Morocco: response to severe winter emergency
Authorities in Morocco are confronting a severe winter emergency as freezing temperatures, heavy rainfall, snowfall, and flash floods impact large swathes of the country. In response, they have launched a nationwide relief operation covering 28 provinces, aiming to assist around 73,000 vulnerable households with food supplies, blankets, and essential aid. Red weather alerts warn of as much as 80 cm of snow in the High Atlas mountains, while orange alerts signal intense rainfall across central and northern regions. The extreme conditions have already proved deadly: flash floods in the coastal city of Safi killed at least 37 people, damaged homes, and swept away vehicles. To mitigate further harm, the government has mobilised road clearance teams, emergency monitoring centres, and provincial vigilance committees to maintain access to remote and high-altitude areas: residents are being urged to remina cautious, especially when travelling. The relief efforts reflect Morocco’s broader strategy to protect vulnerable communities and mitigate the impacts of what authorities describe as unusually severe winter weather.
Thailand: life in limbo for Myanmar refugees as aid dries up
Refugees living in camps along the Thai–Myanmar border are facing a deepening humanitarian crisis as food and medical aid is sharply reduced, even as they gain the long-denied right to work legally outside the camps. Decades-old assistance systems have been disrupted by Donald Trump’s major cuts to USAID and other humanitarian funding, leaving more than 100,000 refugees struggling with food shortages, declining education access, and collapsing healthcare services. Monthly food credits have been suspended for most families, forcing many to rely on dwindling savings or informal work, while only the most vulnerable continue receiving limited rations. Clinics once run by international agencies are now barely functioning, with severe shortages of medicines and trained staff. Educators warn hungry children may drop out of school to work illegally. Amid this hardship, Thailand’s decision to allow refugees to work legally offers a rare lifeline, restoring dignity and self-reliance: it could fill a migrant labour shortage after the conflict with Cambodia in July triggered an exodus of Cambodian workers. Yet fears of exploitation, family separation, and limited job opportunities remain, underscoring the fragile balance between hope and desperation.
NHS under huge strain from spike in ‘super flu’
Hospitalisations for influenza in England have surged by more than 50% in a week, with NHS leaders warning that the current ‘super flu’ wave shows no signs of peaking. An average of 2,660 patients per day were admitted with flu up to 7 December, a figure NHS England says is still rising and could exceed 5,000 by the 14th - equivalent to filling three hospitals. Children aged five to 14 currently have the highest positivity rates, while the sickest patients tend to be adults over 75 and children under five. Experts attribute the unusually early and severe spike to a mutated strain of H3N2, meaning population immunity may be lower than usual. Hospitalisations for norovirus are also increasing, adding further pressure as the NHS faces winter strain and the possibility of a resident doctors’ strike. Leaders have urged the British Medical Association to accept the Government’s offer and avoid additional disruption during an already critical period.
X Factor finalist discovers the joy of faith
Singer-songwriter Talia Dean, once an X Factor finalist, discovered that fame brought none of the fulfilment she longed for. Though achieving what many dream of, she found herself exhausted, unwell, and deeply empty — 'an endless search to fill a void you can never fill with claps and cheers or money.' On New Year’s Eve 2023, after years of feeling low and searching for 'something,' she wandered into a churchyard and desperately prayed for a sign of warmth or love. God answered through the unexpected kindness of strangers - the vicar’s wife and daughters, who invited her in, prayed for her, and, as she describes it, filled the kitchen with heavenly light. Later that day, she asked the Lord for one more sign, and sunlight broke through the grey rainclouds into her room. Talia has now joyfully returned to her Catholic roots, creating worship music, including her BBC-performed song 'I will praise Your name’. She longs for others to discover faith, direction, and the soul-filling joy she has found in Christ.
