RUSSIA - Internet security company Kaspersky Lab says the banking industry could be experiencing “a new era in cybercrime.” The company has been investigating a $1 billion attack on financial institutions by a sophisticated hacking group. The IT security firm says the hackers from the Carabanak group used a complex virus system which was later named after them.
ARGENTINA - Argentina is to purchase sophisticated Chinese fighter jets able to attack the Falkland Islands as part of a “strategic partnership” with Beijing. The move, which further raised tensions in the South Atlantic last night, follows a three-day visit by President Kristina de Kirchner to Beijing last week, in which Argentina secured 15 economic agreements and significant financial investment to bolster its failing economy.
EUROPE - Global shares hit their highest level since September on Monday and the euro firmed, with investors cautiously optimistic euro zone finance ministers would reach a deal to shore up Greece's dwindling finances. The prospect that Greece and its partners will find common ground in the talks and reach an agreement that would prevent Greece having to leave the euro zone, helped push low-risk government yields higher. However, a rise in the price of safe-haven gold testified to the uncertain outcome.
ISRAEL - A Israeli report claims the US administration has stopped updating Israel about developments in nuclear negotiations between the world power and Iran, allegedly in response to Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision to accept an invitation by Republicans to address Congress on the issue.
UK - The Church of England is preparing to campaign for greater European Union integration, in a move that will anger senior Conservatives ahead of the general election. In a deeply political intervention, the Church has written a letter to the main Westminster parties in which it appears to criticise Conservative policies on the EU as well as Trident.
USA - The Obama administration has leapt to the defence of Greece, warning Germany and Europe’s creditor powers that they must meet Athens half-way to avert a potentially dangerous rupture and a euro break-up.
VATICAN - He’s met with a transgender man, told Catholics not to breed like rabbits and washed the feet of a Muslim woman. While all this may sound like he’s ready to overturn dogma, Pope Francis’ real interest is geopolitics. In less than two years in office, Francis has nudged the conversation away from abusive priests and used the image makeover to wade into such as matters as Cuba-US relations and climate change. In September, he will become the first religious leader who serves as a head of state to address a joint session of Congress. “He’s capitalizing on the fascination that he exercises,” said John Wauck, a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. “He’s gotten the attention of the world and is using it.”
YEMEN - Tens of thousands of Yemenis demonstrated in several cities on Saturday against the rule of the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi movement as clashes between Houthis and Sunnis in a southern mountainous region left 26 dead. It was the second day of nationwide demonstrations against the Iranian-backed Houthis in less than a week after their dissolution of parliament this month unraveled security and sent Western and Arab embassies packing.
UK - The Church of England is preparing to publish an extraordinary document advising Christians on voting in the general election. The document – which will provoke yet another row with the Government – suggests Trident should be scrapped, proposes more EU integration and questions parts of the Coalition’s austerity programme.
USA - About eight million tonnes of plastic waste find their way into the world's oceans each year, say scientists. The new study is said to be the best effort yet to quantify just how much of this debris is being dumped, blown or simply washed out to sea. Eight million tonnes is like covering an area 34 times the size of New York's Manhattan Island to ankle depth. The details were released at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). “The quantity entering the ocean is equal to about five plastic grocery bags full of plastic for every foot of coastline in the world,” she told BBC News.
UK - When the financial crisis struck in 2008, the average credit card customer was paying interest of around 15.5%, while mortgage borrowers were paying around 6% for a two-year fixed-rate deal. Seven years on, new mortgage customers are paying around 2%, but the rates charged on credit cards have headed in the other direction, and now average 17.8% – or nearly 36 times the base rate charged by the Bank of England.
CANADA - On Tuesday, it wasn't spring that was on the mind of most meteorologists in Canada, but the massive storm headed toward the East Coast. The storm is travelling north over the Atlantic seaboard and will be far enough from the east coast of the US to bypass its coastal cities but will hit Nova Scotia hard early Wednesday morning, dumping 30 to 50 centimetres of snow and causing wind gusts of more than 100 km/h.
USA - Another weekend, another major snowstorm: The latest system to sweep the Northeast brought another foot to Boston - on top of 6 feet that has fallen over the last month - and tested New Englanders who say the winter is beginning to feel like one without end. Even after the storm, forecasters warned of exceptionally cold air, perhaps the coldest in years. Strong winds that were expected to continue into Monday reduced visibility, created drifts and complicated an ongoing cleanup effort. "It's historic. It's biblical," attorney Frank Libby said he walked down a deserted street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. "I think we're in uncharted territory. People just don't know how to deal with the logistics of it." He had one message for Mother Nature: "Give us a break." Meanwhile, forecasters were talking about another storm on the horizon for midweek.
USA - Americans are prepared to accept a US Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, pointing to what she described as a sweeping change in attitudes toward gays.
ISRAEL - Iran is refusing to compromise on seven out of the eight key points in its nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 powers, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said Thursday. Steinitz said that if the two sides are indeed close to reaching a deal, it means the West will be conceding on a number of central issues.
“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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