Palestinian state is a 'fantasy', says son of Hamas founder

ISRAEL - The son of a founding member of Hamas, who worked as a spy for Israel’s security service for a decade, has denounced Palestinian state-building as nothing more than a “fantasy”. Mosab Hassan Yousef, the eldest son and expected heir to Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of Hamas’ foremost leaders in the West Bank, said that governments pushing for a Palestinian state are “playing with fire”.

Iran said to give Hezbollah missiles that ‘can reach Dimona’

MIDDLE EAST - Revolutionary Guard general says nuclear reactor ‘an easy target’ for Lebanese terror group. Iran has supplied Lebanese terror group and Iranian proxy Hezbollah with missiles “that can reach Dimona,” according to a new report in the semi-official Fars news agency. The report said the Iranian Revolutionary Guards delivered a new class of missiles, “Fateh,” with ranges of 250-350 kilometers and which can fit a 500kg warhead.

Hamas says Israeli leaders are ‘legitimate targets’

ISRAEL - Hamas said Friday that Israeli leaders are legitimate targets for assassination, after it was revealed that a terrorist cell working with the organization had been planning a hit on Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman. While Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that he did not have any specific information on that case, he stressed that “leaders of the Occupation (Israel) who are responsible for the killing of children and women and for defiling the sacred sites are legitimate targets for the resistance.” On Thursday the Shin Bet security service said Israeli forces foiled a Palestinian plan to kill Liberman during the summer war with Gaza. A group of Hamas members from near Bethlehem in the West Bank planned to purchase a rocket-propelled grenade, which would be shot at Liberman, who lives in an Israeli settlement in the area, the Shin Bet said.

 
EU must hand back half of its powers

FRANCE - The European Union will crumble if it does not return half of its powers to member states, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has said. Sarkozy, who is once again campaigning to lead the country, claims ’the system will explode’ if the EU continues to work in its current Brussels-centric form. The 59-year-old said the EU should only deal with industry, agriculture, competition, trade negotiations, energy and research. ‘I no longer believe in the possibility of changing things in Europe from the inside,’ he told the audience according to The Times. Sarkozy has promised that, if he is elected president in 2017, that he will withold all French business with the EU until Brussels meets his demands for reform.

 
“A bit more German Ruled”

ROMANIA - Under President-elect Klaus Johannis, Germany will greatly strengthen its influence on Rumania. This has been confirmed by a government spokesperson, who explained that Chancellor Angela Merkel explicitly assured Johann is "her support" in the "reinforcement of Rumania's European orientation" and agreed "to coordinate standpoints on important foreign policy issues with him in the future." This will particularly affect policies involving Russia.

Ecumenism remains a top priority, Pope tells pontifical council

VATICAN - The quest for Christian unity must be an ever-present concern for the Church, Pope Francis said in a message to the members of the Pontifical Council for Christian unity, which is meeting in Rome this week. In his written message the Holy Father welcomed the changes in attitude since Vatican II, but said that the spirit of ecumenism must be even more deeply embedded in the works of dioceses, parishes, religious communities, and lay movements. The Pope offered his thanks to everyone involved in ecumenical activities. The quest for Christian unity faces fresh challenges, the Pope acknowledged, because of new divisions on ethical and doctrinal issues. Yet he welcomed the growth of “spiritual ecumenism” — a greater willingness of Christians to pray together, to cooperate in good works, and to recognize martyrs for the faith.

 
Islam, ecumenism and regional conflict on pope's agenda in Turkey

VATICAN - Almost every papal trip abroad is a complex mix of the religious and political, and that will be especially true of Pope Francis' November 28-30 visit to Turkey. Given the country's crucial geographic position straddling Europe and Asia, its historic importance for both Christianity and Islam and the wars now raging in neighboring Syria and Iraq, Pope Francis will have to address a variety of urgent topics during his three-day visit. Though it has condemned such acts of terrorism, Turkey has proven a somewhat ambivalent member of the anti-Islamic State coalition, among other reasons, because of the Turkish government's opposition to Kurdish nationalists and the Syrian Bashar Assad regime, both of which are fighting the Islamic State. The pope is likely to tread lightly if at all on such geopolitical calculations, but he is sure to praise Turkey for accepting a vast number of refugees from the wars - as many as 1.6 million from Syria alone.

