Israel should allow Jews to celebrate Hanukkah miracle on Temple Mount

ISRAEL - Over the eight days of Hanukkah, Jews around the world light the menorah, or the ‘hanukkiyah’ as it’s called in Israel, to celebrate the miracles that happened in the days of the Maccabees. Jewish groups in many cities internationally are joined by public officials who take part in the pirsumi nisa, the public announcement of the miracle, by lighting huge menorahs in public squares. Ironically, the only place in the Western world where Jews are not allowed to light the menorah, is the exact location where the miracle took place, namely, the Temple Mount.

North Sea oil industry 'close to collapse'

UK - The tumbling oil price has left the UK’s North Sea oil industry ‘close to collapse’ experts warned today. North Sea oil and gas tycoon and government adviser Sir Ian Wood has said around 10 per cent of jobs may go, while Robin Allan, chairman of the independent explorers' association Brindex and Premier Oil executive, said today that at current oil prices it is ‘almost impossible to make money’. A report into the sector found 35,000 jobs could go over the next five years following the sharp fall in the price of oil. Brent crude has nearly halved since June and touched over a five-year low this week amid increased US shale oil supply and the continued output from Opec.

 
Industry Fears Massive Losses Through Espionage

USA - To see the impact of cyber attacks on US industry and its Pentagon customers, one need look no further than last month’s Zhuhai Airshow, where China’s military showed off its J-31 stealth fighter and JY-26 “Skywatch-U” 3-D long-range air surveillance radar.

BBC's current affairs programmes 'failing to address radical Islam'

UK - The BBC is failing to address the “awesomely difficult questions” facing Britain, including the economy and the threat of radical Islam, according to the corporation’s former chief. John Birt, director-general of the BBC from 1992-2000, said its current affairs analysis was falling short. “What it’s not sufficiently doing is addressing the very big, awesomely difficult questions our country and our world are facing at the moment,” he said. “I am talking about a much more strategic need on all the big questions we face. Every economy bar one in the G7 is more productive than the UK – these are the big issues that go undiscussed,” he told a media conference at London’s City University.

 
German president attends Hanukkah party

ISRAEL - Israel and Germany marked the start of celebrations for the jubilee year to their diplomatic ties on Wednesday with a Hanukkah party at the Israeli ambassador’s home in Berlin. German President Joachim Gauck was on hand to light the traditional menorah candles at the Berlin home of the Israeli ambassador, Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, and revealed that his Israeli counterpart, President Reuven Rivlin, will visit Germany during 2015. “We are in the jubilee year of ties, the year in which President Rivlin will also arrive in May for a state visit,” Gauck said. “We are working together to ensure that our special and friendly relations will deepen. Germay will always stand by Israel. Friendship is proven in difficult times as well.” Rivlin’s visit is scheduled to take place on May 12, the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

 
ECB Will Publish Accounts of Meetings but…

EUROPE - The European Central Bank confirmed on Thursday that it would begin publishing accounts of monetary policy meetings by its governing council next year, but it would not give vote tallies or say which members took which positions. With the decision to keep the meetings anonymous — which is in contrast to the practices of the Federal Reserve in the United States and the Bank of England — the European Central Bank is likely to stoke criticism that it is less transparent than its counterparts. But members of the governing council have expressed concern that identifying members and their positions might expose them to political pressure in their home countries.

 
Hungary's priority is alliance with Germany, minister tells Figyelo

HUNGARY - Hungary's most important goal in foreign policy next year is to strengthen its alliance with Germany, a minister told the weekly Figyelo on Thursday ahead of an expected visit by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Janos Lazar, the minister in charge of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's office, said the conflict between Ukraine and Russia could easily escalate further into a war which could pose a threat to ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine.

TTIP: The EU-US trade deal explained

EUROPE - David Cameron is meeting other EU leaders and industry bodies at CBI-hosted talks in Brussels hoping to inject fresh impetus into talks on a transatlantic trade deal. Supporters say it will boost economies - critics call it anti-democratic.

Three parent babies given green light by government

UK - Controversial laws to allow three parents babies will be voted on by Parliament and could come into force next year. The government has laid down draft legislation which will change the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 to allow mitochondrial DNA transfer.

The basics of the major new US-Cuba deal

USA - The US and Cuba have announced a broad agreement between the countries that will be a first and historic step toward normalizing relations after more than 50 years of hostility.

Birds 'heard tornadoes coming' and fled the day before

USA - US scientists say tracking data showing five golden-winged warblers left their nesting site a day before a tornado outbreak, suggests the birds "heard it coming". Geolocators showed the birds, which had just finished a 5,000km migration, left the Appalachians and flew 700km (400 miles) south to the Gulf of Mexico. The next day the deadly April 2014 tornadoes swept across the central US.

Whatever Francis Wants, Francis Gets – Pope Clinches US-Cuba PactComment

VATICAN - Not many people get to celebrate their birthday with a diplomatic romp… but as he turns 78 this Wednesday, the Pope can now claim precisely that. Announced this morning by President Obama in a televised White House address, the US' "reset" paving the way toward full bilateral relations with Cuba and enhanced economic ties, has largely been credited to the influence of Francis and concerted back-channel work on the part of the Holy See's geopolitical apparatus.

A Full-Blown Economic Crisis Has Erupted In Russia

RUSSIA - The 8th largest economy on the entire planet is in a state of turmoil right now. The shocking collapse of the price of oil has hit a lot of countries really hard, but very few nations are as dependent on energy production as Russia is. Sales of oil and natural gas account for approximately two-thirds of all Russian exports and approximately 50 percent of all government revenue. So it should be no surprise that the fact that the price of oil has declined by almost 50 percent since June is absolutely catastrophic for the Russian economy.

Russia's next financial option may be 'nuclear'

RUSSIA - The Russian Central Bank has seemingly lost control of the ruble, which lost more than 20% in just hours on Tuesday. Currency interventions and interest rates both have failed to save the ruble. The next major step could be limiting the cash flow. After the Russian ruble fell to 1998 lows on Monday, the Central Bank met late into the evening and hiked the main lending rate to 17 percent to offset the tailspin ruble. It worked - for about four hours, then the ruble again nosedived against the dollar, euro, and sterling.

Russian Bank Run Could Be ‘on the Cards’

RUSSIA - The Russian economy may come to “a sudden stop” and a bank run “could be on the cards,” according to an analyst at Moscow brokerage UralSib Capital. “A full-blown currency and financial-crisis scenario seems to be unfolding in Russia in what was supposed to a quiet week as we head into the holiday season,” Slava Smolyaninov, deputy head of research, wrote in an emailed report today. “There is a risk that the economy will come to a sudden stop, along with the banks and the overall financial system. Hence, we may have underestimated the level of financial risk in the event of a full-fledged panic. A bank run could be on the cards.”

 
“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!

Read online or contact email to request a copy

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)