More than 2,000 demonstrators have been detained as Russians nationwide took to the streets on January 31 for a second-straight weekend of protests demanding the release of jailed opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Aleksei Navalny amid a sweeping crackdown on his supporters.

Riot police were out in force in Moscow and St. Petersburg, rounding up protesters as they assembled for nationwide rallies that had been scheduled to begin at noon local time.

More than 460 people in the capital had reportedly been arrested as demonstrations there were delayed after city transportation links were closed.

In St. Petersburg, one police officer waved a baton in front of a RFE/RL journalist's face when questioned why he was detaining one of the more than 200 people reportedly arrested there.

Protesters in the Far East and Siberia braved subfreezing temperatures and a heavy riot-police presence to start the day's demonstrations

OVD-Info reported more than 2,100 arrests early in the day's events, including more than 120 people in the Far East city of Vladivostok, over 190 in Krasnoyarsk, and several journalists in other towns and cities.

This is #Kazan. Police are randomly and brutally detaining people, beating them with batons and literally jumping on them. pic.twitter.com/8zjAtYtM6Y

An accredited freelance correspondent working for RFE/RL's Russian Service, Andrei Afanasyev, was detained in the Far East city of Blagoveshchensk as he was heading to cover protests there.

As reports that multiple journalists wearing jackets identifying themselves as members of the press had been detained in rallies across the country, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow called on Russian authorities to respect international human rights and the freedom of the press.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, said in a tweet that the United States "condemns the persistent use of harsh tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists by Russian authorities for a second week straight. We renew our call for Russia to release those detained for exercising their human rights, including Aleksei Navalny."

One protester told Current Time that "the scale of the government's reaction to the last rally [on January 24] gives reason to believe that there were worries" that led to "panicked excuses" to close central Moscow.

Russian authorities had braced for a groundswell of protests, with police issuing warnings that participants at "illegal" rallies will face criminal charges for violating coronavirus-related health restrictions.

Last weekend, almost 4,000 people were detained in demonstrations in more than 110 cities in some of the largest anti-government rallies in years.

With last weekend's protests some of the biggest the country has seen in years, Russian authorities this week ramped up pressure by detaining a number of close Navalny supporters in an apparent effort to limit their ability to mobilize.

Many were detained and charged with violating restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic by calling for mass protests.

More: https://www.rferl.org/a/russians-rally-navalny-detentions-second-weekend-protests-demanding-release-/31077854.html

Pray: For the release of Navalny and all of those being detained illegally.
Pray: For corruption to brought into the light and for perpetrators to be held accountable and brought to justice.
Pray: For a return to true democracy and freedom of speech in Russia.

International troops plan to stay in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline envisaged by the insurgent Taliban’s deal with the United States, four senior NATO officials said, a move that could escalate tensions with the Taliban demanding full withdrawal.

“There will be no full withdrawal by allies by April-end,” one of the officials told Reuters.

“Conditions have not been met,” he said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. “And with the new U.S. administration, there will be tweaks in the policy, the sense of hasty withdrawal which was prevalent will be addressed and we could see a much more calculated exit strategy.”

The administration of then-President Donald Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban early last year calling for the withdrawal of all foreign troops by May in return for the insurgents fulfilling certain security guarantees.

Trump hailed the accord — which did not include the Afghan government — as the end of two decades of war. He reduced U.S. troops to 2,500 by this month, the fewest since 2001.

Plans on what will happen after April are now being considered and likely to be a top issue at a key NATO meeting in February, the NATO sources said.

The positions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are becoming increasingly important after the alliance was side-lined by Trump, diplomats and experts say.

Peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban began in September in Doha, but violence has remained high.

“No NATO ally wants to stay in Afghanistan longer than necessary, but we have been clear that our presence remains conditions-based,” said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu. “Allies continue to assess the overall situation and to consult on the way forward.”

