Information Related to "World News and Trends - May/June 2006"
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Will America coexist with a nuclear Iran?
Diligent diplomatic efforts are being made to avoid any kind of Western military conflict with Iran. When questioned during her recent visit to Britain, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice emphasized the importance of reliance on diplomacy to achieve the goal of persuading the Iranian leadership to abandon any activities that would lead to creating a nuclear arsenal.
The recently revised National Security Strategy statement says, "This diplomatic effort must succeed if confrontation is to be avoided" (The New York Times, emphasis added throughout).
The Bush administration recently reaffirmed its policy to possibly employ preemptive military strikes against potential threats to American national security. As recently as April 1, the United States warned that "an American-led attack on Iran's nuclear installations is 'all but inevitable' if the country fails to comply with the United Nations over its nuclear programme" (The Sunday Express).
How the Islamic world might react is a major wild card—as, for that matter, is the possible reaction from supposed continental European allies like France and Germany.
According to the Financial Times, "Germany's foreign minister has urged the Bush administration to hold direct talks with Iran over its nuclear programme." This suggestion has been rejected in favor of collective diplomacy with European nations in the forefront. That this was even suggested is taken as a sign that the European powers privately have little confidence in the ability and capacity of the UN to restrain Iran. Hard choices are ahead for Western leadership, especially the United States.
Some observers warn of unpleasant surprises perhaps much like those that have emerged in Iraq . This much we do know: Serious conflicts in the Middle East will eventually be the spark that ignites a time of unprecedented world troubles leading to the second coming of Jesus Christ. This scenario is laid out in our free booklet (Sources: The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Financial Times [all London], The New York Times.)
South Africa 's killing fields
According to a cover article in The Sunday Times Magazine, more than 1,700 white farmers in South Africa have been raped, tortured, mutilated and killed in the last 10 years. Journalist Brian Moynahan reported that the motive was "not theft, nor land grab as in Zimbabwe—but revenge fuelled by racism and envy."
The perpetrators of these attacks operate in small gangs that employ extreme violence, torture, rape and mutilation. Sometimes nothing is stolen. One survivor, a woman beaten severely with a steel pole, needed nine steel plates and lost her right eye.
The ethnic cleansing of neighboring rural Zimbabwe is all but completed. We should
also be aware that South Africa is not the stable, forgiving country that some observers have pictured for us in the media—although there are positive elements of both qualities in certain places.
Residual racism against white farmers is far from the only problem. Mr. Moynahan also reported that " South Africa suffers from a general epidemic of violence, and farmers cannot expect to be immune in a country where 18,793 people were murdered [from March 2004] to March 2005, the great majority of them urban blacks" (emphasis added).
We live in an increasingly violent world, not so unlike it was shortly before Noah's Flood. Jesus Christ said that at the time of the end, just before His second coming, world conditions would mirror those of Noah's day (Luke 17:26-27). For further understanding, request or download our free booklet (Source: The Sunday Times Magazine [ London ].)
Germany : In need of nuclear weaponry?
Rupert Scholz, a defense minister in the former Helmut Kohl administration, recently stated, "We need to ask ourselves how we could react in an appropriate manner to a nuclear threat from a terror state, and if need be, even by using our own nuclear weapons" (emphasis added throughout).
Mr. Scholz openly doubted the present effectiveness of previous guarantees by Western nations during the Cold War era to keep Germany safe and secure. He further stated, "Without the appropriate guarantees of protection by our partners, the question of our own nuclear deterrent needs to be discussed openly."
After World War II Germany consented to not developing a nuclear arsenal, relying instead on America and NATO for its primary defense needs. Now, however, with the growing threat of nuclear terrorism, Germany appears to be rethinking its position. From the standpoint of biblical prophecy, the likelihood that Germany will eventually have its own nuclear weapons is very great indeed. (Source: The Times [London].)
U.K.-U.S. defense cooperation waning
The Sunday Telegraph reported that Britain "seems ready to pull out of the British-US joint strike fighter project and to buy instead French Rafales, which will be used on a third super-carrier to be built for the French navy." Later an official government source stated that no final decision had yet been reached on this matter.
According to commentator Dr. Richard North, there has been a radical shift in British defense policy "whereby the Ministry of Defence is stealthily steering our armed forces away from co-operation with the US and towards full integration with the planned European Rapid Reaction Force" (emphasis added).
The problem revolves around British defense treaties with France and other EU nations in Western Europe. The Sunday Telegraph feature article continued, "The Americans have been increasingly reluctant to pass on technological secrets to Britain knowing that we are now treaty bound to pass them onto France."
Even China is potentially in the loop because of a treaty the European Union signed in Beijing last September. These are the fruits of Britain being caught between conflicting loyalties.
The most disturbing aspect of this whole scenario is that the British government "has been able to drive it forward without ever admitting what it is up to—and with virtually no one noticing."
Britain and America have had strong historic ties of mutual defense cooperation going back more than a century. These two nations successfully fought side by side in two world wars in the first half of the 20th century and are now together again in Iraq . Englishmen founded the United States notwithstanding the fact that their parents and/or grandparents may have been born across the Atlantic in Great Britain .
