USA - Whether Tony the Tiger is declaring Frosted Flakes “grrreat” or a manic bird is going “cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs,” food commercials remain mainstays of after-school TV even as childhood obesity has become a health crisis. For the last decade, the food industry has defended those ads in part by saying its products are relatively healthy — according to nutrition criteria it has set for itself. But a new report says those criteria are rife with loopholes.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - A dormant volcano in Papua New Guinea has erupted for the first time ever forcing the evacuation of the entire island amid fears of landslides and tsunamis. The eruption on Kadovar Island, north of Australia, could become explosive and images show the large plume of ash and smoke engulfing the island and reaching a staggering 2.1km (1.3 miles) above sea level. The Rabaul Volcanological Observatory said: “Due to the steepness of the island, landslides are possible, and together with the explosive nature of the magma, tsunamis may be generated. An estimated 500-600 people live on the island, and all residents have been evacuated with no loss of life, said the US-based charity Samaritan Aviation, which operates seaplanes to remote areas of PNG.
USA - Earthquakes have hit California sparking frantic speculation the terrifying ‘BIG ONE’ is on its way. In the last 48 hours, the southwestern State in the US has been rocked by eight tremors, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). All but three of the tremors have come along the San Andreas fault – a deadly line which runs through California and is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. The strongest of the quakes came in Berkeley, near the east coast of California, which measured 4.4 on the Richter scale. Californian residents took to social media to share their experiences of the earthquakes, with many fearing that the worst is yet to come.
PAKISTAN - On Wednesday, the Pakistani government ordered 1.4 million Afghan refugees to leave the country in 30 days. According to DAWN, the oldest English-language newspaper in Pakistan, this is the sixth extension given to refugees, of which the last expired on December 31. It appears the announcement’s decision was linked to President Trump’s and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s threats to Pakistan, which now requires 1.4 million Afghan refugees, who lost their legal status on December 31, 2017, to migrate back to Afghanistan by end of month, where the infestation of Taliban forces thrive. On top of America’s failed war in Afghanistan, President Trump has ramped up aerial bombings in the country by threefold leading to more destabilization.
USA - The United States announced Thursday it was suspending security assistance to Pakistan for failing to take "decisive action" against Taliban militants targeting US personnel in neighboring Afghanistan. The State Department's declaration signaled growing frustration over Pakistan's cooperation in fighting terrorist networks. Initially vague information on how much money and material was being withheld suggested the primary goal was to substantiate President Donald Trump's surprising New Year's Day tweet that accused Pakistan of playing US leaders for "fools." On Monday, Trump said the US had "foolishly" given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid in the last 15 years and had gotten nothing in return but "lies & deceit." He reiterated longstanding allegations that Pakistan gives "safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan."
ISRAEL - Israel on Wednesday said illegal African migrants would be paid to leave the country to the tune of thousands of dollars per head or else face imprisonment. In a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat to draft a plan to forcibly expel migrants who do not leave of their own will, even while ministers approved a plan to imprison them.
USA - Here is the relevant part of the note, from the 10th page of the book's prologue: "Many of the accounts of what has happened in the Trump White House are in conflict with one another; many, in Trumpian fashion, are baldly untrue. These conflicts, and that looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book. ‘Sometimes I have let the players offer their versions, in turn allowing the reader to judge them. In other instances I have, through a consistency in the accounts and through sources I have come to trust, settled on a version of events I believe to be true.’"
The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, described the book as "complete fantasy."
PAKISTAN - Pakistani companies have been given a green light to use the Chinese yuan in trade with Beijing, which could potentially sideline the US dollar and other currencies used there. The move coincides with a US-Pakistan aid row. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said it “has taken comprehensive policy-related measures to ensure that imports, exports and financing transactions can be denominated in CNY,” according to a statement issued late on Tuesday. CNY is now effectively on par with the US dollar, euro and other international currencies in the country. While Islamabad and Beijing had already been considering ditching the US dollar for yuan in bilateral trade for some time, the announcement comes at a particularly low point in US-Pakistani relations.
GERMANY - While the CDU and SPD parties are getting ready to start talks on the formation of a new government on Sunday, the situation is complicated by the fact that the two political forces have very different opinions on a number of issues - from migration to European integration. Some of them might become sticking points during the upcoming negotiations.
GERMANY - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, weakened by an election setback in September, launches a second bid to build a coalition government on Sunday when she sits down with the Social Democrats (SPD) for exploratory talks. A re-run of her ‘grand coalition’ with the SPD, in power from 2013 to 2017, appears the best option for conservative Merkel is as it would provide stability in what would be her fourth term.
USA - According to one website that tracks these things, in 2017 alone “there were 2035 Islamic attacks in 61 countries, in which 15,700 people were killed and 14,302 injured.” Even though ISIS is on the ropes, Islamic terror continues to spread, and we must boldly confront this threat.
UK - The year 2017 was a period of almost uniform “demise” and “retreat” for Europe’s political centre-left, The Guardian and New York Times newspapers have declared. Across the continent this year, 946 districts held top-level votes, but in only 56 (just under 6 per cent) did centre-left parties hold their own or improve their vote share.
USA - An unverified report that Beijing was negotiating a secret deal with Pyongyang, published on Tuesday by the Washington Free Beacon, and syndicated by the Washington Times newspaper, has not gained much traction beyond that spattering of conservative American news outlets, garnering only a healthy dose of skepticism. Not surprisingly, China was also not interested.
USA - UN Ambassador Nikki Haley made a statement on the uprising in Iran on Tuesday, giving strong support to the “brave people of Iran” and dismissing as “complete nonsense” the Iranian regime’s excuses for a crackdown.
USA - Technologies are often billed as transformative. For William Kochevar, the term is justified. Mr Kochevar is paralysed below the shoulders after a cycling accident, yet has managed to feed himself by his own hand. This remarkable feat is partly thanks to electrodes, implanted in his right arm, which stimulate muscles. But the real magic lies higher up. Mr Kochevar can control his arm using the power of thought. His intention to move is reflected in neural activity in his motor cortex; these signals are detected by implants in his brain and processed into commands to activate the electrodes in his arms. An ability to decode thought in this way may sound like science fiction but brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) like the BrainGate system used by Mr Kochevar provide evidence that mind-control can work.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this section are not our own, unless specifically stated, but are provided to highlight what may prove to be prophetically relevant material appearing in the media.
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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