News and Prophecy Staff

In what some are calling a “landmark decision,” two UK High Court judges recently ruled that a couple could not serve as foster parents because they believe homosexuality is a sin. The case was brought by a social worker who was worried when the couple would not condone homosexuality. Mrs. Johns, one of the potential foster parents, commented for herself and her husband: “We are prepared to love and accept any child. All we were not willing to do was to tell a small child that the practice of homosexuality was a good thing.”

Last week, a 9.0 earthquake struck Japan, the strongest quake recorded to hit Japan. The quake destroyed structures on Japan’s north-east coast and damaged a nuclear power plant that is now releasing radiation. The quake generated a 30 foot-high tsunami that devastated coastal villages. As the tsunami sped west, it also impacted islands in the Pacific and coastal areas along the west coast of North, Central, and South America (USA Today, March 14, 2011, 1A).

Economists predict that unless there is an unusually large wheat harvest this year, world wheat prices will experience “wild price swings” over the next year. According to Keith Collins, former chief economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “The stage is set for very serious disruptions, should weather disasters happen… It seems clear to me that the chance of a more widespread global food crisis has increased.”

In a recent interview with the EU Observer, the Syrian ambassador to the EU made some very poignant and sobering comments. The ambassador, Mr. Mohamad Ayman Soussan, pointed out that the tide of civil unrest currently moving through the Middle East is due to the Arab-Israeli conflict and not other causes. He commented, “Our European friends have a responsibility here, because Europe is the principal economic partner of Israel.

The Mediterranean Union (UfM), first started with the major support of President Sarkozy of France, is now receiving renewed support by France and Germany. France’s new Foreign Minister, Alain Juppé, has called for the reinvigoration of the UfM as “more necessary than ever.” Angela Merkel of Germany, who initially criticized the UfM’s creation back in 2007, recently recognized the tremendous need for this Union to support the EU’s work in the Middle East and Mediterranean rim nations.