A major disruption in their cooperative defense efforts would eventually produce dangerous consequences for a world at least partially dependent on Anglo-American solidarity for its overall safety and security. To understand more, request our free booklet (Sources: The Sunday Telegraph [ London ], EU Referendum Web site.)
Canterbury on the road to Rome?
Many readers may not be aware of the fact that for nearly 50 years there has been an ongoing dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. It formally began in 1960 when the 100th archbishop of Canterbury , Geoffrey Fisher, visited Pope John XXIII in Rome . These two church leaders committed to a serious dialogue in the hope that it would eventually lead to real church unity.
Published last summer, the last formal document (titled Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ) actually stated that "the Roman Catholic Church teaching on the immaculate conception and the assumption of Mary were consonant with Anglican reading of the Bible." Also, according to The Times, there are "increasing numbers of Anglican and Catholic parishes that share church buildings and non-eucharistic services," particularly in England .
The original split with the Roman Catholic Church occurred during the days of King Henry VIII in the 16th century, principally over the validity of divorcing his first wife Catherine of Aragon and then marrying Anne Boleyn. Only in the last half of the 20th century has there been a serious ecumenical movement between the two church bodies. Rome has warned Canterbury that a major impediment to full unity would be the Anglican ordination of women to the office of bishop.
Notwithstanding, arrangements are being made for Dr. Rowan Williams, current archbishop of Canterbury, to visit the new pope this year in yet another attempt to make major progress in healing centuries-old rifts. Biblical prophecy shows that religion will play an essential role in end-time events in Europe directly preceding the second coming of Christ. To understand more, request or download our free booklet (Source: The Times [London].)
Will Osama bin Laden strike again?
A former personal bodyguard of Osama bin Laden says he is certain the al-Qaeda leader is planning another attack on the United States .
As long as this archterrorist is alive, he apparently will continue to make threats—after all, it serves him well. Consider the reasons for such boasts. He might want to discourage the United States' pursuit of him. He may also want to rally fellow terrorists, hoping to regain some control over them.
Threatening the U.S.-led coalition forces offers an acceptable bravado to potential followers that need strong, rallying language. His threats could also serve as personal ego boosts.
Can Bin Laden facilitate a strike against the United States? Anything is possible, and the mere bravado might stir a terrorist cell to action. America and Europe must remain extremely vigilant to avoid such a strike, given their porous borders and personal freedoms. Though dangerous times are foretold for the future (2 Timothy 3:1), the Bible also shows that unprecedented peace will eventually come (Isaiah 11).
To better understand Bin Laden's motives and thinking and where such attitudes will eventually lead, request or download our free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy.
Survey: Many teens have sex by age 14
Many American teens are losing their virginity before they are old enough to legally drive, according to a survey produced by The New York Academy of Medicine.
The survey of more than 2,300 Baltimore youths found that four in 10 teens had experienced sexual intercourse by age 14. One in eight said they had sex before age 13. Many had also participated in other forms of sexual activity.
Dr. Danielle Ompad, author of the survey, said the findings are cause for concern for even greater increases in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases among teens. While the survey was limited to only the city of Baltimore, Dr. Ompad said, "I don't think other cities would be too different."
Judy Kuriansky, author of Generation Sex, described the results as disturbing though not surprising. She stated that age 14 is far too young to have sex. "They're not emotionally capable of dealing with this," she said. She blamed the prevalence of youth sexual activity on mass media's obsession with sex and the growing number of sexually explicit Internet chat rooms popular with teens.
These shocking findings illustrate the enormous pressures exerted on teens by media, peers and society in general. Parents, if you don't know what your teens are up to, you had better educate yourself. Otherwise you and they are being set up for major heartbreak or worse. (Source: New York Daily News.)
Alcoholism and drug abuse ruining youth
Binge drinking and drug abuse are taking a terrible toll among British youth. Both addictions breed violence, and drug abuse is notorious for causing violent robberies. According to the Daily Mail, "Binge drinking was being blamed after it emerged that British girls are among the most violent in the Western world. English girls aged 11 to 15 came fifth in a league table of violence covering 35 countries."
Yet another feature article in The Times revealed that "cocaine use among children has doubled in a year . . . Hundreds of thousands of 11-to-15-year-olds are being offered the class A drug which is flooding into the country."
Both drug and alcohol addiction break down the normal restraints of human conscience. Only a restored family life renewed by the teaching and practice of biblical morality can reverse these damaging, life-destroying trends. To learn more, request our free booklet (Sources: Daily Mail, The Times [both London ].)
Get married, stay married, live longer
Marrying and staying married has a significant impact on longevity for both men and women, according a study by the National Center for Health Statistics that analyzed 2.2 million U.S. death certificates from 2003.
The study found that married men lived an average of 77.6 years compared to 69.2 years for never-married men and 67.1 years for divorced men. Married women had an average life span of 81 years compared to 77.4 years for the never-wed and 72 for women who had divorced. (Source: Scripps Howard News Service.)
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Keywords: Iran South Africa nuclean weapons teens and sex drugs U.S. and Britain
South Africa: