USA - Food prices will race ahead faster than prices of other goods in the United States this year and next, due to the worst drought in more than a half a century, the government forecast on Wednesday. Food prices rose 3.7 percent in 2011, and American consumers may pay 3.5 percent more at the grocery store this year, with higher prices for meat, poultry and fruit, as the drought gripping the US farm belt drives up crop prices. "The drought is really going to hit food prices next year," said Richard Volpe, a USDA economist, adding the pressure on food prices would start to build later this year.
MEXICO - Mexican regulators have imposed a fine of $27.5 million (£17.7 million) on banking giant HSBC for its failure to comply with money-laundering regulations. The fine comes a week after HSBC's chief compliance officer resigned over allegations that the bank ignored warnings that Mexican drug money was being allowed to pass through the bank. The fine is the highest ever imposed by Mexican regulators. It constitutes 51.5% of the 2011 annual profit of HSBC's Mexican subsidiary.
UK - The British Bankers Association was given weekly warnings in 2008 that the process of setting the Libor interest rates was being distorted. A former member of the Libor compilation team at Thomson Reuters says it regularly warned senior BBA staff about the problem. Its reports regularly highlighted the implausible rate submissions of several banks involved in the Libor process.
USA - In a move that serves as a capstone to Representative Ron Paul’s colorful career, the House on Wednesday approved a bill that would let Congress’s chief investigators conduct a full audit of the Federal Reserve’s shrouded decision-making process. Opposition in Congress came chiefly from Democrats who said they doubt the bill ever becomes law — but worried about sending a signal to financial markets that lawmakers want to intervene in financial affairs.
UK - While the eyes of the world are beginning to focus on London for the 2012 Olympic Games, my attention is diverted north toward the Lake District of England. This is where you’ll find the Damson Dene Hotel, a 40-bedroom retreat that has made the bold decision to replace the Gideon Bible in each room with the smash hit “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E L James. On his blog Innkeeper Jonathan Denby explained the decision noting the world is a more secular place, no one reads the bible (some even dislike that it’s in their room), and that “Fifty Shades of Grey” is something everyone seems to want to read at the moment.
UNITED NATIONS - A report issued by the United Nations backed Global Commission on HIV and the Law; recommends that nations around the world get rid of “punitive” laws against prostitution – or what it calls “consensual sex work” - and decriminalize the voluntary use of illegal injection drugs in order to combat the HIV epidemic. The commission, which is made up of 15 former heads of state, legal scholars and HIV/AIDS ACTIVISTS, was convened in 2010 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and is jointly backed by the United Nations Development Programme and UNAIDS – the Joint UN Programme on AIDS/HIV.
LONDON, UK - When the curtain goes up on the Olympic Games on Friday it will confirm London's place as the only city to host the summer sporting spectacle three times. But could it be a Games too far? London hopes to show off the city as a dynamic 21st century metropolis with shiny new buildings, nestling alongside the historic capital of Shakespeare and Dickens with its palaces and cathedrals.
EUROPE - The euro crisis has returned with a vengeance this week, with Greece potentially facing bankruptcy, Spain teetering towards a bailout and even Germany at risk of losing its top credit rating. A group of prominent economists are calling for a radical restructuring of Europe and the euro zone to prevent a disaster of "incalculable proportions."
LONDON, UK - On Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics released its latest findings in its measurements of national wellbeing. Inequality in the UK economy means that growth would not necessarily benefit everyone. But for the moment, GDP growth will remain the focus for analysts and news organisations alike every three months.
EUROPE - Financial markets all over the globe are very nervous right now because if the Spanish government ends up asking for a full-blown bailout it could spell the end for the eurozone. There simply is not enough money to do the same kind of thing for Spain that is being done for Greece.
MIDDLE EAST - Scratching just below the surface of the Western media's headlines are stories carrying greater implications - stories the West believes are better left untold.
ISRAEL - Israel is prepared to intervene militarily if Hizbullah gets hold of Assad’s chemical weapons, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned in Brussels on Tuesday.
UK - Banks rip off customers and give the impression that they serve only their own interests, Britain’s top regulator warned yesterday. Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, said millions have lost trust in the financial services industry. He said people were ‘angry with banks and bankers’ and added: ‘They doubt banks’ values, and they doubt whether banks have their interests at heart.’ In a speech in London yesterday, he criticised the culture in the City, singling out the example of bankers drinking champagne to celebrate fiddling the Libor interest rate. He said the incident had exposed ‘a dealing room culture of cynical greed’.
UK - All children are to be given the flu vaccination after experts said it could save up to 2,000 lives a year. The scheme, which is expected to be rolled out in 2014, will see all children aged two to 17 given the vaccination through a nasal spray. Younger children will be given the spray at their GP practice and schoolchildren will receive it at school. The UK will become the first country to offer the flu vaccine to healthy children free of charge. The measure is expected to cost £100 million a year.
UK - The UK economy has shrunk by a shock 0.7% in the second quarter, far more than expected as record rainfall and the Jubilee holiday added to pressure from austerity cuts and the eurozone debt crisis. The figures from the Office for National Statistics are much worse than forecasts for a 0.2% contraction. The news will increase pressure on Finance Minister George Osborne to ease up on his austerity measures and push for growth.
“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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