Speaking on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis said the migrants there were being used for political propaganda. He urged people to focus on the causes of migration, such as ‘forgotten wars’, instead of punishing those suffering from their effects. He criticised building walls to keep people out. Saying that there are people persisting in treating the problem as something that doesn’t concern them, history teaches us ‘narrow self-interest and nationalism lead to disastrous consequences.’ The pandemic showed that major challenges must be confronted together and there were some signs of this in climate change, but little sign of such an approach to migration. He spoke in front of refugees but aimed all comments at European political leaders. His words betrayed frustration at ‘the failure of politicians to adequately address the migrant issue’.

Ukraine reported over 90,000 Russian troops and tanks being moved to the border, inside Ukraine’s territory, causing western powers concerns. On 7 December Vladimir Putin spoke via a video link with Joe Biden, who called for a de-escalation of tensions. Hours before the video talks, Washington was not planning to make a military response, but to use tough economic sanctions. However, by 8 December it said it was preparing strong economic and ‘other measures’ over fears of a Russian invasion. Mr. Biden and leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Italy agreed to use ‘all the tools at their disposal’. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration was preparing specific robust responses in the weeks ahead ‘if they were required’. Moscow denies it has plans to attack. See

The tallest mountain on Java erupted on 4 December, shooting columns of ash into the sky, blanketing surrounding villages. Pray for the rescue workers who are still digging through thick layers of hot ash and debris even as the volcano continues to erupt ash. Dozens of bodies have been found so far and thousands of people have been evacuated across 19 makeshift centres. Pray for the families who lived in the 3,000 damaged houses. Pray for the farmers who have lost livestock and livelihoods in areas buried in ash. Pray for the hundreds of homeless villagers who lived near a dam that burst due to cold lava and heavy rain, leaving everything submerged under sludge and ashy dust. Pray for those with burns and injuries from the initial eruption. Pray for vulnerable groups coping with highly polluted air, and pray for public kitchens and health facilities serving the displaced people.

WHO chief scientist Dr Swaminathan said reinfections with the Omicron variant 90 days after the virus first strikes are three times more common. While data on the virulence and transmissibility will take time, scientists know that Omicron is a dominant strain in South Africa. They have said there was no surge of re-infection during either the Beta or Delta waves, despite laboratory studies suggesting those variants had the potential to evade some immunity. But they are now detecting a spike in re-infections and the timing suggests the Omicron variant is the driving force. Prof Juliet Pulliam, from Stellenbosch University, said, ‘These findings suggest that Omicron's selection advantage is at least partially driven by an increased ability to infect previously infected individuals.’ However, it is still only one piece of the puzzle. See