Last Thursday night rebels entered the town of Chibok shooting from pickup trucks and motorcycles to take control of the area. Chilbok is an enclave of mostly Christian families; some are involved in translating the Bible into local languages in the mainly Muslim northern part of Nigeria and it was from Chilbok that the 200+ mainly Christian schoolgirls were kidnapped. The Nigerian army says it has regained control of the town from Boko Haram and Chibok is free and secure, so residents can return to their homes.

On Tuesday an alliance of companies and aid groups announced plans to test experimental drugs and collect blood plasma from Ebola survivors to treat new victims of the disease in West Africa. Plasma from survivors contains antibodies that the immune system makes to fight the virus. Several Ebola patients have received survivor plasma and recovered, but doctors say there is no way to know whether it really helps without a study like the one they are about to start within a month. To date there are no drugs or vaccines approved for Ebola. Doctors Without Borders said last week it would host studies of experimental treatments and plasma at three of its West Africa treatment centres.

Members of the Islamic Defenders Front protested against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (nicknamed Ahok) being sworn in as Jakarta's first Christian governor in nearly 50 years. He is ethnically Chinese and a Christian and will take over one of Indonesia's most powerful political jobs. Hundreds of religious hardliners have staged protests against Ahok, underlining the difficulties facing the president's battle against religious intolerance in a nation with the world's biggest Muslim population. Thousands of police have been deployed around the capital in case of violence. Secular Indonesia has seen a rise in attacks against Christians and minority groups. ‘Some do not have high hopes for the administration because parliament is not controlled by his coalition.’ said Indonesia’s director for Human Rights Watch.

A Pakistani Christian asks for our prayers: ‘The Pakistan military is continuing their raids against the Taliban along the Afghanistan border. Pray that they will continue these efforts. There has been confusion and division among many of the Taliban and Al Qaida. Pray that this may continue to an even greater extent. Some leaders from IS have been seen in Pakistan. These are disgruntled Al Qaida followers who have been upset that Al Qaida was not doing more to take over Pakistan and carry out raids against the infidels (the Christian west). Pray that they may be stopped before they gain any momentum. Earlier this month the government reported that IS has joined Al Quaida Sunnis in Pakistan to carry out attacks against Shi'ites and Christians. Pray that these planned attacks might be foiled.’ Also please pray for a Christian professor who was arrested for blasphemy this week.

Jerusalem has seen many street battles in Arab areas between the locals and Israeli security forces in recent weeks, as well as a series of street terror attacks. The main source of conflict is the Temple Mount. Israel is trying to keep the status quo, with Jews and Christians not being allowed to pray or bring a Bible there. Meanwhile the Palestinian leadership is saying that Israel wants to tear the building down. A serious battle over Jerusalem is being waged, ‘I call on all leaders of countries in the Western world. I want to see outrage over this massacre.’ said Netanyahu while ordering the demolition of the assailants' residences.  Meanwhile a budget has passed its first reading in Israel’s parliament.  It has to pass two more readings before being approved. If it’s not approved by the end of 2014 Israel will have elections (a difficult process to deal with at this time).

Last week Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas talked of a risk of a global religious war. This week the images of a blood trail in a Jerusalem synagogue emerged after two Palestinians armed with meat cleavers and a gun killed five people before being shot dead themselves. It’s the deadliest incident in six years in the Holy City amid a surge in religious conflict. The two assassins belonged to the PFLP group (Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine). Benjamin Netanyahu gave warning of a ‘harsh response’ to the attack. Confrontations now in both Jerusalem and the West Bank underscore the tensions that have been ongoing for months. Politically sharp statements are coming from both sides.

Christian groups in North Korea are vowing to carry on their missionary work despite mounting risks since Korean-American activist Kenneth Bae was imprisoned two years ago. (see news of his release) ‘We are getting more nervous,’ said Kim Seung-eun, a missionary for the Caleb Mission, which is based in South Korea's South Chungcheong Province but frequently travels to North Korea. ‘We have to come up with a strategy to avoid another case like Kenneth Bae's.’ Reticence is necessary, said one US-based activist, because of the dangers involved in propagating religion, especially in an overt, organised way, in a totalitarian state. If one person is caught, then everyone else can suffer the consequences. Open Doors says North Korea has 70,000 Christians held in labour camps.

Federal police are investigating a record number of human trafficking cases involving sex slavery, forced marriages and child brides. The number of active investigations into human trafficking has doubled in the past two years to 60. Police said trafficking crimes are grossly under-reported. The Victorian police force is urging its officers across the state to be on the alert in cafes, on farms and in the construction industry. Police are also examining whether some Melbourne karaoke bars are hosting trafficked women or operating as illegal brothels, which would add to the estimated 300 illegal brothels already operating across the city. Police are also uncovering more cases of trafficking related to forced marriages and have 20+ active investigations into alleged forced marriages.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned that Palestinians will not allow Israeli extremists to ‘contaminate’ the Temple Mount, saying that allowing Jewish prayer at the site would risk a global religious war. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeated several times in recent days that he does not intend to change the status quo at the site. Jews are allowed to visit but forbidden from praying at the contested site, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war, but where it allowed the Muslim Waqf authorities to remain in administrative charge. Abbas also said the Palestinian claims to all territory captured by Israel in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 were not up for debate and, ‘The Muslim and Christian worlds will never accept Israel’s claims that Jerusalem belongs to them. The Jerusalem that was occupied in 1967 belongs to us.’

APEC is a 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum that met this week to move towards a new free trade zone and agree as a climate deal. America and Russia are part of APEC. President Barack Obama and President Vladimir Putin met three times while there, though relations between their countries continue to deteriorate. The White House said they tackled the tough issues of Russia's provocations in Ukraine and support for Syria's embattled government. They also discussed the fast-approaching deadline in nuclear talks with Iran, in which the US and Russia find themselves on the same negotiating team. Unlike some of their past meetings, Obama and Putin kept their deep-seated policy disagreements behind the scenes, but their public encounters suggested relationships between two of the most powerful leaders in the world remains tense.