News and Prophecy Staff

“Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday, killing 126 people, officials said, in the worst attack to hit the country in years. The overwhelming majority of the victims were students at the army public school, which has children and teenagers in grades 1-10” (The Times-Tribune, December 16, 2014). “‘My son was in uniform in the morning.

China continues to make waves in Asia and the world. A recent report states, “The Chinese economy just overtook the United States economy to become the largest in the world. For the first time since Ulysses S. Grant was president, America is not the leading economic power on the planet” (MarketWatch, December 4, 2014).

The anti-war mood that has prevailed in Germany since the close of World War II appears to be rapidly changing. German politicians have begun calling for the creation of an “EU military academy” and a “permanent military headquarters” as prerequisites for establishing an “EU army” (German Foreign Policy.com, December 8, 2014).

“Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are discussing the creation of a military pact to take on Islamic militants, with the possibility of a joint force to intervene around the Middle East” (Times of Israel, November 4, 2014). “The countries have already shown an unprecedented willingness to intervene together.

A major study of childhood in the UK reveals, “The number of children living with both their parents by the time they start secondary school has collapsed since the sixties… 61 per cent of 11-year-olds share a home with both parents, compared with 90 per cent in 1969” (The Times, November 28, 2014). The study also reports “Those with both parents under one roof report higher levels of happiness than those whose parents separated.