She said about 10,000 troops, including Americans, are in Afghanistan. Those levels are expected to stay roughly the same until after May, but the plan beyond that is not clear, the NATO source said.

Kabul and some foreign governments and agencies say the Taliban has failed to meet conditions due to escalated violence and a failure to cut ties with militant groups such as Al Qaeda, which the Taliban denies.

The administration of Joe Biden, who replaced Trump on Jan. 20, has launched a review of his predecessor’s peace agreement.

A Pentagon spokesman said the Taliban have not met their commitments, but Washington remained committed to the process and had not decided on future troop levels.

A State Department representative said Biden was committed to bringing a “responsible end to the ‘forever wars’... while also protecting Americans from terrorist and other threats.”

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters the insurgents remained committed to the peace process.

“No doubt that if the Doha deal is not implemented there will be consequences, and the blame will be upon that side which does not honor the deal,” he said. “Our expectations are also that NATO will think to end this war and avoid more excuses for prolonging the war in Afghanistan.”

NATO and Washington will have a challenge getting the Taliban to agree to an extension beyond May.

If the situation remains unclear, the Taliban may increase attacks, possibly once again on international forces, said Ashley Jackson, co-director of the Centre for the Study of Armed Groups at the British think tank ODI. The lack of a resolution “gives voice to spoilers inside the Taliban who never believed the U.S. would leave willingly, and who have pushed for a ratcheting up of attacks even after the U.S.-Taliban deal was agreed,” she said.

A Feb. 17-18 meeting of NATO defense ministers will be a chance for a newly empowered NATO to determine how the process would be shaped, said one source, a senior European diplomat.

“With the new administration coming in there will be a more cooperative result, NATO countries will have a say.”

More: https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/nato-sources-foreign-troops-stay-afghanistan-beyond-may-deadline

Pray: for wisdom and tenacity for those working behind the scenes to re-negotiate the way forward in the light of the troop withdrawal pre-requirements not being met.
Pray: for an end to the ongoing hostilities and insecurity.
Pray: for lasting peace to be brought about across Afghanistan.

Ethiopia moved heavy weapons to disputed territory on its border with Sudan, according to people familiar with the matter.

The military build-up in an area known as the al-Fashqa triangle signals increasing tensions, after deadly clashes in recent weeks raised international concern. Sudanese officials met Saudi Arabian officials in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the crisis, after the U.K. last week called for a de-escalation of tensions.

The Ethiopian army deployed armaments including tanks and anti-aircraft batteries to the border region in the past two weeks, said two foreign diplomats who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman Billene Seyoum referred a request for comment to the Foreign Ministry, and Redwan Hussein, spokesman for the government’s emergency task force, didn’t respond to a request for comment sent by text message.

Ethiopia’s government earlier this month accused the Sudanese military of carrying out organized attacks using machine-guns and armored convoys at their border. Those attacks killed “many civilians,” according to Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry.

Tensions between the two nations have ratcheted up since conflict erupted in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region on Nov. 4. Regional analysts and diplomats have said Abiy is under pressure from powerful Amhara politicians in his government, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, not to back down on the border dispute.

The state of Amhara, whose fighters backed the Ethiopian federal army’s incursion into Tigray, claims ownership of parts of al-Fashqa, including areas that are within Sudanese territory. Historically, Khartoum has allowed Amhara farmers to conduct business and live in the fertile area as long as they pay taxes and operate under Sudanese laws. In turn, Ethiopia has recognized the land as Sudanese.

The border dispute is straining relations already weakened by an impasse over a giant hydropower dam Ethiopia is building on the main tributary of the Nile River. Sudan and Egypt depend on the flow of the river for fresh water, and both countries want Ethiopia to agree to rules on the filling and operating of the reservoir to safeguard supplies.

Sudan says the border area around al-Fashqa was demarcated under colonial-era treaties dating back to 1902, putting the land firmly inside its international borders.

Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman, a member of Sudan’s transitional government, said Wednesday he’d sought political support from Saudi Arabia in talks he held in Riyadh, Sudan’s state-run SUNA news agency reported. Any eruption of war could affect security in the wider region, including the Red Sea, he said.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-28/ethiopia-moves-artillery-to-sudanese-border-after-deadly-clashes

More background: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55476831

Many Syrians forced from their homes by their country's brutal, decade-old war are now shocked to discover that their family farms have been taken over by regime loyalists and cronies.

Rights groups and legal experts say local authorities in parts of northwest Syria recaptured by government forces have staged auctions to effectively "confiscate" fertile land and punish opponents.

One refugee, 30-year-old Salman, said he always knew it would be difficult to return to the family plot in Idlib province he abandoned during an offensive a year ago by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. But whatever hopes he still had to return one day were all but crushed when he learnt the rights to cultivate the land had been sold off to a complete stranger.

"What right does someone have to come and take it?" the refugee, who asked to use a pseudonym, told AFP by phone from Greece where he illegally moved a few months ago.

Salman said he used to plant lentils, barley and black cumin on the 37 acres (15 hectares) of land he owns with his brothers, earning up to $12,000 each harvest. He discovered through a post on social media that the rights to the land were being auctioned off.

"We were shocked," he told AFP. "This land was left to us by our ancestors and we want to pass it down to our children."

Exploiting displacement

Several other Syrians displaced from southern Idlib and adjacent Hama and Aleppo provinces told AFP that they too have had their plots expropriated.  Some learnt about it through social media advertisements run by the regime-affiliated Farmers' Union in Idlib or through acquaintances still living nearby. In October, the Farmers' Union said that it was auctioning off the right to use and cultivate plots owned by Syrians "who don't reside in government-controlled areas".

It's a facade

In November, an Aleppo security committee said it was taking bids for plots in reconquered villages, according to documents obtained by The Day After activist group and the Observatory.

Amir, a displaced 38-year-old from Aleppo, said he was informed less than two months ago by his former neighbour that authorities were taking offers for his 20 acres of land there.

Amir asked the neighbour to bid on his behalf, but he declined.

"Someone who has relatives with intelligence services in the area" won the bid, said Amir, a father of five who now makes less than $2 a day picking olives in Idlib.

According to judge Anwar Mejni, a member of a UN committee tasked with overseeing the drafting of a new Syria constitution, the land auctions are "a kind of punishment".

"The auctions may not transfer ownership of the land, but they violate the rights" of original owners to access and cultivate them.

Another issue, said Mejni, is that "there is no legal framework" governing the auctions.

Even if the ACB indeed organised them to settle debts, he said, this "should be done under the supervision of the judiciary".

Another farmer, Abu Adel, abandoned his village in Hama back in 2012 as battles raged nearby but continued to visit his plot until regime forces seized his area last year.

The 54-year-old hired people to tend to it while he is away, but in July an "affiliate" of a local security committee won rights to use it in an auction.

They "are all part of the same clique", Abu Adel said. "It's a facade."

More: http://silkwavemission.com/board.php?board=english&command=body&no=1144

Pray: for an end to the tyranny of the Syrian regime and for the corruption.

Pray: for the continued success of the advocates including Amnesty, working to protect the rights of the displaced people.

Pray: for peace, so that the people can return and re-settle in their homes once more.

We have exciting news for you! We are continuing reaching people with the Gospel throughout 2021!

GO 21 is the first step in our efforts to reach the whole world with the Gospel and the kick-off of the GO Decade (2021-2030). After what we have seen with GO 2020, we believe it is possible to reach the whole world by 2030!

