News and Prophecy Staff

Pope Francis became “the first pontiff to ever meet a patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, as the two Christian leaders set aside centuries of division in a historic encounter that was held in an unlikely setting: a room at the Havana airport” (New York Times, February 12, 2016).

Europe has two major threats on its borders: Russia and the Islamic State. In a recent action to confront the growing Russian threat, NATO decided to use multinational forces on its eastern borders.

Angela Merkel stated “Time is of the essence,” in appealing to Israelis and Palestinians to push forward in their peace process.  On a recent trip to Europe, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas traveled to Berlin to update leaders on current peace developments with Israel.  “Abbas thanked the German government for its support, both on a material and political level.  The country had helped in the building of Palestinian state institutions and was also in a position to be helpful in the peace process, enjoying good relations with both sides.”

“UK scientists have been given the go-ahead by the fertility regulator to genetically modify human embryos. It is the first time a country has considered the DNA-altering technique in embryos and approved it… But the field is attracting controversy over concerns it is opening the door to designer—or GM—babies… In a world-first last year, scientists in China announced they had carried out gene editing in human embryos to correct a gene that causes a blood disorder” (BBC, February 1, 2016).

“The food shortage in Ethiopia is getting worse. Aid agencies say up to 15 million people could suffer because of the El Niño-induced drought. Officials fear donors are neglecting the country in favor of others… New figures released by humanitarian agencies… show that more than 2.5 million children are expected to drop out of school as a result of the drought, whereas 1.7 million children are in need of nutritional support.