USA - Ramen noodles are a staple for many people trying to eat on the cheap. They are filling meals for those who need something fast, easy and inexpensive. They can even be a quickie meal for vegans and vegetarians, if you buy the right brand and flavor. That said, though, they’re apparently death in a crinkly little bag or cup, according to a new study by Baylor University researchers. If you eat a lot of ramen noodles, your risk of metabolic changes linked to heart disease, diabetes and stroke rise considerably. Even those who lived on an unhealthy fast food diet but no instant noodles were less likely to have metabolic syndrome than those who ate ramen noodles at least twice a week on an otherwise healthy diet. That’s just scary.
USA - A New Jersey mall was forced into lockdown after a crowd of between 700 and 1,000 juveniles became unruly to the point where shops shuttered their windows, the escalators were switched off and the police were called. The incident began at approximately 7:30 pm local time at the mall entrance beside a JC Penney store. Responding officers encountered a crowd of between 700 and 1,000 unaccompanied juveniles. Such disorderly scenes have become commonplace across the United States in recent years. A similar, though much smaller, incident at the Weberstown Mall in Stockton, California provoked a police response…
USA - The United States announced a $285 million cut in the United Nations’ “bloated” budget for next year, negotiated by UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. A statement by the United States Mission to the United Nations reads:
USA - Debkafile, an Israeli website close to the military intelligence, has reported that the Trump administration has decided to take a series of punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority (PA) after its successful campaign on Jerusalem in the UN General Assembly.
CYPRUS - The eastern Mediterranean is expected to witness the first conflict of 2018, as developments at the end of 2017 are signaling worsening relationships between Turkey and the Greek Cypriot-Greece-Israel-Egypt bloc. Territorial disputes over natural gas and newly discovered hydrocarbon reserves in the eastern Mediterranean basin are the reason.
USA - American lives are shorter on average than those in other wealthy nations, and the gap is growing ever wider, according to the latest data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2016, US life expectancy dropped for the second year in a row, a statistical event that hasn't happened since the early 1960s. The United States remains one of the wealthiest countries in the world. So what happened?
USA - Apple, Google, Microsoft and other tech giants have transformed the way billions of us communicate, shop, socialize and work. Now, as consumers, medical centers and insurers increasingly embrace health-tracking apps, tech companies want a bigger share of the more than $3 trillion spent annually on health care in the United States, too. The companies are accelerating their efforts to remake health care by developing or collaborating on new tools for consumers, patients, doctors, insurers and medical researchers. And they are increasingly investing in health start-ups.
USA - National Health Expenditure (NHE) grew 4.3% to $3.3 trillion in 2016, or $10,348 per person, and accounted for 17.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Per person personal health care spending for the 65 and older population was $18,988 in 2012, over 5 times higher than spending per child ($3,552) and approximately 3 times the spending per working-age person ($6,632). The elderly were the smallest population group, nearly 14 percent of the population, and accounted for approximately 34 percent of all spending in 2012.
UK - British universities will be less able to make scientific breakthroughs if they do not tackle the “safe space” culture, a minister has warned. Jo Johnson, the universities minister, said that free speech is under threat at centres of learning across the country, with books being removed from libraries and lists of “trigger words” being banned for fear of causing offence.
CHINA - One of the world’s top energy importers, China, is set to roll out a yuan-denominated oil contract as early as this year. Analysts call the plan, announced by Beijing in September, a huge move against the dollar's global dominance. The so-called petro-yuan is a “wake up call” for investors who haven’t paid attention to the Chinese plans, according to the head of Graticule Asset Management Asia Adam Levinson, as quoted by Bloomberg.
EUROPE - Discussions are underway to create an EU Olympic team as part of the bloc’s push for an ever closer Europe, it is claimed. West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge said the suggestion of a team comprising EU members was the subject of "serious" debate behind closed doors in Brussels and Strasbourg. The UKIP MEP said Brussels chiefs would like an EU team enter the 2036 Games, the 100th anniversary of the Berlin tournament, which was opened by Adolf Hitler. Mr Etheridge said the move was the latest attempt by EU leaders to “destroy national identity”.
RUSSIA - On Tuesday, the Russian president's authorized representative for child rights, Anna Kuznetsova, announced the completion of the development of the school course "Family Studies." During the press conference, Kuznetsova explained that the course was developed at the Russian Academy of Education, and negotiations were also held about its implementation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. Kuznetsova expressed the idea of creating a course called "Family Studies" or "Lessons of Family Happiness" this summer. So, according to her proposal, classes should be aimed at promoting traditional family values and promote the protection of motherhood and childhood.
MIDDLE EAST - The Palestinian Authority’s rift with the US is growing deeper, according to Israeli media outlets. PA President Mahmoud Abbas president has come to see US President Donald Trump as “a lost cause,” according to the Times of Israel. The PA leader reportedly instructed his staff to sever all ties with US diplomatic officials at every level, including relations between the Palestinians and American diplomats posted at the US Consulate in East Jerusalem. The White House is reportedly looking for a Palestinian liaison other than Abbas.
USA - Bitcoin surged over $16,000 on Boxing Day in a rebound from the cryptocurrency's worst week since 2013. The world's largest and best-known cryptocurrency fell nearly 30 per cent on Friday from an all-time high of $19,843 to $11,159.93 - losing more than a quarter of its value in a single day. As of Tuesday morning, however, the digital currency was up again to more than $16,000.
UK - Students at some universities have drawn up a list of 'trigger words' and demanded books containing them should be removed from the library, Jo Johnson has said. The universities minister warned institutions they have four months to clamp down on student zealots who restrict free speech on campuses.
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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