Moments before he went into Downing Street for the first time as prime minister, Rishi Sunak said ‘this government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.’ Three months later, he confronts issues challenging these promises. No PM wants a reputation for harbouring fixed penalty notices gathered whilst in office but being fined for not wearing a seatbelt was his second offence after his one as chancellor during the pandemic. The deputy prime minister has reportedly had 24+ civil servants make complaints against him. Nadhim Zahawi, the Conservative Party Chairman, is determined to stay in post despite many unanswered questions over a £5m fine that was paid over a tax dispute while he was chancellor and that the prime minister knew about the whole thing.

‘Two or three Met Police officers per week will appear in court on criminal charges in the coming weeks and months’ said commissioner Sir Mark Rowley. ‘And the public should prepare for more painful stories as the force confronts violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and sex offences’. He spoke in the wake of PC David Carrick admitting on January 16th dozens of rape and sexual offences against 12 women and PC Hussain Chehab who pleaded guilty to child sex offences on 24th January. Sir Mark said, ‘We haven't applied the same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting criminals. I'm deeply sorry for that. Lifting the stone and revealing painful truths will not be resolved overnight, and I mustn't pretend it will. I hope you understand that can't be done. We must prepare for more painful stories as we confront issues.’

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are calling for a radical redesign of England's social care system. They said their National Care Covenant will hold the government, communities and individuals responsible for caring for the elderly and disabled to account. It would include investment for communities and a new deal for unpaid carers. Rt Rev James Newcombe said, ‘We're aware that this is not going to be cheap. Our primary view is payment for it has to come out of taxation. We would like to see a covenant rather like the military covenant that currently exists in this country. It sets out clearly who's responsible for what, what we can expect, and helps us to recognise that whether it's from a financial point of view, or in terms of actually doing what’s necessary, we all have a part to play.’

Healthwatch gathers and champions the views of users of health and social care services, in order to identify improvements and influence providers’ plans. New data shows an increase in the number of people who avoid getting prescription medicines, booking NHS appointments and vital dental treatment for financial reasons. A tracker poll conducted with 2,000 adults found people who avoided an NHS appointment due to the cost of travel doubled to almost one in 10. Over one in 10 avoided booking an NHS appointment because of associated costs, - accessing the Internet and expensive phone calls. 39% said changes made to keep up with rising cost of living included avoiding dentists, NHS prescriptions, or even buying medicines over the counter. They are not turning on the heating and are cutting back on food. Consequently, 35% said their physical and mental health had gotten worse in the past two months.

Between 27 – 29 January prayer leaders from across the nations are in Bucharest, Romania to intercede for an end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. This has not been an easy event to facilitate. Some have had spiritual attacks on their lives and families. Please pray for their continued protection after the conference. As we thank God for the relief agencies, churches and governments helping those suffering the consequences of man’s pride and greed, we know that only God’s Spirit, working through His people can bring healing, reconciliation and peace. Pray that every prayer released during this time will resound continually in the coming weeks to bring a lasting peace and reconciliation.

A Wagner mercenaries Serbian-language video showing Serb volunteers training to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine has outraged Serbia's president Vucic. He said, ‘Why do you, Wagner, call Serbians when you know it is against our rules?’ So far, Serbia has prioritised Russian friendship over ambitions to join the EU, but now Belgrade lawyers and anti-war groups have filed criminal complaints against Russia’s ambassador and Serbia's state security and information agency for recruiting Serbians for Wagner. Vucic said, ‘Serbia’s path is towards the West, not towards invading Ukraine. Serbia consistently voted in favour of resolutions at the UN, condemning Russian hostility.’ That stance does not impress MEPs because Serbia refuses to impose sanctions on Russia. MEPs have called for ending Serbia membership negotiations until they agree to sanctions and forego cheap Gazprom gas from Russia.

There have been Ukrainian anti-corruption reforms before, but stakes are higher now that Kyiv is receiving billions of dollars of financial aid from Western allies. Officials are warned through official and unofficial channels: focus on the war, help victims, reduce bureaucracy and stop doing dubious business. Some have not listened. Several senior officials have resigned as Zelensky begins a shake-up of government personnel. A top adviser, four deputy ministers and five regional governors left their posts on 24th January in the broad anti-corruption drive. There are bribery claims worth hundreds of thousands of pounds and officials living lavishly. Zelensky is responding to ‘key public demands’ that justice must apply to everyone and state officials cannot leave Ukraine unless on authorised business. Ukraine is historically corrupt. In 2021 Ukraine ranked 122 out of 180 corrupt countries.

Niger is an important transit area from West and Central Africa, Libya, Algeria and Europe. All must face the desert before reaching their destination. Between January and May 2022, Algeria sent 14,196 migrants like Cécé, back to Niger. Cécé, a tiler from Guinea, has just returned from Algeria where he could never leave the dangerous construction site where he was sporadically underpaid. It was not worth staying, so he returned home to the same job he had left. A roundtrip tracing political geographies, imagined borders, expulsions, deportations, targeted removals and defeats. The feeling of shame for what has been invested in terms of time, money, energy, dreams and regret is mixed with the bitter relief of still being alive. These are times in which the seas, deserts and especially the use of borders are nothing but sophisticated systems of point elimination.

The influence of the Church is waning and waxing in north and south America. The religious forms once dominant (Catholicism, mainline Protestantism) see a marked decline in their influence. Secularism, the growing presence of other world religions and the increasing personalisation of spirituality all gravitate against classical Christian orthodoxy. Evangelicals and charismatics continue to grow - but not as fast as they once did. Pray for Christians to come to a personal faith in Christ, not striving to earn entrance to heaven by works, ceremonies and pilgrimages. Prosperity theology can turn God into a heavenly sugar-daddy who exists to bless us rather than a loving Father who wants engagement in every area of our lives. It syncretises the Gospel with materialism and stunts the growth of the Christian with a focus on things of this world. Maturity is needed in the churches.  Sanctification and maturity are often lacking. Churches that grow spectacularly often decline in the same manner.

There is a move to change Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Act, and the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) has recommended removing the right of Christian schools to exclusively hire Christian teachers. They released a Report containing 46 recommendations, four of which relate to religious bodies, one of these recommendations would narrow the 'genuine occupational requirements' so Christian schools cannot require all staff to be Christian. Only certain roles would meet that criterion, like the principal or chaplain. A science teacher, for example, would not be required to be a Christian. This dramatically undermines a Christian school’s ability to fulfil their ethos. Christian schools are places where students practise their faith along with teachers and staff. The idea that staff are not required to live according to the school’s religious ethos is at odds with faith-based learning.  The Australian Christian Lobby is encouraging Australians to write to their MPs and the Minister for Education to express their concerns.