News and Prophecy Staff

In a study of more than 4,500 Mormons in Utah, researchers examined behaviors that were associated with lower risk of coronary artery disease—heart disease.  After accounting for other factors (smoking, alcohol use, coffee, and tea ingestion), researchers discovered that those who fasted routinely (without food or drink) were at lower risk for heart disease than those who did not fast.  Fasting was also associated with lower diabetes risk (The American Journal of Cardiology, October 1, 2008).

According to an Oxfam spokesperson, “All the signs are that the number of people going hungry [worldwide] is going up…  By 2050 demand for food will rise 70 percent yet our capacity to increase food production is declining.”

April witnessed tornados wreaking havoc in Alabama and the Carolinas.  On Sunday night, May 22, a major tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri.  The 200-mile-per-hour winds destroyed an estimated 2,000 buildings.  More than 125 people lost their lives and more than 230 people are still reported missing (Wall Street Journal Online, May 26, 2011).   The Joplin tornado was the deadliest tornado in the U.S. since 1947 (irishweatheronline.com, May 25, 2011).

The EU’s high court has ruled that homosexuals living in “civil partnerships” must experience the same pension rights as those living in heterosexual marriages (euobserver.com, May 10, 2011).  When the French Secretary of State for Health commented that homosexuals are a “high risk group” for HIV/AIDS, her statistically accurate comments resulted in calls for her resignation, noting that she was “stigmatizing” homosexuals (Lefigaro.fr, May 4, 2011).

Queen Elizabeth II recently made the first visit to Ireland by a reigning British monarch in 100 years.  Also, and in a highly unusual move, the Queen was accompanied by the British Prime Minister, David Cameron.