 
Palestinian Authority accuses Hamas of plotting against it from Turkish headquarters

MIDDLE EAST - Israel and Egypt have Hamas pinned inside Gaza after destroying hundreds of tunnels leading out of the Palestinian enclave, but the terrorist group is coordinating its efforts in the West Bank with logistical help from a command center more than 500 miles away in Turkey, according to Palestinian Authority officials.

Dependence On The Government Is Out Of Control In America

USA - If you could stay home and watch television, play video games and hang out with your friends all day at government expense, would you do it? Of course most Americans that collect money from the government each month are not abusing the system. Many truly are incapable of taking care of themselves, and others are just receiving government benefits (such as Social Security) that they feel that they have earned by a lifetime of hard work.

Vladimir Putin: we must stop a Ukraine-style 'coloured revolution' in Russia

RUSSIA - Vladimir Putin told Russian security chiefs to do everything necessary to prevent "coloured revolutions" such as those seen in Ukraine from reaching Russia as it was announced that nearly 1,000 people have died there since the September truce. Russian officials also accused the United States of "destabilising" the situation in Ukraine on Thursday by considering supplying Kiev with weapons.

Queen Rania: Isil want to send us back to the 'Dark Ages'

ABU DHABI - Queen Rania of Jordan has launched a public attack on Islamic State saying the extremists are trying to ‘hijack’ the Arab world and ‘drag us back to the Dark Ages’ through their use of social media. Speaking at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit, the 44-year-old wife of Crown Prince Abdullah of Jordan spoke out against the horror videos of decapitated prisoners being promoted by Isil.

Biggest German Banks Impose “Negative Interest Rates”

GERMANY - Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest bank, a toppling marvel of ingenuity during the Financial Crisis that was bailed out by ever dutiful if unenthusiastic taxpayers, will now reward these very folks with what Germans have come to look forward to: the Wrath of Draghi.

Crime-Fighting Robots Go On Patrol In Silicon Valley

USA - A new kind of security guard is on patrol in Silicon Valley: crime-fighting robots that look like they’re straight out of a sci-fi movie. At first glance, the K5 security robot looks like a cartoonish Star Wars character. They are unarmed, but they are imposing: about 5 feet tall and 300 pounds, which very likely will make someone think twice before committing a crime in their presence.

Doomsday pope warns man's greed will destroy world

ITALY - Pope Francis warned Thursday that planet earth would not forgive the abuse of its resources for profit, urging the world's leaders to rein in their greed and help the hungry - or risk a doomsday scenario in which nature would exact revenge. "God always forgives, but the earth does not," the Argentine pope told the Second International Conference on Nutrition (CIN2) in Rome, a three-day meeting aimed at tackling malnutrition, a global scourge which afflicts poor and rich alike. "Take care of the earth so it does not respond with destruction," he warned representatives from 190 countries gathered for the conference organised by the UN food agency (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) in the Italian capital.

 
Barack Obama enforces US immigration overhaul

USA - Millions of immigrants living illegally in the US will be allowed to apply for work permits under a major shake-up unveiled by President Barack Obama. They include immigrants living in the US for five years who have children staying legally in the US. Up to five million are expected to benefit from a reform package forced through using executive orders, which allow Mr Obama to bypass Congress. Republicans have accused the president of an "illegal power-grab". There are estimated to be 11 million illegal immigrants in the US.

“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
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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Listen to Me, You who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My Law: …I have put My words in your mouth, I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, “you are My people” (Isaiah 51:7,16)