JAPAN - Daylight reveals full destruction of Japan's deadly 7.6 magnitude earthquake with homes toppled, temples destroyed and white smoke rising from charred remains of buildings. As daylight broke across Japan this morning the full destruction of the deadly 7.6 magnitude earthquake was laid bare showing collapsed homes, toppled temples and huge cracks in the middle of roads. Panic buying sees shelves stripped of goods amid warnings more strong quakes are set to hit the country. At least 48 people have died following the devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake that happened yesterday.
UK - Town centres lost more than 10,000 shops in 2023 – leaving a black hole at the heart of many communities. The closures, which included big brands such as Wilko, mean that 71,322 shops have shut down in just five years. The total number of closures in 2023 was 10,494, which was an improvement on the record figure of more than 17,000, in 2022. However, the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), which collated the figures, said this apparent improvement should be viewed as 'less bad' rather than 'good'. CRR director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said: 'The cost of living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend.
USA - These days we are being hit with one thing after another, and this has created a “perfect storm” that our politicians have no control over. For example, just look at the migrant crisis that we are facing right now. During the month of December alone, more than 300,000 migrants will be processed at the southern border, and once they are processed the vast majority of them will be released into the country…
USA - Alabama firefighters pour 36,000 gallons of water into single burning car, highlighting deadly problem on American roadways. A car accident on Christmas Day caused a fire that required four tankers, over 10 rescue organizations and 36,000 gallons of water to put out. The catch? Not a single drop of gasoline was involved. According to WIAT-TV, authorities in Pine Level, Alabama had such trouble putting out a fire caused by a Tesla accident on Interstate 65.
UK - The Methodist Church of Great Britain has called on its ministers, deacons, and elders to stop using offensive terminology such as “husband” and “wife” to avoid making assumptions that are not “the reality for many people.” The church added the changes to its “Inclusive Language Guide,” an initiative aimed at preventing the use of “hurtful language” directed at groups the Methodist Church believes have been “marginalised and/or demonised by common culture.” The church plans to update the Inclusive Language Guide every six months to avoid using language that could offend groups it perceives as marginalized. The church wants its leaders to begin using terms such as “partner,” “child,” and “parent” as a way of recognizing that “relationships come in many varied expressions.” It remains to be seen how the Methodist Church plans to deal with those who may dare preach actual Biblical sexual ethics when the church’s governing body has already overruled the Bible.
A devastating earthquake hit central Japan today with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6, triggering a tsunami warning as residents were urged to evacuate. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported huge quakes off the coast of Ishikawa prefecture and nearby areas shortly after 4pm local time (7am UK time).
USA - From Ukraine to Israel to China, the chaos of the past year saw the American hold on the reins of the world slip. As we conclude the year 2023, we look back on another 12 months of global turmoil, upheaval, and uncertainty. Conflicts such as the war in Ukraine continued, while another full-scale war broke out in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. While tensions between China and the West cooled after reaching a boiling point, they still remain in the same geopolitical frame and could easily explode at any unpredictable moment.
INDIA - From being the first nation to land on the Moon’s south pole to hosting a breakthrough G20 summit, New Delhi has scored many points this year – but has also had setbacks. The outgoing 2023 will be remembered in India as the year of many "proud firsts” – from emerging as the most populated country in the world (bypassing China), to becoming the first nation to land on the Moon’s south pole, to having the first female officer of the Indian Navy to take command of a warship.
CHINA - The Chinese Defense Ministry has called on Asia-Pacific nations to be on the lookout for US military deployments in the region, citing the Pentagon’s plan to rebuild a World War II-era airfield on a small island north of Guam. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, military spokesman Wu Qian said the airfield scheme was merely a way for Washington to “maintain its hegemony,” a move that would only “stoke confrontation.” “The Chinese military is paying close attention to moves by the United States, and will firmly safeguard China's maritime rights, security and sovereignty in the region,” he said.
UK - Britain is preparing to launch air strikes against Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea if the rebels continue to fire at vessels in the region. Under the plans, the UK will reportedly join forces with the US and another European country to unleash the strikes against targets based in the ocean or in Yemen, where the attacks are being coordinated from. It comes as Foreign Secretary David Cameron warned Tehran that it shares responsibility in preventing the attacks, after the US said its navy sank three Yemeni rebel's boats which were targeting a container.
USA - If the US economy really is in “good shape”, then why are so many prominent businesses rushing to permanently shut down locations that were once profitable? US banks are closing thousands of branches and US retailers are closing thousands of stores. If a new golden age of prosperity is dead ahead, that wouldn’t make any sense at all. Of course the truth is that most Americans are really struggling in our current economic environment, and conditions are going to get even worse in 2024.
USA - According to the late Freeman Dyson, computer models do a good job of helping us understand climate but they do a very poor job of predicting it. “As measured from space, the whole earth is growing greener as a result of carbon dioxide, so it’s increasing agricultural yields, it’s increasing the forests and it’s increasing growth in the biological world, and that’s more important and more certain than the effects on climate,” Dyson said during an interview with Conversations that Matter in 2015.
GERMANY - The Bundeswehr is facing a dramatic shortage in personnel. Now Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has rekindled the debate over reintroducing conscription. At the end of October, the Bundeswehr said it counted 181,383 soldiers in its ranks — that's still some distance from the target of 203,000 that the German military hopes to reach by 2025. This has given rise to concern in times of Russia's war against Ukraine, which has once again reminded Germans how quickly conflicts can erupt in Europe.
RUSSIA - Russia and Iran have finalized an agreement to trade in their local currencies instead of the US dollar, Iran's state media has reported. Both countries are subject to US sanctions. "Banks and economic actors can now use infrastructures including non-SWIFT interbank systems to deal in local currencies," Iran’s state media has declared. Moscow has lately been cozying up to Tehran, with Iran revealing in November it will provide Russia with Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 pilot training aircraft. The global de-dollarization drive has been going on for years with BRIC countries and the so-called pariah states trying to ditch the American dollar in favor of other currencies. Russia has declared it will no longer accept the American currency as payment for its energy commodities but will instead switch to Chinese and Emirati currencies.
CHINA - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday vowed that Taiwan will be reunited with the mainland, saying Beijing will "resolutely prevent anyone from splitting" the two sides in any way. The comments came during a symposium in Beijing commemorating the 130th anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong, the founding father of Communist China. In 1949, Mao led his country to defeat the Republic of China government, which then fled the mainland for Taiwan. To this day, Beijing regards the democratically-governed island nation as part of its own territory, despite the strong objections of the government in Taipei. Over the past year and a half, China has staged multiple rounds of major war games around Taiwan and regularly sends warships and fighter jets into the Taiwan Strait.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this section are not our own, unless specifically stated, but are provided to highlight what may prove to be prophetically relevant material appearing in the media.
“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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