convention of the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. Seventy years later, there are an estimated 21 million forced-labour victims worldwide. Contemporary forms of slavery include trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour, forced marriage, and abducting children for use in armed conflict. Pray for stronger, wiser networking between governments and agencies working to eliminate slavery. Also in 1949, NATO was established as the world's most powerful defence alliance. The current ‘alliance’ has strained relations between America and France, who hold opposing views, Turkey disagrees with NATO’S plans for Baltic areas, the USA is criticising NATO countries for their alliance funding, and the UK’s Armed Forces Christian Union's director said it is unfortunate that ‘public disagreements’ have marked the anniversary of an alliance created to stand for unity. See

Christians will soon celebrate Christmas, BUT hundreds of millions of people have not yet heard of Christ. The great revivals and mission advances throughout church history followed the pattern of prayer preceding evangelism. Now, tens of thousands of churches with hundreds of mission organisations and prayer movements are joining forces for an epic prayer and mission initiative, unlike anything the world has known, called GO 2020. The goal is to reach one billion unreached people with Christ’s Good News. By May 2020, GO 2020 aims to have mobilised 100 million Christians to pray that unreached people groups, at home and abroad, will come to know the Lord, as mission agencies preach and teach. No one organisation can accomplish such a feat, but many can flow together like tributaries into one unstoppable river. To get involved, go to

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is an intergovernmental organisation of low-lying coastal and small island countries, many of which are put at risk by climate change. As COP 25 enters its second week, AOSIS warns, ‘We are mired in a planetary emergency of existential proportion. We have breached 60% of the 15 planetary tipping-points. The impacts are real and current for people living on small islands. The entire atoll of Tuvalu is at risk of flooding from sea-level rise by 2050. Even greater segments of other small island states are at risk much earlier than previously projected. Our schools, ports, hospitals, centuries-old monuments, sacred sites, and other critical infrastructure are at risk of inundation and destruction.’