News and Prophecy Staff

Wednesday evening, 115 sequestered Catholic cardinals voted in a new pope (New York Times, March 13, 2013). The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, hails from Argentina and is the first non-European pope in 1,200 years. He represents the Latin American church and also the Catholic church south of the equator—its fastest-growing region.

Once a British delicacy, prawns are now cheap and commonplace. Although this high demand is good for Thai farmers, techniques for obtaining “prawn food” to feed the growing mollusks are ravaging the environment (Sunday Times, February 24, 2013).

Hugo Chávez died of cancer this week in a military hospital in Venezuela (International Herald Tribune, March 5, 2013). After 14 years of “revolution” and fomenting opposition against the U.S., the charismatic national figure leaves behind a nation in turmoil and a mourning family. Venezuela has been in political crisis as its leader suffered with cancer. Now, many supporters are saying “‘With Chávez everything, without Chávez nothing” (ibid.).

The United States and China have drafted strong sanctions against North Korea as a reaction to a recent nuclear test by the North Koreans (CBS News, March 7, 2013). In retaliation, North Korea has threatened a “pre-emptive nuclear strike” against the U.S. Although China is North Korea’s strongest ally in the region, the U.S. is blamed for the resolution.

The world is coming to realize the drug war is failing because of an ever-resilient enemy: the consumer who fuels the drug business.  Where there is a demand, there will be a supply. “In 2010, about 200 million people took illegal drugs… 40,000 tons of marijuana, 800 tons of cocaine, and 500 tons of heroin” (Der Spiegel, February 22, 2013).