The GO 21 focus for May as "GO Month" includes these activities:

• May 1st - GO Prayer (World Prayer Together) Join this prayer Livestream kick-off to stand together for the harvest and pray: "Lord, here I am. Send me!"
• May 23rd - Global Sending Encourage churches to send out believers during the Pentecost Sunday service to share
  the Gospel on Global Outreach Day.
• May 29th - Global Outreach Day Since 2012 the Global Outreach Day keeps on mobilizing millions of believers to share their faith with at least one person the last Saturday in May.
• Throughout May 2021 - Prayer and Evangelism We invite every believer to be active through the month of May to pray, care,, and share. Pray for opportunities, care for people, and share the Gospel everywhere!

Invite your network, church, and ministry to be part of GO 21 to help mobilize millions to share the Gospel!

Please help us to get the word out!

We encourage you to share this flyer with the cause of reaching people with the Gospel with your whole network. Please help us to spread the news. Let's stand together to mobilize as many believers as possible.

The main goal of Global Outreach is to train, equip, and mobilize believers to share their faith and develop an evangelistic lifestyle.  This effort can't be accomplished with just one organization. We all know that only together can we achieve this goal.

The annual agenda (GO 21, GO 22 …) is a catalyst for an evangelistic lifestyle and church growth and contributes to the goal of the GO Decade: To share the Gospel with every person until 2030.

Download the 2021 ‘Year of the upper Room’ 40 Day Prayer Guides: 
Season 1 (1^st Jan – 9^th Feb)  |   Season 2 (10^th Feb – 23^rd March)

Together we can reach the world!  -  see www.go21.world

Download Media Pack | Download Flyer

Werner Nachtigal - Global Outreach Day / GO 21 / Go Decade

God at work regardless…

Thank you to all our supporters and subscribers, both directly and through IPC Connections - for your prayers and financial support across what has been such a tumultuous year. We pray God’s continued blessings upon you and your families.

Kazakhstan has recently become our 70th enlisted country where The Prayer Covenant is being used among children and youth!  This means that 7 million children in 70 nations have now been impacted with the Prayer Covenant and we are still counting!

The Last Quarter Evangelism initiative, a partnership between The Prayer Covenant, GO Decade and All Africa Baptist Youth Fellowship ran from October through to the end of December 2020.

We praise God for over 14,489 churches in 36 nations mobilizing 264,771 “missionaries”, 85% of which are children and youth to share the gospel with 5,808,380 persons resulting in 301,907 decisions to follow Jesus.

Watch the LQE Video HERE!

Israel is a 12-year-old boy who shared his powerful testimony:

‘2020 has been the best year of my life because I have discovered how beautiful it is to be a child of God.  I found a great joy in sharing the gospel with my classmates and sharing the gospel is now become part of my life whether the church plans an outreach or not.’

‘I had the opportunity to pray for adults and many people much older than myself. They were surprised to see my commitment and the way I shared the gospel with others.’

‘LQE helped me to experience God in a new way in my life.’

25 major language translations of the Prayer Covenant children’s resources are free to download HERE.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the joy of loving, following and serving You.  Thank you for your hand of protection upon our ministry partners this past year.  Thank you for the promise that as your Word goes forth it will not return void.

We ask your blessing upon all who receive this report. 

Thank you for their partnership in the gospel.
Continue to bless and keep them in your loving care. 
In Jesus name, Amen.

Our partner in Burkina Faso sent this video of their children’s choir singing The Prayer Covenant Song. We trust you will be blessed and encouraged as you watch it, as we have been.

We have much to celebrate in spite of Covid-19, and thank God for sustaining the work.

Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance. Psalm 2:8

Candy Marballi | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  | www.theprayercovenant.org

Global Family 24/7 365 Online Prayer
https://www.globalfamily24-7prayer.org/

15 Days of Prayer for The Buddhist World - Jan 28th and Feb 11th, 2021.
https://worldprayerguides.org/15-days-of-prayer-for-the-buddhist-world/

Forty Days to Palm Sunday. (Feb 17 - March 28) "Seek God for the City"
https://www.worldchristian.com/product/sg21

The Jesus Fast (1 March – 9 April)
www.thejesusfast.global/

4th March - Honouring John Robb
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

