FRANCE/NIGER - Barely two weeks after invading Mali with over 2,000 troops of the Foreign Legion, France has dispatched special forces troops to neighboring Niger to secure uranium mines run by the French state-owned nuclear power company Areva.
USA - The US Government took some enormous steps and continues to take enormous steps to right the economy. In his 2013 outlook, KKR's Henry McVey points to the $7.66 trillion worth of stimulus as a reason to be bullish on real assets like real estate and commodities.
From McVey: “In the US alone, monetary and fiscal stimulus as a percentage of GDP has breached the 40% threshold, nearly 5 times what was put into the system after the great depression. Moreover, the latest round of quantitative easing is tied to unemployment, which we do not see changing quickly, given that new business formation is still running 35% below the historical average.”
USA - Many government officials around the world are concerned that massive monetary easing in numerous nations is sparking a global currency war. Governments from Germany, to Russia, to Brazil, to Thailand have expressed worry that the world is plunging into a currency war, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. The current focus is on Japan, where the central bank this week announced it would increase its quantitative easing and also set a target of 2 percent for inflation. Governments frequently pursue a weaker currency in times of economic stress to boost exports. But one country’s devaluation often begets another, raising fears of a currency war.
USA - Brominated vegetable oil, a synthetic chemical that has been patented in Europe as a flame retardant, will no longer double as an ingredient in Gatorade sports drinks. Molly Carter, a spokeswoman for Gatorade owner PepsiCo Inc, said the company has been considering the move for more than a year, working on a way to take out the ingredient without affecting the flavor of the drink. A recent petition on Change.org to drop the chemical – which has more than 200,000 supporters – did not inspire the decision, Carter said, though she acknowledged that consumer feedback was the main impetus.
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI presided over an ecumenical service of Vespers at the Basilica of St Peter Outside the Walls in Rome on Friday. The celebration marked the conclusion of the XLVI Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which focused on the theme "What Does the Lord Require From Us." The occasion also marked the Solemnity of the Conversion of St Paul.
CAIRO, EGYPT/BERLIN, GERMANY - Mass protests with numerous casualties are casting a shadow over Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi's visit to Berlin, which begins tomorrow. Already last week, while preparations for the upcoming talks were being made in the German capital, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Egypt, against Mursi's Islamist government.
AUSTRALIA - Australia is battling flooding in two states, as rescue teams worked to evacuate people from inundated areas. In Queensland, more than 1,000 people were plucked to safety in the city of Bundaberg as the Burnett River burst its banks, flooding 2,000 homes. In New South Wales there are concerns that the Clarence River, at a record high, could flood the city of Grafton. "We are in a dangerous situation that requires a timely response and I think the best thing to do is to evacuate," said Mayor Richie Williamson.
RUSSIA - A sobering “Critical Alert” issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) this afternoon is warning all Russian diplomatic personnel and civilian workers currently residing in the United States that an “imminent terror attack” should be expected to occur during the next fortnight, up to and including 12 February.
USA - After spending last week mocking Alex Jones for believing in crazy conspiracies, last night Glenn Beck put forth his own theory about how President Obama is seeking to foment civil war in America, the catalyst of which will be an executive order he issues gutting the Second Amendment.
USA - In the three weeks since the Sandy Hook school shooting, Americans have been browbeaten by a plethora of foreigners in the media keen to lecture them on how their constitutional right to keep and bear arms should be eviscerated.
BRUSSELS, EUROPE - European Parliament chief Martin Schulz has admitted that some of London's concerns about the EU are valid and that it is no longer acceptable to dismiss those who are critical of the EU as simply being eurosceptic. In a press conference to mark the new year Schulz said he shared some of the "unease" with the EU that UK prime minister David Cameron outlined in a widely-reported speech earlier in the week. "This unease with the EU as it now is, is something that I share. I think there are many people in Europe who also have this unease" said Schulz. "And that's why I would really recommend that we don't label everyone who criticises the EU as a eurosceptic. The EU is not in a good state. We have to do better."
ISRAEL - Tehran is looking seriously at a limited Syrian-Lebanese clash of arms with Israel – possibly using Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons as a trigger, debkafile’s military and intelligence sources disclose. Reacting to this news, Israel announced Sunday, January 27, the deployment of Iron Dome anti-missile batteries some days ago to reinforce security in northern Israel and the key Haifa port.
FRANCE/MALI - France has reportedly imposed a media blackout on its invasion of Mali amid a growing war that rages on in the West African nation. On January 11, France launched the war under the pretext of halting the advance of fighters in Mali. However, as Paris has stepped up its ground offensive and aerial strikes in Mali few images of the conflict have come out of the African country. French networks TF1 and France Televisions have also sent several teams to Bamako, but a media blackout on images of the clashes has confined all journalists to the city. Some analysts believe that Malian abandoned natural resources, including gold and uranium reserves, could be one of the reasons behind the French war on the country.
SWITZERLAND - Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has warned that a crisis involving a nuclear Iran is in the "foreseeable future". The Nobel Peace laureate, 89, was speaking about prospects in the Middle East at the World Economic Forum. He said nuclear proliferation in the region triggered by an armed Iran would increase the chances of an atomic war - "a turning point in human history". He also urged the US and Russia to co-operate in resolving Syria's conflict. The consequences of Tehran's programme, he said, would be that other countries in the region would also want nuclear arms.
UK - The Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Rev Peter Smith, spoke of a desire to “mobilise” opposition in the Church. He urged them to capitalize on the decision by all three main party leaders to allow free votes on the matter and increase pressure on their local MPs to halt such a “fundamental change in the law”. A million postcards, designed for Catholics to complete and send to their MP asking them to vote against the Government’s plan, were distributed at masses over the weekend. The issue is due to come up for a vote in the Commons as early as February 5. The only surprise in the bill was a clause making it impossible for gay or lesbian people who marry to divorce on grounds of adultery.
“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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