10 Days of Praise & Prayer (13 – 22 May 2021)
www.10days.net

Movement for African National Initiatives – Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 8-12 March 2021
https://maniafrica.com/category/prayers/

World Prayer Together (1^st May)
www.worldprayertogether.com

The March for Jesus (22 May 2021)
www.themarchforjesus.org

Global Day of Prayer & broadcast (including commissioning to GO)  (23 May 2021)
www.globalvoiceofprayer.com/global-day-of-prayer/

GO 21 / Global Outreach Day  (29 May 2021)
www.go2020.world/en/go21

GO Decade update (2020 – 2030) 
www.go2020.world/en/decade

Hope Movement – 90 Days of Hope / Global Day of Hope  (June – August 2021) 
www.go2020.world/en/go2020continues 

UPRising Events Calendar

GLOBAL UPRISING Manila, Philippines, Nov 2021
https://www.facebook.com/UPRISINGPhilippines/

The annual Buddhist World Prayer Focus is calling Christians and churches worldwide to take 15 days to learn about and pray for our world’s Buddhist friends between Jan 28th and Feb 11th, 2021.

The informative prayer guide booklets will help Christians to know how to pray for the people(s) growing up within this major and truly diverse world religion.

We recognize that Buddhism is an extraordinarily complex and often confusing worldview. At the same time, as Christians, we long that all the world’s people(s) will have an opportunity to freely see, hear and understand the grace of God incarnated in Jesus Christ.

To this end we inform ourselves, pray for and want to support opportunities to make that grace known also within the world’s Asian Communities.

The guide is available in these languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Russian, German, French, Thai, Korean and Vietnamese

Get your copy of the 15 Days Buddhist World Prayer Guide now and join this global movement!

Guides available here: https://worldprayerguides.org/15-days-of-prayer-for-the-buddhist-world/

This is an annual 40-Day call to prayer that provides a way to pray God's purposes for our cities with prayers of hope from scripture.

The prayers in the Seek God 64-page, full color prayer guide booklet will lift our prayers beyond our own concerns. As we seek God's face, we will ask Him to do things on a city-size scale--to bring spiritual awakening to our communities.

The booklet contains newly written topics and prayers to help unite and focus prayer through the 40 days leading to Palm Sunday. This booklet is a proven resource that unites and encourages churches in persistent prayer for breakthroughs in their communities. Quantity discounts make it possible to equip many in your church or ministry.

Some helpful features of Seek God For The City 2021

• Strengthens what you are already doing. No complicated program to organize or meetings to schedule.
• Unites prayer throughout your church. An attractive, easy-to-use tool that can help unite prayers between many churches throughout an entire community.
• Lifts prayer from private or trivial matters. Helps your people learn to pray for what matters most by directing attention toward what God is doing in the lives of people throughout your community.
• Builds the confidence of everyday believers to help them pray with clarity, authority and relevance as they learn to pray in keeping with scripture. Involves everyone in your church family, not just a “prayerful elite.”

- Opens a great way to pray toward Easter. For those of liturgical streams, it augments the Lenten season with a marvellous blend of repentance and intercessory hope. Those of other streams find that it lifts attention toward Christ’s visitation at Palm Sunday. The calendar concludes on Palm Sunday, leaving everyone prepared for Easter week without crowding the schedule with extra activity.

Order it here: https://www.worldchristian.com/product/sg21

Want to join the global prayer movement? Operation World (OW), the definitive global prayer handbook, has been used by more than a million Christians to pray for the nations.

Now as a mobile app you can receive reminders to pray for the “country of the day,” research statistics on each country and read the in-depth prayer request and praise reports given for each country of the world.

OW is widely regarded as the definitive volume of prayer information about the world and is the recipient of the ECPA Gold Medallion Award for Excellence in Evangelical Christian Literature.

Download on iOs:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/operation-world/id1181609244

Download on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.missionaldigerati.operationworld&hl=en&gl=US